Mercedes Half Marathon 2011

We did it! Another 13.1 long miles has come and gone, and my roomie and I felt pretty awesome about life after we finished this one. There were about 7,000 people to come out for this years Marathon weekend and supposively each state was represented....and probably a few countries.

To start the morning off, we woke up at around 5:30 am. Ready to go....that is, until we stepped outside and realized it was a whopping 28 degrees. Chilly? No, more like absolutely painfully freezing. So, we jump in the camry and head downtown; getting pretty fired up that we were going to do this again. I'm so thankful to have an awesome best friend, she is my only college friend that is: A. Legit in shape. B. Runs like the wind. (Correction: Ashley is one of my few fit friends, Aereal is quite the beast these days. Zumba goo roo. Love her. :) )

So, we get there.....no parking. Great. We drive around for what seems like forever and finally park in some sketchy parking lot of a church, we said a quick prayer for two things: A. No boots on the car and B. To not get towed. (God provided, and my car was there after the race and bootless. :))

After getting the necessities together (ipod,car key and number) we jump out and book it to the starting line, we got there with 5 minutes to spare. Then comes the fun part- fighting the crowd to get closer to the 7:30/8:00 mile pace. We FINALLY get up there and start truly appreciating all the body heat. My heart was about to jump out of my chest with all the excitement.

Then, they shoot the gun. Boom. And, We're off. 13.1 miles to go. My playlist this year is a big part in my finishing this race and my time, that and my new found love, GOO.( Aka- liquid flavored carbs) Ash and I get seperated about mile 2.5 or 3.0.....I don't really remember. But, I do know I got to run by this awesome man, Rick, who was a veteran half marathoner as well....who sang outloud and kept everyone in his pace group super motivated to keep it up. I was so thankful for that guy since I hit my "wall" at exactly 11.5 miles. Everything in my body was on fire: quads, calves, hamstrings...even my arms were cramping. Rick was shouting out the lyrics to "Living On A Prayer" and I literally was...The idea of running this dang half marathon no longer seemed like a sane or good idea...it seemed insane. Then, the lovely people at the water station had GOO...So, I gladly took that pouch and squirted it in....felt like a new woman.

So.. now I'm at 11.5 miles, goo'ed up and literally talking myself into finishing. I am creeping up on the 12 mile marker and see tons of people...stopping.....for beer? Seriously, you just ran 12 miles and you stop for beer? No. Thats the last thing I could have thought about putting in my body...I kindly declined and kept on pushing. Coming down through the tunnel I see the usual clowns...which I hate...and sprint past because of my HUGE fear of clowns...plus they are playing accordians and beating spoons together...creepy.

Finally..after what seems like forever, I can see the end. All the people waiting for their loved ones to cross....Rick starts chanting something..it didn't matter, I just get excited and push myself across the finish line. Done. I finished. Grabbed a powerade and a banana and try to go find my support crew and watch for Ash. I felt awesome.

Running takes all I have...but it gives back so much. Training for Nashville now, cannot wait. (pictures from this run to come.)