Run3rd 5k Race Recap

Where do I even begin with this race? What a great morning! First off let me start by saying, I had the great pleasure of running into Mindy Przeor, the race director, at a Jr. High city cross country meet, and what a sweet sweet lady! I could feel her excitement for this race while talking with her, that benefited the Mesa Public Schools after school running programs, which just made me more excited for it. If you visit www.run3rd.com you can read about how this all started! The idea/concept/movement of Run3rd is Sean Astin's.

Packet Pick Up was at Tribe Multisport in Mesa, AZ

Flat Runner!  Mikey (Sean Astin) will be at the race, surely Goonies was necessary.

This race was easy for me. It was close, I knew exactly how to get there (being directionally challenged, I was definitely excited about this), I could park at Red Mountain High School track parking lot, which had more than enough room, and walked down onto the track where the race was set to start.

Table full of medals!  Don't those look GREAT!

I walked through the small crowd searching for friends and familiar faces. I noticed a big crowd close to the start line and assumed it was the crowd around Sean, but didn't want to interrupt or push my way through. I wanted a picture with him, but I wasn't going to stress it too much. I located friends easily. First Laura, next Emily! I didn't know she was racing! On my way out to the car for a quick drop off of stuff I ran into Helly, Corine, Kristin and Jeremy! Awesome! I knew there were others coming I was hoping to meet, but I hadn't found them yet.

At the Starting Line. From left to right Emily, Helly, Corine

Emily and I stood around chatting for a bit and then I noticed that Sean was close to where we were, picking up his bib number. After just a smidgen of prodding from Emily I went over and waited for a chance to snap a picture with him. I was so excited!! It was the only opportunity I had as the day went on, so I'm super glad I took advantage of it.

Star Struck!!  I wanted to tell him all about Jaylee, but there just wasn't time!

It was time for the race to start! We all lined up.. runners, walkers, speedsters, strollers and children. This is the only part I was kinda worried about. I've seen some other kids dash runs and there are ALWAYS kids who end up tripping and falling and getting trampled at the very beginning of the race because they're right up at the front. I heard a kid or two got hurt, but it sounds like it wasn't too bad. I hope that was the case!  We heard some words from the Mayor and then from Sean, and then we were off!

Picture from Bert Jones Photography.  He donated his time and talent.  Thanks Bert!!

I had planned to go very slow. My hip had been bothering me the whole week and I had pain in my calf as well. The course started out by looping around clockwise on the track and then down along the high school and elementary school campus. About halfway through the first mile I looked down at the garmin and realized, I WAS NOT going slow!! In fact, I was going so fast! A 9:00 mile for me, right now, is very fast. But my hip didn't hurt at all, so I just decided to go with it. Just a little before mile 1 I ran into another friend, Olivia! I've been following her on instagram for a while and was excited to finally meet her in person. Her pace was matching mine so we stuck together! How stinking fun is that!

And we're off!  You can see my awesome Jailbreak socks! (Bert Jones Photography)

A little into mile 2 I was struggling to breathe so I walked for just a few seconds trying to get a couple deep breaths in and then I caught back up to Olivia. Just as we were about coming to the end of the third mile we also caught up to my friend Laura. That girl was cruisin'!! That last part was so funny. We're running and cheering for other runners and repeating Mikey's line from "Goonies" when they're down in the bottom of the well. I was laughing so hard! That does not help breathing, but it was so much fun! I finished that race with Olivia. I've never finished a race with a friend before, it was so so fun! I felt her reach for my hand as we were crossing the line, but I wasn't paying attention, hahaha! I bet those finish line pictures are gonna look so funky :P. I can't wait to see them!

It actually turned out GREAT!!  This is my favorite running picture ever! (Bert Jones Photography)

Laura!! She PR'd!  Way to go Laura! She Runs 4 Annelise

Running the race with a friend is so much more different than running it alone. Sure I had just "met" Olivia, but I felt like I knew her from social media. Our world is so plugged in these days, and there's worry about people not connecting like before, but there's so much benefit from it also, and yesterday I reaped those benefits 10 fold. We cheered each other on and urged each other to push hard, even when we were tired. We finished that race strong and together. Man am I grateful for her. We both ran a sub 30!!

Olivia!!

Official Time from 4 Peaks Racing

After the race I located all my Run Eat Tweet AZ peeps and we got a couple of group shots. Boy do I love these runners. They have become good friends and I love having people I can talk running to and they just get it instantly.

Instagram: Olivia, Corine, Jeremy, Emily, Helly, Kristin

Photos from Jeremy

Later, as everything was wrapping up I even managed to get an autograph on the ribbon of the medal!

Thank you Sean and Mindy! (Thanks Kristin for the picture!!)

The back of the medal, and Sean's autograph! Can't wait to send this to Jaylee!

This race was so well organized! Mindy and Kris did such a great job. There was a water station close to the halfway point, plenty of snacks before and after the race, the course was a touch long (according to my garmin), but I'd rather long than short anyway. The volunteers were amazing as well! Anyone who is willing to give up some early hours of their Saturday morning to come hand out water and stand at turns to direct runners and cheer for us should get some mad props!! The little kids both running and volunteering were so stinking cute! I loved seeing them out there (even though I did almost plow one over who cut right in front of me and then stopped suddenly! YIKES!!)

Lego Jaylee goes on every run with me!

I'm hoping that this race becomes an annual thing. I really had an amazing time promoting it and running it. I would run it every year if it's an option! Thank you Sean Astin for your Run3rd concept. Thank you for sharing it with all of us! Thank you Mindy for having an idea of creating a race for it and seeing it through. It always means so much to me to run for a bigger purpose. Thank you to all the sponsors! Thank you Bert Jones Photography for donating your time and talent and providing FREE pictures! Thank you volunteers for the time you donated to help before during and after the race!  It was an amazing day!

I Run3rd 4 Jaylee always.  Today I ran for her whole family and for Sandoval! (Bert Jones Photography)

Mindy, Kris, Sean (Bert Jones Photography)

M80roller Review and Giveaway

So let me start off my saying, I'm a pretty huge gear snob. We don't have a lot of money, so when I'm looking into buying any kind of running/workout gear, I ask a lot of questions, read reviews, check out the website of the product and pay close attention to what others are using. I want to be sure that when I finally choose to buy something, it's exactly what I'm looking for.

So, when I found out I was going to be receiving an m80roller as a Chief Running Officer for Run Eat Tweet AZ to test out and review, the first thing I did was jump over to their website to read what I could on the roller. I wanted to know what it was that made it special and what others had to say about it.

This is what the creator, Matt Olaya (who's awesome by the way and has always "liked" or commented on my instagram posts where I mention/tag the m80roller) had to say about it:

I came across a problem with the conventional “Foam Roller” and set out to solve it. Behold, the M80 Roller a “Foam Roller” that is unique. M80 Grooves provide deep tissue therapy that diggs deeper than any other Foam Roller on the market. Besides the pressure, the M80 Roller guarantees that its shape will never give and it is 100% water proof (Hand Wash It).

Well that got me curious. How could little tiny "grooves" possibly work out the kinks in my legs/back any more than the flat surface of my foam roller could? Guess I'd just have to wait and find out.

The roller showed up at exactly the most perfect timing ever. The day before the Phoenix Marathon and the day before my first half marathon. I was suffering from IT band syndrome and was pretty sore. My regular foam roller wasn't working very well, so I went to Home Depot to buy some PVC pipe. My legs desperately needed relief....anyway, I divert. I received it at the expo for the marathon, and as I sat waiting for my ride home I noticed lots of side glances my way, I have no doubt, aimed toward my brand new shiny m80roller!

Image from m80roller website

I got home and tossed it to the floor in my jeans and "test drove" it on my quads. Um, yeah, one roll up, one roll down, get off! Holy hurts so good! But you don't stray from the norm before race day right? So I tucked it away for use right after. But I couldn't believe the difference, even through my jeans, that I felt in comparison to my foam roller and even the PVC pipe. Oh boy was I excited!

I actually waited a full day before I attempted to roll out after the race. I had gotten so sick on the course, and was surprisingly more sore than I expected, that moving around made me feel worse, but by Monday I was ready to roll my poor aching legs and hopefully loosen up my tight IT bands. If I hadn't been so low to the ground, I might have passed out. It hurt, but not like pain hurt, just like..oh my gosh, I didn't know I could hit that muscle like that....hurt. It was amazing! I didn't spend much time on it. I couldn't. I needed to take a break. I put it away.

I pulled it out again the next day and rolled a little more. I was able to go longer that day. I don't roll directly on my IT bands, but I've been hitting everything around them and it has felt so amazing! I've been able to stop wearing my straps to help alleviate the pain while running. My legs were feeling better and better each time I used the m80roller. I was stoked!

Flash forward, I've had it for a month now. I'm very bad about stretching and rolling routines, but I'm getting better about it, and my body craves the deep massage I get from the roller.

But I don't think I've touched on what really sets it apart. I have not tried other expensive rollers that are on the market, like I said, I'm pretty cheap and very picky about what I choose to buy, so I only have my basic foam roller and PVC pipe to compare to the m80roller. First of all, my basic foam roller lasted me (kept it's shape) for maybe 3 or 4 months. My children like to stand on things, and between me using it and them standing on it from time to time, I noticed it was wonky. I know, that's not a technical term, but it describes it, because I don't know if something round can be crooked. It didn't roll smoothly anymore, but I figured it'd be just fine. The m80 has not lost its shape and based on all the reviews I've read so far....it won't loose it.

My PVC pipe was super hard, and it was rolling my muscles, but it still fell flat (figuratively) when it came to really relieving any major tightness. Another problem...it rolled away from me. I had to stop and readjust it all the time unless I was in shorts. If I was wearing my Old Navy running crops or my Procompression socks, it would slip away. I spent more time trying to keep it in place...not relaxing the muscles that I was trying to work out, that it almost defeated the purpose of using it.

The m80roller stays exactly where I put it. I never have to chase it down. I can focus on relaxing the muscles and working them out. Those tiny grooves really dig deeper into the muscle. I didn't think it was possible, I was pretty skeptical, but I'm tellin' ya, it feels so great! The combination of the pipe to make it hard, and the foam to make it bearable is perfect!! Did you know you can also wash it if you have to? It's design means that no sweat will stay in it, but if you get it dirty, it can be hand scrubbed and set out to dry off! That's a bonus if you're like me and have grubby kids who like to stand on things/touch things they shouldn't with their dirty little feet and hands.

All of my IT band woes are not over. I still struggle with tightness, I still have shin splints, my muscles are still tight, but I've spent over a year doing this to my body by not taking care of it regularly, I know, like everything else, the problems won't go away over night. What I do know though, is that since using the m80roller, I've gotten more relief in this past month, than I have since beginning to run again.

So would I buy this product? You better believe it! The 30" roller is now on my "to buy" list. So go check out Amazon to read reviews and head to www.m80roller.com to look around more there at their FAQ and to check out all their color options! No boring colors/prints there!

 BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!

Want a chance to win one! Well this is your lucky day! Run Eat Tweet AZ has 5, that's right FIVE rollers to giveaway! Head on over to their Facebook page to catch the details! US residents only. You're NOT gonna wanna miss a chance to win one of these!

GIVEAWAY!

This is seriously a GREAT roller!!

Startline Racing Race Recap

I ran my Startline Racing half marathon today. If you remember, I won an entry to any race put on by them about 25 weeks ago while attending a Run Eat Tweet AZ event in the summer. I sat on that for a long time trying to decide what to do and finally settled on the Going the Distance full Marathon slated for April 4th. Then in Jan I lost three weeks of training and decided to down grade to the half marathon.

Packet Pick Up.  You get the medal right away!

Race discount!  Thanks Startline Racing and Run Eat Tweet AZ!

 

I knew going into this race I wasn't really physically ready to run it. Training wise I was, but with the pain in my hip/lower back and even pain in my shin, I knew I would struggle a little. Also with the Arizona heat already making an appearance, but I was determined to do this race.

At the Start.  What am I getting myself into!

Let me pause here for a minute and talk quickly about the race directors of Startline. I reached out to them to let them know about my sweet buddy Jaylee. Boy do I love bragging about her and sharing her story. She's such a special girl and inspires me so much. They gave me an extra medal to send to her! Can you believe that! Jeff sent me an email saying to find him at the race and he'd hook me up. He happened to be at the food station at the end refilling waters when I saw him, let him know who I was and he said, oh yeah! We've got one all ready for you! I believe he was genuinely happy to do it, and that made my whole day!

Yes I run with a Lego representation of my sweet buddy Jaylee!

Back to the race. I came prepared to run with fuel (Sunrype fruit strips) that works better for me and an electrolyte (Cocogo) that hasn't failed me yet that is so easy on my stomach. I was nervous my intestinal tract would react the same way as Phoenix, but it didn't and that was the best thing that could happen. I figured I'd keep the Cocogo flowing through my bottle and make stops at the water stations to get my water. That worked like a charm. Isn't it great when plans work out! I think I was still a bit dehydrated, but through no fault of Startline Racing. I felt as though they were prepared for the heat with water/Gatorade stops every couple of miles. They even refilled my water bottle for me! Thank you!

Flat Runner!

I of course went in with the strategy to start slow and work up my speed, but of course I went out way too fast. I had no problem slowing it down though! Ha! I slowed down a little every single mile, the opposite of my plan, but eh, it was alright, I figured I'd do it. The course is run along a trail system of a wash or canal. While it was filled with desert plants that are blooming and pretty right now, they're an allergists nightmare. By mile 8 asthma hit, and I had to make deliberate efforts to continue to breathe as deeply as I could and out all the way. The feeling passed and I was able to continue, though I had a few more bouts of that. The other problem I had was hip/sciatic pain. It didn't hurt right away, but by mile 5 I could feel it, and it was just hurting more as I went. I expected it, but had hoped I would be able to ignore it better than I did.

I was struggling through this race also. There is an almost 7 mile stretch of straightaway running, and then you turn around and run back 4 of those miles. I had heard this, but figured since most of my routes are repeats and I get bored on them, but can zone them out well, I figured this wouldn't be a problem. I was mistaken. I THINK that if I wasn't experiencing the pain, I may have handled it better, but it is what it is.

The route.  Don't be fooled by the blue, there is no water in there.

 At mile 8 when I started having a hard time breathing and running I texted my husband, almost in tears, that I was struggling. A few minutes later he texted me back with this! That pushed me over the edge and I cried for a minute. But of course it made it harder to breathe so I quickly composed myself and pressed on.

Man I'm lucky I have him!

I finally reached the turn around somewhere around mile 9 and was having a hard time with my get up and go. And then this sweet gal came up behind me and said, come on, you got this! Pace with me. And so I ran with her. We chatted a little, we swapped names, quickly talked about our goal for the race and then we ran side by side for I think almost a mile. She was convinced I could still get a PR, I was quite certain that was gone. She cheered me on in my suffering and was my voice of confidence when I didn't have one at that point, and then I had to walk. My hip was aching and my breathing was getting hard again. But I didn't let her out of my sight. I kept pushing.

I figured I wasn't grabbing a PR but I could try to get as close to my original time if I really tried hard. I picked up the pace. If this girl thought I could do it, then maybe I could. With 2 miles left I caught up to her and she flashed me the biggest smile and shouted something like "go get it!" I was delirious, so I'm not quite sure. I thanked her, as meaningfully as I could gasping for air and took off. It was still a run/walk, but at as quick a pace as I could muster. I passed the last water stop and I heard her shout again and it just made me smile! I passed another girl who I had had the privilege of chatting with the first couple miles of the race and gave her a thumbs up and good job and joked that I was dying and not a quiet runner (I was vocally suffering ;)). She laughed and told me I was a great runner, and that just helped push me a little more.

Official Results from Startline Racing website.

Now I come to my most favorite part ever. My sweet children have been homeschooling themselves on Harry Potter lately and each of them had a stick (wands) in their hands when I turned the corner to cross the finish line. They were shouting and laughing, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Turns out they were shouting "expecto patronum" to help me go faster! Hahaha, bunch of little weirdos! 

My great boys the night before the race.

My sweet daughter the night before the race.

Most supportive husband the night before the race.

The boys' wands the night before the race.

I grabbed something to eat, went and sat with my family for a bit to stretch and rest and then got up to find these two gals who helped me so much on the course. I could not find them anywhere! I roamed through 3 times, but seemed to have missed them. I hope to follow their lead one day and am able to offer that kind of support to someone on the course one day who needs it. I am continually amazed at how wonderful complete strangers are to one another. It blesses my life each and every time I run into one of these givers.

Man it was HOT!! So glad that's done!

 

So, again, it wasn't quite the race I'd have liked to have, BUT it was still a good time. Each time I run, I learn new lessons. So today, I'll log away my lessons and remember them for next time. Would I do another Startline Racing event? Yeah, probably, just probably not on this course . Time to recover a little and get ready for my next race, the Run3rd 5k next week!

When Running Becomes a Struggle

What do you do when you find yourself in a funk?  I have been running consistently for over a year now and have loved to sometimes hate every minute of it.  But now I'm finding myself kind of just slumping around the roads.  It's been kind of frustrating.  Some of it I know is the small amount of pain I still have in my IT bands.  Most of the time they don't hurt, but every once in a while (longer runs, faster runs) I feel the tightness.  I'm babying them.  I'm preparing for two more races coming up.  One being the Going the Distance half marathon on April 4th being put on by Startline Racing (use code RET to get 10% off their races--excluding their 3rd party races), and the other one is the Run3rd 5K on April 11th (use code RUNEATTWEET to get 10% off and to be entered into a giveaway for a Sean Astin autographed DVD of Lord of the Rings happening April 1st).  I have to say, after these two races, I think I need to just have a little fun with my running.  I think I've realized I'm putting too much pressure on myself.

I didn't think I'd find myself in this place.  I've always been pretty realistic about my goals, and I still don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.  I've just realized I'm loosing some of the fun of just running and enjoying it.  My eating has been off and I haven't been strength training since Nov and I also know that's taking a toll.  I've mentioned on Instagram that I've changed gyms and have decided to start swimming again (maybe a sprint triathlon in the future?).  I was a very good swimmer as a teen/young adult, so I'd like to gain some of that back.  I'm also trying to work out a plan to find good days to get back into the gym to lift as well as using the things I have here at home to rebuild my strength (tires, battleropes, core work, HIIT training).  My neighbors are used to watching me do weird things like taking selfies and garmin pics after running, I may as well go back to pushing around my big tire so they have more to talk about!  Hubz and I are also looking into starting the 21 day fix.  Everyone I follow on Instagram who's used it has loved it.  It's worth a try to get myself back on track eating right, and it'd be nice to have my husband join me.

We have a lot on our plate right now at home and it's stressing me out.  I'm really hoping that in a couple of weeks things start to calm back down as we start getting answers to some looming decisions.  In the meantime, I will be doing my best to keep myself on track, enjoy each day, and remember what the most important things are in this life. My husband, my children, Jaylee and my health.

Also, if you live in Arizona and need something to do on March 28th Run Eat Tweet AZ has a Nuun sponsored meetup going down that morning!  There will be different run distances available for the runners who need more mileage or the runners who'd like to start with something simpler.  The longer runs start at 7:00am and the shorter runs start at 8:00am.  There will be tons of giveaways, guest speakers and then head out for BREAKFAST after!  We are after all, a social run group right!  Hope to see you there!

Who or What Inspires You?

Where do you get your inspiration from? I read this article and it really resonated with me, so let me introduce you to someone who inspired me. I have this super awesome friend. Her name is Michelle. One day I noticed she was posting a workout here or there with her husband on Facebook. She'd post a picture of her husband and herself at the gym, she was posting what she was eating and doing on My Fitness Pal. I'm not sure what prompted her to start sharing things, but I'm glad she did. She was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis and she wasn't letting that get her down. She was working. Hard. And I thought, if this amazing girl can do it, then I can too. I haven't looked back since. She was such an inspiration to me. She would start up a live run with runtastic and I'd be able to click in and cheer for her! I loved it! Every time she'd run I'd think, I totally gotta get out there and do it too. 

I'm grateful for the days when my awesome friend started posting what she was doing on social media. It helped inspire me to start moving and doing the same things. I'm even more grateful that she is the one I ran into at the finish line of our first half marathon at the Phoenix marathon. We didn't run it together....but we ran it together. It was not lost on me that she was the one friend I was able to hug on that line. She was my first inspiration. The one who was strong enough to start sharing her journey. The one who decided if her husband could do it, so could she. The one who showed me, that if she could do it, so could I.

So I will continue to post my runs, my workouts, the goofy games that cycle through on instagram. It's a way for me to stay motivated, to connect to others doing the same things as me, to be accountable to myself. I'll do it, because I like to remind myself, that I'm capable of doing great things, hard things, fun things. I love the "likes" and comments that sometimes helps propel me to my next workout. I do my best to interact with others in the same ways. Because in the end, even though we're all on our own journey, we're really all in this together.

Thank you Michelle for sharing that part of yourself with us! I think you're amazing! And I'm so glad I get to call you friend.

Pictures borrowed with permission from Michelle. Wishing like crazy we had gotten one together, but we'll always remember 😊.

So What's Next For Me?

When I first started running again I wanted to do the Warrior Dash. That was my key race. Then I decided I didn't really want to do a lot of mud runs, and kind of lost interest in the whole idea. Maybe one day. I switched my focus to the Phoenix half marathon hoping I'd be able to successfully complete the race. I did better than that, I hit one of three time goals, despite being ill most of the race and the last minute kinks that happened during the end of training.

I loved racing! It was like the culmination of all the time I put into training. I still want running to be fun, so I'll pick and choose what kind of races I'll do based on how I feel, but I want to continue to race a little. Ultimately running is still a way to escape, clear my mind, dedicate miles to sweet Jaylee, and take better care of my body, but having some fun goals in between, I think, helps to shake things up a little.

On April 4th I'll be running a half marathon with Startline Racing. I was originally going to run the full, in honor/to dedicate, of my friend. After all the kinks thrown into training in January, and the discomfort I still have, a full is off the table....for now. I'll chase that down another time. But it's still a goal of mine.

The week after that race I'll be running the Run3rd 5k with some other members of my run group Run Eat Tweet AZ. I'm so excited about it! It benefits the children in the school district I work in and my children attend school in, which makes it mean so much more to me. Sean Astin will be at the race! He's the guy from Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings.... I'm hoping to snag a picture with him, how neat would that be! If you want to be entered in to win a DVD of Lord of the Rings AUTOGRAPHED by Sean Astin use code "RUNEATTWEET" which also saves you 10%! The first drawing already happened on March 1st and Goonies was won! The next drawing happens on April 1st, so don't miss out and get entered now! Virtual option available.

After that, things are kind of up in the air til Oct. I'm trying to decide on a course of action for training, cross training, and eating. All things have gotten off track, and I've started doing things that aren't working for me and picked back up some bad habits. That needs to change.

Another thing I'm working on is running fuel nutrition. What I used in the half marathon did NOT work for me. It wasn't the trigger for being sick, but it didn't help. Right now I'm leaning towards Cocogo for hydration, and Pocketfuel Naturals and Sunrype for nutrition. Natural fuels, natural foods. All three products are some of my favorites and I hope to one day be an ambassador and represent their companies! If anyone else has an idea please clue me in to what works for you, because I need a lot of help in this category. Either comment here or hit up my instagram and comment there. Any advice will be completely appreciated!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

I Ran My First Ever Half Marathon

So, I ran a HALF MARATHON!!  My first one ever. My first big major race (I always forget I did a mud run a handful of years ago, and I did do the 12K's of Christmas under someone else's bib, but it was a smaller scale race.)  I trained for 16 months in preparation for it.  I wanted to be able to do it, but I just wasn't sure I'd actually be able to get my body to run 13 miles!  I started small and just kinda ran a little and lifted a little and occasionally went to the track for my "speed work". 

Then I got the bright idea to download a training schedule from Runkeeper and follow that.  I started with the sub 10K to get used to the slowly climbing mileage and quicker paces.  I "nailed" about half of the workouts and completely bombed the others, but it was working.  I was getting stronger. Faster.  I was pretty good about lifting weights and walking with friends and swimming as "cross training" in the beginning.  The day came, and I ran on my own, the turkey trot loop that our neighborhood uses, and didn't come close to my goal time, but hey, I was able to run it, faster than before.  Success!  Then I moved onto half marathon training in Nov.  It started out great.  I ran the ACTUAL neighborhood turkey trot in Nov, relatively sick with bronchitis, and basically rocked it, and then just continued on with training.  I did the 12k's as a training run, and really did a bang up job there too.  Then life happened.

I stopped making time to stretch, I stopped going to the gym, I didn't cross train anymore.  December is nutzo month and I was squeezing runs in between other activities and meetings that were happening all month!  And then injury struck.  Intense pain in my legs.  So bad that walking became a problem.  I ran the Phoenix Half Marathon course just as the month of December was wrapping up and felt pretty confident, finished out the month with a mileage goal and by following the training plan as laid out by Runkeeper, and then couldn't walk anymore.  I threw in the towel and took 3 weeks off, went to the ER and no one could tell me what was wrong.  After talking with a friend we thought together...probably IT band pain.  Well by that point, I knew my goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon was gone.  I just couldn't get back those missed three weeks, and there was still just enough pain, that I couldn't speed up without adding to the pain.  And then I got sick with upper respiratory illness...again!

Anyway, flash forward to February and I re-picked up training and set a new goal.  9:30 overall pace, which would get me about a 2:05 finish time.  It was still a bit lofty, but something that I thought would be a good base, but I wanted to at least land sub 2:15.

Race day February 28th came.  I got up, ate a little breakfast (not much, it makes me kinda sick, but just enough to have some fuel in my body, got dressed in the clothes I had laid out three hours before, grabbed a banana, and headed out the door with my husband who was dropping me off at the buses.  I got to hang out with a pretty awesome couple of peeps laughing and joking, and shivering in the wind while waiting in lines for biffies (does that make us biffie buddies now) and for the start of the race to happen.

6:15, it was time to line up for the race, we ran to the start (for selfies of course) before heading to our spots based on time pacers and waited for the countdown.  I was alone.  That was okay, I trained alone, so I knew I could run the race alone.  I had "practiced" the course a handful of times.  I knew, sorta, what I was getting into.  I stood staring at the start line, misty eyed, thinking about what I was about to do!  I was out there at 6:30 in the morning about to run the streets of Mesa with thousands of others who had put in at least as much work as me, if not more!  We started and I felt great!  I was going to stick with the 2:10 pacer, but I felt so great, I forged ahead.  I was going 9:30!!  Success, my Goal B was going to happen!!

And then mile 2 happened.  I didn't feel real great, but still, I was cruising, so no major thoughts about it.  Then mile 4.  I needed to go to the bathroom, I knew I did, I almost stopped, and then I saw the lines and figured, nah, I'll just run through the growing discomfort happening in my gut.  Then I saw two of my sisters in law and a couple nieces and a nephew!  What the heck were they doing out there!  They didn't see me at first, I saw them, and then pointed at them, because I thought for sure my eyes were playing tricks on me.  I ran over and high fived them, because that's all I could give them for something so cool they did for me.  And although I still didn't feel very good, I forged on in my quest to become a 2:05 half marathoner.  Then a little after that I heard my name shouted to the left of me.  I glanced over and there was my MOTHER IN LAW AND FATHER IN LAW!!!  What was happening?!  She hadn't been feeling very well for a couple weeks, why was she out there!  Oh man it made my day.  She held up her phone, so of course I smiled huge and waved.  I couldn't believe it.  Just a few feet after that I met up with my friend who ran with me a couple minutes cheering me and handed me a pancake!!  I was laughing and crying!  How do you run laughing and crying?

By mile 6 I was suffering and absolutely couldn't put off a biffie stop any longer.  There was a small line, but I got in pretty quick.  Not much relief.  I charged ahead attempting to regain my speed.  I glanced down at my watch, feeling my body not moving nearly as quickly and realized, I may not ever see 9:30 again, but I'd be damned if I didn't try.  I was working. Hard.  Then my name again somewhere close to mile7 or 8...at this point I can't remember.  My mother in law...AGAIN!!  It was a sight for sore eyes.  I didn't feel good.  I was quickly derailing, and I needed a face I knew.  She was there. And I needed her to be.  Mile 9.  I was sick.  There was no denying it.  I was so sick.  I had grabbed a goo before then hoping it would help boost me up to the end.  But to no avail, I was failing fast.  Mile 10 and 11 became a run/walk/run/walk/run/walk....  it was terrible.  I felt like I was in the way of the other runners.  I tried to stay on the sidewalk out of the way.  My paces were so slow.  I was so upset, but I really couldn't do it.  Some of it was mental, but most of it was very legitimately illness and misery.  Then somewhere in mile 10 or so, another sister in law with her two tinys!  My niece and nephew didn't see me even though she was pointing.  My time was shot, but even if it wasn't, I wasn't going to let them go without a sweaty hug from Auntie Sarah!  Little nephew told me as I was walking away "We came to find you!"  I love him!

Mile 11ish is where my apartment is.  I won't lie.  I turned the corner and expected to see my children and husband, but they weren't there.  I looked longingly at my parking lot thinking, I should just go home.  I do not feel good.  I can't do this anymore.  A friend who had ran into me along the course shouted my name and snapped me out of that trance.  I glanced in her direction and then there were my babies.  There was my husband.  They had just walked down the street a little.  I started crying.  They were there. And I was sick. And I couldn't go on.  But then, I could.  I could finish.  It would be ugly, but I knew I could finish.  The look on my husband's face.  I'm sure the running stuff annoys him, but there was pride on his face in that moment.  He was proud of me and what I was doing.  And then I knew, he probably orchestrated my inlaws being on the course to some degree and I flooded with gratitude at that moment for the people in my life.  I ran.  And I walked, and I made up a tiny bit of time.  And as I was coming down the straightaway into the chute, there were my sisters in law who were around mile 4, at the end. Yelling my name, recording and waving, and I knew, I had it.  I hit my Goal C. 2:14!!

It was painful, and awful, and horrendous and glorious, and wonderful and exciting and the most fun I've ever had in my whole life.  I had conquered something I wasn't ever sure I would be able to.  It wasn't how I wanted it to go, but what in life works out perfectly?  Almost nothing.  I'll hit goal A one day.  In the meantime...I'm a first time HALF MARATHONER!  I finished what I set out to do.  I gained a better respect for the runners like me who put in the hours, blood, sweat and tears to hit goals and test their limits.  I am a runner.  I have a family who loves me and supports me, who cheered for me and who lifted me up when I was in the darkest depths of misery in those painful 2 hours worth of moments.  It's my first race story, and it's a great one! I can't wait to do it again.