Now, where were we? Oh yes, around Mile 6. Well, I kept trucking along, nothing really going on. I passed a man who was limping and looked to be in some pain. As I passed him, I told him that he could do this and not to give up. He then got his cell phone out and started calling someone. Poor guy. Later, I saw him limping around barely able to walk - I think he must've pulled something awful.Anyways, I saw my family again around mile 7 or 8. I waved, stuck my tongue out, and kept running! I was having a great time! Then, we ran through a really nice neighborhood and I started getting tired somewhere around Mile 10. I just kept telling myself that I had a 5k left and that I could do that in my sleep! My 4 & 1 routine started turning into more like a 3 &1 and 2 &1 routine... But, I was determined to try to keep a decent pace.
I saw my family yet again (ha!) and then I saw my husband about a half mile later. It was the funniest thing, he was pulled over on a curb and I kept thinking ... He's going to cause an accident and get MY Tahoe hit! Ha! In reality, he wasn't really going to get hit, but I think I was getting a little delusional! LOL Anyways, I kept trying to push forward and not show that I was getting tired, when my IT band started to hurt. Not only that, I could feel my blisters on my feet now. I knew they were covered with Mole Skin pretty well, so I just told myself that it was all in my head. My feet weren't really hurting, but Self knew better! :)
Fast forward to somewhere around Mile 11. Here comes my dad and stepsister running along a sidewalk. It was really a site to see. My dad, you see, looked like he was really bookin' it, except his feet was doing more of a shuffle run. LOL I love my dad, he's so funny! Anyways, dad runs for a little ways and then says "Whew! I've had enough of this! This is hard!" and I replied back "Um yeah, you outta try it for 11 miles!!" in which he replied "No thanks!" and I just laughed. Then, I let my guard down and said, "I'm starting to hurt, but I'm pushing through!!" and he told me that I was doing great and to keep it up. I then passed the corner where my stepmom was standing (Ha, my stepmom was standing on a corner....LOL jk) and smiled really BIG. She shouted something like "You're still smiling?!" and I kept running. My IT Band was killing me, my blisters hurt, and my calves tried and tried to cramp.
Around Mile 12, I looked up to see the BIG hill. The one that I knew was there and had been dreading all along. That's when Miley Cyrus' song "The Climb" came on. I immediately thought of the Redhead and how she cries when she hears that song (I think it was The Redhead that admitted that, right?) and then thought, How ironic that this song would come on now!! I decided to let the song play through, even though it wasn't an upbeat song and I trudged up that hill. There was a man on a bike saying, "You're almost done, the rest of the way is downhill!" and I replied "Thank God!" (I really was thanking God btw) and he said "Yes! That's the spirit!". (Side note: This was a race for a Christian Children's Ranch, etc. etc.) Anyways, I made it up that BIG hill with nothing left. No energy, no nothing. I knew I had right at a mile to go and that it was only a mile, but I had no power left. At this point, I looked at my watch and said, I can almost make my goal right now even if I walked. But, instead, I ran down the hill and then decided it was time to walk. I knew I couldn't walk anywhere near the finish line, because I had to run there..so I took a little walk break until I saw my dad...
Here comes my dad, all alone, on the sidewalk telling me I'm almost there. So, I start running and chit chatting with my dad - who is trying his best to keep up. I tell him that this was so much fun and how I broke my best 5k time by like 2 minutes, etc. etc. Then he says, "I've gotta take a short cut so I can hear them call out your name!" and he starts running through the muddy grass. I just smile, thinking, that's my dad - RUNNING! I turn the corner and see my stepmom and sister, then on the other side of the chute I see a girl from our training group cheering me on, then another girl cheering, then I hit the mat that gives the announcer your name and I hear "Mrs. Mess" and I look to the left and see my dad and husband and immediately I get all excited and threw up JAZZ HANDS!! and sprinted into the finish - my husband started yelling when I sprinted and I felt as if all eyes were on ME! I loved it!
I hit the finish line, stopped my watch and smiled for the photographer. Then, I grabbed my medal from a kid who lives at the Ranch, and hobbled over to the lady who cut the chip off of my shoe. Then, another kid handed me a space blanket. I was done! I looked down at my watch and saw that I made my goal time and then grabbed a bottle of water and hobbled over to my family and to watch the others come in. My funny husband asked if I wanted him to carry me, to which I replied, "No way dude, my calves are trying to cramp!" LOL I watched a few of my friends run in and then I ran my friend Naomi in. I was as happy as can be!! So, there you have it.. My first half marathon!
That's all of the pictures I have for now..I'm still waiting on my pictures from my stepsister and from the photographer at the race. I'll share more when I get them, of course!!
Yesterday, they posted our official results:
2:45:30 (heck yeah!)
697 out of 842 (more than 1000 registered)
49 out of 59 in my age group
379 out of 498 females
And last but not least... My splits. Notice that Mile 6 was long (it was a slight hill) and then things got a little slower at Mile 10.
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