Race Recap
Pre-race night I officially was nervous, but I did my best to relax by just reading and icing my knee. I went to bed at 9:45 p.m. which is unheard of for me, but was awoken at around 2 am by my youngest, and 4 am from storms…but I got up bright at early at around 4:45, dressed, and then fought to get my Pandora bracelet off for 10 minutes, LOL…those of you that know me know this is one of my most cherished pieces of jewelry that reminds me daily of the love I am blessed with by my best friend, Jen, and husband, Brian…but I feared I would maybe lose it so ran without it today. (Note to self, don’t take it off again-needed my Mati).
My dear friend Carolyn picked me up promptly at 5:45, and we were off to the race. We made it there without a hitch, and passed my sister in the parking lot so no worries on finding each other! Bobbi went and picked up her race packet while I hit the porta-potties and we got ready with sunscreen and some water! We were ready! One last stop at the pottie and we headed toward the start. I was lucky enough to get stretched out by one of the stretching groups in a tent, and then we found the pacer we wanted to stick with at least the first few miles (10:05), and settled in. A huge hug from Carolyn, and the race had begun…
Thankfully it didn’t take long to settle in and spread out, and I felt pretty good despite the sun beating down on us the first nearly 3 miles. Once we crossed the highway, and hit the actual trails I thought to myself, “Ah, now I feel home” and we were cruising. Average of about a 9:40ish pace, we ended up passing our pacer.
I started to really feel the sun baking me around mile 5, so we quickly stopped for water and a pee break, and that is where I started to fall apart. The sun was in full force (come to find out it was around 88 degrees), and the shade breaks were so minimal I found the mental mind game killing me. I wanted to cry, stop, quit around mile 7-8…My goals of sub 2 were let go long ago due to my knee, but I really wanted to hit 2:10…that sadly was gone by the wayside too, and I felt crushed. I worked SO FREAKIN HARD for a good race. While working and being a single Mom these last 4 months I managed to get my runs in EVERY week. And for THIS?
But my sister’s encouraging words and hugs kept me going…trotting…walking…and sometimes running. From point to point, we trudged through the miles. And around mile 9ish I started to feel a bit better, but after hitting around 11.5 miles I knew I was done. Stick a big blunt object in my eye…But she kept me going…didn’t let me quit, and as I saw that finish line my eyes filled with tears as we picked up the pace finding energy I thought I had lost-and we crossed the line holding hands.
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| I can barely look at this picture without tearing up…you can see the pain in my face, and Bobbi talking me through it… |
I nearly fell into Carolyn, and sobbed as she hugged me…I turned to my sister, and thanked her as I hugged her hard, but I don’t think she knows what this means to me…
But we finished!
Already planning for a redo here in the next few weeks…<3
Crazy thing, is my knee didn’t give me any problems at all! Tight hammy, and toes that were crying, but the rest of me felt great. Sadly the heat literally sucked the life out of me, and I just couldn’t catch my breath.
But…there is always next time! J
Movin' it with Michelle 
I can't begin to tell you how inspired I am by you…with the heat beating down, you ran it out at the end. You continue to amaze me!
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Your support was beyond wonderful. I am so glad we met, and I truly value our new found friendship. Love you girl! (And let me know about Chicago 1/2!!!)
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Was an honor…so proud of you. Sadly, we never know what race day will bring. As disappointing as that is, you just have to move on to the next one. Here's to the next one being BETTER 🙂
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Congratulations to you, heat is a killer! Love the photo of you with your sister talking you through it!
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Congrats Michelle! I am so proud of you! It is human nature to want to pick out the "flaws", but you are such an inspiration! I am so glad you finished your race and look forward to your continued successes!
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You are my inspiration lady…Bring on the Chicago 1/2!
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Thanks so much, Abbi!!! That photo is by far priceless…
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Thanks Jess, your support has been amazing!
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YOu should be so super proud of you. It was miserable out there! I am super proud of you!
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I can't imagine how HOT that must have felt …. but you should be so proud you did it under those conditions…I don't know if I could have finished. Now I am really nervous for the July 4th HALF..only hoping that the 6:30 AM start saves me.Congrats!
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Be proud of yourself! You did what a lot of people can't or won't do – FINISH!!
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I am proud of you for sticking it out! I don't do well in the heat and I am not quite sure how I would have handled it! Great job and there is always next time so don't let it bother you! I am glad that the knee behaved!!
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Michelle, I didn't recognize you yesterday morning! I'm so sorry, thought your face looked familiar.That heat was brutal yesterday, so proud of you for pushing through when things got extra challenging. I talked to a lot of people after the race that either cut the course short (but still for some reason crossed the finish line like they ran the entire course, which annoys the heck out of me) or did the half instead of the full because of the conditions. Thought that there was going to be more shade then there was, and my skin also felt like it was melting off my body!Proud of you for pushing through and crossing that line and overcoming all of the challenges you did yesterday, this only makes you that much stronger. And yes, there is always next time 🙂
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I know exactly how you feel 😦 Good for you for sticking it out. BIG HUGS! We will all get our day.
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Good for you for finishing in difficult weather. I'm proud of you! I'm not a HOT weather runner so I totally sympathize. Time to heat acclimate. Chicago could be a bun burner, but who knows… Race weather these days is so unpredictable.
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Thanks hon!!! It sure was!!
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Good luck to you KJ! I felt like my skin was being baked and my lungs had been cooked. It was horrible. I've never had breathing issues, until well, yesterday! wowsa!
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It's ok, Britt! I am newer to the community! Bobbi is my sister! 🙂 Wow, I can't imagine crossing the line without finishing…although barely finish I did, I made it! Thanks girl!! You are an inspiration!
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Amen girl…we surely will! Chicago 1/2 is in 3 weeks!
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It sure is, Lisa! Thanks for the support!
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Great recap, Lady M…….you should feel VERY proud of the job you did on a tough day!!! Well done!!!
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Beautiful new header.Glad that the knee behaved, in all the pictures you look fast.Congrats on the good job despite the head.
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