I have some great pics to add but just have not had time to put them up. I love this race...I love this course!! A few months ago, the half marathon sold out and I got onto the waiting list...was told I was #100 on the list. Then a couple of weeks ago, got an e-mail that I had a spot if I wanted it...sent in the cheque, and off I went!
I have a super duper great friend who lives in Regina and she kindly put me up for the night. She was also running the half but WAY more focused and tuned in than I was. She had been training and eating really good and was ready to rock her run. She is also running the Chicago AND NYC marathons this fall. I had a cold, could not stop coughing and was not really feelin the running love but wanted to enjoy a nice fall run with 3000 of other like minded individuals.
Got into Regina about 3-ish on Saturday...stopped at Old Navy for the sale...made my way to Karen's house. Freshened up and we went out to a pasta party with all her running mates. They have a very supportive and super cool group called the Jaleta Pacers. Lead by Ted Jaleta who is a very well known running coach in Saskatchewan. What a great group of people!! Was a very fun dinner with running folk. Then we had to drop Karen's daughter off at drama class....and headed to a housewarming party. The party had a Rubix Cube theme...you come wearing pieces of clothing all the colors of the cube...the task is to solve the puzzle...so leave the party by the end of the night dressed all in one color...yeah...you are switching clothing with others throughout the night!!
I wanted to STAY!! SO BAD!! I was in that kind of a mood...
But miss-focus Karen, dragged me home at a pretty decent hour. Thank-god as it was one of those parties where I would not have made it home by daylight...but would have had some pretty awesome stories to tell...
Anyway, morning of the race, Karen was up and at it making us breakies...oatmeal and eggs. I learned that the poop fairy really likes a shot of espresso from Karen's fancy machine first thing in the a.m. I am really proud of the focus she has put into her running this year. And she nailed her run coming in under 2 hours, which was her goal.
Me on the other hand....started soooooo slow....like pedestrian pace...I did not feel all that hot, a bit feverish and just that foggy, head of a cold. My nose ran the entire race. We had to walk across a park for the shitters and the grass was wet so my shoes got soaked and I ran a half marathon in wet shoes....b-l-i-s-t-e-r-s...who I have named Trudi and Bob because they were throbbing so bad I was sure they were alive with their own heartbeats.
Checked my watch a few times during the run and surprisingly was running quite good and felt good. Choked down a cough until about the 15km mark when I could do it no longer...had to stop completely, and take several minutes hacking away off the course. Crappy!! Started running again but the last 5km was a walk...cough...run some...cough...cough...cough...run...walk. Annoying. BUT came in in 2:01 which I am oddly super happy with. Had to sit in one of the chairs at the finish line for many, many minutes hacking away and my chest felt like it was seizing up...almost yaked a few times. A medical guy walked by me a few times asking if I was alright and i just kept giving him the "okay" symbol with my hand because I could not talk!! Once my lungs settled down, I felt pretty good. All in all was a super fun trip with a great friend and it was good to catch up in person.
Some funny pictures to follow...
No comments:
Post a Comment