half-crazy

My mind is filled with so many thoughts generated from yesterday's race that it is hard for me to think and write lucidly. I will attempt to give my low-down.

First, let me preface that it was an amazing experience and I would do it again next week if my legs would only let me. My quadriceps are extremely sore & achy; the first of their kind. I kept an electric warmer on my legs all night while I slept- pretty sure it didn't help. I attempted to jog across my house this morning to grab something for my daughter, and in the midst of that moment of mental amnesia, had to grab at my legs because of the weirdest sensation of my muscles spasming so oddly. Definitely could not run to save my life right now.

Looking back over this past year and the last 3 months of rigorous training, I would definitely say that the worst part of all of this was Saturday's pre-race anxiety and lack of sleep. Sunday morning, when our hotel room's alarm clock finally turned 0400, we were amazed to find out that not one of us had a decent night's sleep. But as Teri wrote, I too, experienced a complete sense of calm once we were out of bed and preparing for the race ahead of us. It was as if there was nothing more to worry about, so we didn't.

The morning of the race is pretty surreal to me now. We drove over in a chartered bus from our hotel at 0500. The bus driver was pretty funny making good-natured jokes about us half-marathoners being only "half-crazy" and telling us he would be thinking of us as he drove through Dunkin Donuts on his way home back to bed!

We arrived at our starting point at 0600- and except for the bright generated electric lights, could see absolutely nothing. It was great fun attempting to use the port-a-potties in the pitch black freezing weather (I think it was in the 50s or even cooler).

By the time 0700 came around, the sun had begun to peek around the mountains (we were up in them by Tucson's Biosphere). We had our gloves and layers on ready to begin. It was getting pretty exciting- tons of people, loud music, desert for miles, and one big hug before we were off!

As far as the race went, Kim and I make a great team. She has this internal pacing ability (befitting her personality) while I tend to run faster and then slower depending on my whim (befitting my personality). She is so good for me! We actually didn't talk too much, instead concentrating on our running, breathing and the people we would pass. Having her there, for me, was better than an iPod. Unspoken companionship. From the start, Teri, who is stinkin' fast, was off. She ran her race with the more competitive runners. Periodically, I would think about her or strain my eyes to the course ahead to see if I could pick her out. To run with friends is a great and rare gift I think.

The entire race, we plugged along, never stopping (a successful goal!) though I must admit to the occasional envious glance at the men who would dash into the desert for a quick bathroom break. So completely unfair. Compared to our long runs back at home the miles seemed to go by so quickly for me. At mile 9 I swallowed down some vanilla bean Gu (which actually tasted good for the first time) and then some water (which actually went down the wrong pipe. sheesh.) to help give me some energy- both physical and mental for the last 4 miles left.

For some reason, I didn't have my normal aches and pains and felt really strong the entire race. Only after I saw my husband, kids and mom at mile 11 did I slow down a bit because it definitely made me emotional (Kim and Teri too, such good friends!)and I then needed to get control as the biggest hill of all was looming ahead. Once we hit that the end was near.

All in all, a most amazing experience on so many levels.