half marathon Archives

Running Lately

May 17, 2015 · by Ari ·

Once upon a time I used to write weekly updates about all of my training. They were actually some of my favorite posts to write. I love having a place to talk about my training, and reflect on how the week went, but I guess it just got to a point where I felt like, without training for any type of new distance or event, it had all kinda been said before. Also, life gets busy, and I can barely keep up with one recipe post per week, let alone anything about life. Hopefully soon that will change because if you’ve read this blog. um ever? then you know my favorite thing is to talk about myself.

So…running lately. Last year was all about the big challenges. Running a marathon (like, really running one…not hobbling through 5 hours of injury the way the first one went down), and completing my first half ironman. As soon as the half ironman was over, I came back to the one thing I’ve wanted forever…a sub 2 hour half marathon. I’d never actually trained just for a goal time. I’ve had goals in mind, but the idea of completion had always been enough.

I’ve spent the last 5 months working super hard for this goal with one failed attempt, and now I find myself just two weeks away from my 10th half marathon, and what I’m hoping will be the day I reach my goal. Training for a time is so different. It’s scary and hard and intimidating. I sometimes wish I was the type of person who could just stick with running because it’s fun and not seek out new goals, but that’s just not me, and I’m about out of new distances I plan to conquer for the time being, so I’ve been focusing on speed–something that does not come easily to me, but it is actually improving!

In January I ran a new 5k PR and then in March I ran a minute faster than that and set a shiny new PR of 24:38. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I’d be able to run a sub 25 minute 5k, so it feels like my work is paying off, and all that’s left to do as I go into my taper is get all my things together for the big day. I love to get a brand new pair of shoes just a couple weeks out from the race–the same kind I’ve been running in, of course, but just a new, extra cushy pair that doesn’t have the ware of my entire training cycle on it. And I love that Zappos makes it so easy!

If you haven’t heard of Zappos (have you been living under a rock?), they are a customer service company known for shoes, but there is so much more–they also sell clothing (jeans, fashion trends, you name it!) and accessories. They’ve been around for 15 years and they now offer over 150,000 styles from over 1,000 brands, which means if you want it, there’s a great chance you can find it on their website. The company is based on a community and team culture with a focus on customer service. They always have fast and free (my favorites) shipping which means that when I order shoes for a big race, I know they’ll arrive on time. Don’t like your purchase? They have a super rad 365 day return policy. That is crazy good! Have more questions, but want to talk to a real live human being? I prefer that too. That’s why I love that Zappo’s customer loyalty team is hangin’ around waiting to answer my questions 24/7.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Whiskey Row Half Marathon Race Recap

May 6, 2012 · by Ari ·

Alternate post titles:

What The Hills
The Time I Ran Up The Side Of A Mountain
A Mile High And Then Some
Ouch

Okay, let’s start at the beginning. I spent the entire week being PUMPED for this race. Like ridiculously excited. I decided ahead of time that even though this was not my goal race, I was going to run it with everything I had in me. I had no idea what 1000+ ft of hills looked like, felt like, or anything like that. I just looked at the course map and saw hills and that the first half went up and the second half went down, and figured that was a pretty smart way to do it.

We stayed at our friend Dan’s house which was only 4 blocks from the start which meant a pretty stress free morning. We left to walk down at 6:15 for the 7am start. Unfortunately the lines at the porta potties were long and we found ourselves wishing we had left a few minutes before, because we ditched out on the line in order to get to the race start.

"Waaaiiiit! Don't start without meeee!"

This is a no bells and whistles race. The expo was literally empty, with only an energy drink stand, a compression sock table, and a chia seeds table (I loaded up on the chia samples 😉 ). So when it came time for the start, there was no count down, no Star Spangled Banner, just a gun shot exactly on time and we were off. Lisa and I started off really strong. The rolling hills began immediately, but we kept good pace on the uphill and made up some time on the down hill.

Mile 1–9:06

At the second mile we were faced with a pretty massive hill that slowed us down, and by the time my Garmi sang to me to tell me we had hit 2 miles, I already wanted the race to be over. Just 2 miles in it felt so hard, and I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

Mile 2–10:04

It’s hard to remember exactly what time everything happened, but I’m pretty sure it was somewhere before mile 3 that the hills got too steep for me to run up. I knew I needed to reserve energy in order to finish, so I made myself a deal that the only time I was allowed to walk in this race was uphill. I had lost Lisa right around the mile 2 mark when she stopped to use the bathroom (since we had ditched out on the line at the start). She told me to go ahead and she would catch up to me, and she is super speedy, so I figured that would work out. Pretty soon I came across a hill that I was literally staring up into. It was so steep–we don’t have anything even resembling that in Phoenix!! There was a sign at the bottom that said “What the hills?” I walked up that hill, and then all of the uphill (which was pretty much the next 3.5 miles) I had to resort to alternating running and walking (minus the very few flats and downhills).

Mile 3–10:50

Mile 4–11:08

Mile 5–12:26

It was insane. It was more like hiking at this point than running, and the climbs were so steep and so long. I would look around and it seemed like everyone around me was walking. By this point, we were literally running up a mountain. There was a semi paved road that turned into a dirt road, and they were winding, and just like the kind you drive up if you’ve ever gone up to a secluded cabin. I’m not gonna lie, it was absolutely gorgeous, and ridiculously hard. I mean I didn’t expect it to be easy when every race website calls it one of the toughest marathons in the US, but there was just no way of knowing how hard it would be. By mile 6, it was mostly walking, and the only thing keeping me optimistic was seeing the amazing runners starting to come down the other side, flying down and still managing to cheer us on! That was pretty amazing!

Mile 6–13:15

Finally at mile 6.5, I reached the turn around, had a gu, and prepared myself to fly down this bitch.

Mile 7–10:41

I was shocked at just how quickly I was flying! I kept glancing down at Garmi to see sub 7s flashing my screen!! Ummm, I have never seen sub 7s, even in speed work! It became even more clear just how steep these hills were! Mile 8 was filled with “This is amazing!!!! I love running!!! I’m Poca-freaking-hontas running this mountain!!” But I knew I was going beyond my pace, and every so often I would reach even more uphill, and I felt like I hadn’t remembered there being any downhills the way up–where did this Fing hill come from??? Shortly after the turn around, I also saw Lisa coming up. We waved and yelled, and I figured she’d be back with me before I knew it.

Mile 8–8:34 (this one was my favorite 😉 )

Mile 9–9:18

By this point, it was back to up and down again. Even though there was now more down than up, my entire body was exhausted and even the flat points felt unmanageable. I found myself secretly hoping for uphill segments so that I could walk. I realized pretty quickly that I have absolutely no idea how to run downhill. I felt like I couldn’t control my pace, and I was going faster than felt good for my body, but I knew in the moment all I could do was try to go with it, and be careful not to injure myself. Around this time I stopped to walk up a not very steep hill. Because I was tired, not because I absolutely needed to. This woman next to me yelled for me to keep going. Then that Jason Mraz son I Won’t Give Up started playing on my ipod, and I started crying. A little emotional? Maybe. But all I could think was that even though this course was so incredibly hard, I couldn’t believe I was doing it, that I was capable of finishing, and how far I’ve come in the 7 months I’ve been running. I felt so proud of myself. The entire time, I did, actually. Even when things got hard, there was never a moment where I felt like I wasn’t fighting and achieving something amazing.

Mile 10–10:30

Mile 11–10:27

I was really surprised I hadn’t caught back up with Lisa yet at this point, and I was kind of bummed, but also amazed that I had been able to keep going and make it this far mostly by myself. I don’t know what I expected myself to do, but I just never imagined I’d be able to make it through the kind of challenge my body had been through so far. I slowed way down, and my only walking up hills deal turned into I will not walk downhill. And I kept that, but during the uphills and even flats, I could barely run a few feet before having to go back to walking, and instead of speeding up to finish strong, I just kept slooowwwwiiiinnnggg down…

Mile 12–11:23

Mile 13–11:42

When I got to 13.1 and I still couldn’t even see the finish line I had a big “I hate running!! I hate this race!! F the world!!” moment. Then I walked some more. Finally, the finish was in sight and I forced myself to run to it as fast as I could.

Last .22–10:54

Yeah, the fastest I could muster for the last mile was 10:54. But you know what? I crossed the finish line feeling nothing but absolute pride!

It might look like I'm smiling, but that is only because I am happy to be DONE!

This freaking race. I can’t even begin to describe how hard it seemed. I can tell you this, the person who came in first for the half marathon at RnR AZ finished in something like 1:02, and the first place for WR was something like 1:27. It is no joke. I finished in 2:21:50. My slowest half by far, but I felt as proud of that time as I did my 2:04:59 from The Lost Dutchman!

Almost immediately after finishing, I started walking back to try to find Lisa. I waited about an 8th of a mile from the finish line, and when I saw her, I started trying to run with her. I made it only a few feet before my right calf tightened up like a ball, and I knew if I tried to keep going, I would end up injured, so I dropped back off, and walked to meet her at the end.

When I can't even believe what just freaking happened for the last 2.5 hours, I make this face.

We had grand plans to hang out, eat, drink and celebrate up in Prescott before Steve and I went back to Phoenix and Lisa and Sam went back to Flagstaff, but about half an hour after we finished, all of the sudden it was like I had been hit by a ton of bricks. I was dizzy and nauseous, and I couldn’t walk more than a few feet without having to stop, sit and catch my breath for several minutes. My heart was racing, and I felt shaky. I started to freak out a little, and got really anxious. I’d never felt like this before, and I was scared. I tried to go upstairs to go to the restroom at the shopping center we were in front of. I made it to the second floor, saw a sign saying I had to go to the third floor, and sat on a bench for about 10 minutes, certain I couldn’t get up or back down. I just sat there, trying not to lose whatever was actually in my stomach at that point.

I began frantically texting my racing expert friend Diana who has done this race before, asking her wtf was wrong was me and if this was normal. I told her everything I was feeling, and she told me she was pretty sure it was altitude sickness and told me to take some advil ASAP, and get back to Phoenix. Lisa came up and ended up helping me to the 3rd floor (there was an elevator the whole freaking time haha), and I called Steve and told him he needed to go get the car, and come pick me up.

I was so sad because I wanted to hang out with my friends, and I couldn’t believe that I felt this sick after a race again. Steve was so nice. He packed up all of our things for me since I couldn’t even bring myself to get up and get out of the car once I was in. He stopped, got me some water and some food for in case I felt like I could eat anything. I couldn’t. That has never happened to me. I always get hungry. About half way back to Phoenix, I started to feel slightly less nauseous, and by the time we were back in town, just like that, it was almost as if it never happened. I felt exhausted, and I still didn’t have an appetite, but I didn’t feel sick anymore. It was bizarre.

I wasn’t able to actually eat until after 2pm. Not good, I know, but there was just no way. Finally when my appetite came back, I got my pizza and beer.

Diana, I know you said not to drink. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. I took every single other piece of advice, and it was all amazing and made me feel better! But so did this beer. I’m sorry!!

Then we took pictures of me with my medal that I had not felt up to post race.

That is exactly how I felt.

I know this is a long post—thank you for sticking with me! My final thoughts: I am so happy I did this race. I proved something to myself. I learned that I am stronger than I think I am, and that I am capable of tackling huge challenges and obstacles. I am beyond proud of myself. I also have no desire to ever do this particular race again. Once is enough for me, and I learned that I need to consider things like altitude when choosing courses in the future. I am not invincible to legit things like thin air, and even if I can get through it, it doesn’t mean that going up there the night before, and running in that altitude without giving myself time to aclimate is a good idea, or that I should do it. Lesson learned, But I have no regrets, and still feel only proud of finishing, and my time.

Also I want to give a shout out to Christina who crushed it, running it in like 2 hours!! AMAZING!!

Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

February 19, 2012 · by Ari ·

Best.Race.Ever.

I could honestly leave it at that. But I won’t. Don’t worry, I will give you a long 2000 word post with all the deets.

You didn’t click the little x yet? Awesome. Thanks for that 😉

Lisa arrived into Phoenix Saturday afternoon and we headed over to the race expo. We received these emails about the “record crowds” they were expecting.

"Where are they?"

The expo was pretty small, so we picked up our bibs, looked around a little bit and I bought a headband.

Definitely different from the Rock N Roll one, but honestly, I don’t know that I need all the bells and whistles. After the expo, we went home for some carb-o loading goodness! I made Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese (YIKES! I need to update that recipe with better pictures. It’s from a long time ago!) and roasted broccoli. Yummmm. Healthy, carb-full, and deliciousness.

After dinner, Lisa and I proceeded to give our husbands a concert of ~~our favorite show tunes~~ every song we both new with really simple chords that we could actually play. We ended with Do You Hear the People Sing, I sang my ~~best~~ loudest high C, and ~~Steve and Sam simultaneously asked us for divorces~~ we went out to get some Gelato before heading to bed early for our 4:40am wake up call.

This morning, we woke up, had some coffee and toast with sunflower butter and banana, and some iced coffee and we were out the door by 5:30. It was still pitch black outside and collllddddd (for Phoenix). We arrived at Prospector Park where race volunteers literally escorted us into the proper parking space and immediately found our way onto a bus to the starting line. This race was incredibly well organized and all of the volunteers were super friendly and helpful! I was impressed!

We hung out for a bit with the boys while we waited for the start, then did a bit of a warm up jog and made our way over to the starting line. I felt pumped and super excited. I was running a race with one of my long time best friends–her first race, and my wedding gift to her. I just felt so happy for the entire experience.

I was also super nervous though. I signed up for this after Diana highly recommended it, without even looking at the elevation. Then, I heard from other runners that it was super tough and HILLY.

Oyyy!!! Then, I read the reviews which claimed it was “A great course for serious runners”. But I’m a comedic runner. Not serious at all. Nope. Not one bit. I was sure that I was going to run this slower than PF Chang’s. In fact, I even added more music to my playlist so I wouldn’t run out! I intentionally did not talk about pace goals on the blog because I was sure I would end up embarrassing myself. But I did have one, and it seemed totally out of reach, but it was there, burning a hole in the back of my mind. 2:09:XX. I figured there was no way I’d make it just a month after finishing in 2:13:58 on a more challenging course, so I only told Lisa and Steve–and only when Lisa asked.

Anyway–back to the race. We got to the starting line and I was surprised because at 7:15 on the dot, there was no announcement, no Star Spangled Banner, just a sudden gun shot and the race had begun! Well, okay, if you say so! About 1/2 a mile in, we saw Steve and Sam ~~and kept it totally cool~~.

Soon after we turned the corner and were running right towards the sunrise in the mountains. Holy crap, it was gorgeous. I felt so honored to be running into something so beautiful and I realized for a second how awesome my life is. I can run into the sunrise. That is something I never thought I would appreciate, but my views and ideas of happiness have change…a lot.

I had told Lisa we needed to start slowly so we wouldn’t burn out. At PF Chang’s, I got tired at mile 8 and had to walk/run until the end. In fact, in every single race I’ve done, I’ve gotten tired from going beyond my pace and had to take walking breaks. Even all of my 5Ks. So when we ran the first mile in 9:33, I was getting ready to yell at Lisa for not starting out in the 10s like we had discussed. I had all of this fear about not being able to keep it up, and how I would burn out, but then I realized I felt great. The pace felt dare I say easy. And I thought to myself… What if I can keep this up for the whole race?

I made a little goal with myself right there–if I ran every mile below 10 minutes, I really could meet my goal of finishing sub 2:10, so I was going to not be a little bitch and tell my friend her pace was not maintainable. I was going to suck it up, keep running and really go for a PR.

For the next 4.5 miles until the turn around, it was pretty much rolling hills the entire way. Nothing super steep, but pretty much just a lot of running and nature. The crowds were sparse to say the least–it was all about me running because I love to run. For the first few miles I was definitely pushing to keep up with Lisa, which was good–it kept me going. We reached the turn around at mile 6.55, I took my Gu, and I realized I still felt really good. I had already maintained this pace for half the race and I really felt like I could keep it up. A PR began to feel really doable and I felt so motivated and excited!

It was an out and back, so the rolling hills continued, but mile after mile ticked by and I kept feeling good. Lisa and I stayed together, but didn’t really socialize. We were both just focused on the task at hand and enjoying being focused on the same thing together. It was perfect because I felt like I had support, but it wasn’t a lets-chat-about-life type of thing.

Before I knew it, we were at mile 8, which is where I crashed and burned at PF Chang’s. But this time, it felt totally different. I felt like I had the energy to push through until the end. I started to get really excited. And even better–we were still completely on track! Every single mile had been below a 10 min pace! We kept trucking along, and then at mile 9.5, we reached the toughest hill of the race, and it lasted for a good mile! I was tired, and I felt like I was slowing down, but we still kept our pace, and finished our toughest mile in 9:58.

By mile 11, I was tired. Seriously, tired. But Lisa was still going and I hadn’t walked yet (excluding for a couple seconds to take water at stations), so I kept pushing. This is the time I would usually think “Oh, if I’m gonna finish strong, I’d better take a walking break”, but I didn’t, and you know what? It didn’t kill me.

At mile 12.5, we saw Sam waiting on the side lines. He came out and ran with Lisa and I started to get a little teary. This was my first time meeting him, and I realized one of my best friends found a husband that will come out and push her to the end of this race–he gets her, and she is so happy, and we are running fast, and I have this awesome life-long friend who has pushed me to the end of this thing.

I started to think that maybe, just *maybe*, I could even finish in a new goal: sub 2:05. I would really have to push it til the end, and I was beyond tired at this point. I could tell Lisa was feeling slightly better than me, and I encouraged her to go up ahead, and I tried to keep her in sight. I wanted to stop about a million times between mile 12.75 and the finish line. Right about mile 13, I saw Steve and tried to look happy in the pictures.

This one's my favorite 🙂

After this point, I looked down at my watch and gave it absolutely everything I had left. I stopped my Garmin just after the finish line, check it and it said 2:05:02. Not quite my late race goal, but honestly, I was ecstatic!!!!!!! I shaved 9 freaking minutes off my time in ONE MONTH!!!! I ran at a pace that i thought was completely out of my abilities. I set a record in a race I didn’t think it was possible. I could not believe that I had done all of these things. It seemed unreal, and almost more exciting than my first half marathon.

2:05???? That’s almost like the times I read about on other blogs!! That’s a 9:32 average pace!!! 9:32!!!!!!! Single digits!!!! Are you freaking kidding me? And this course was not easy! Holy crap,

Lisa had finished just seconds before me, so I quickly caught up to her, hugged her, and told her how incredible she is–or at least I hope I conveyed that! This girl decided to train for this race a month ago! It was her very first race and she practically carried me to the finish line! She forced me to see that I am better than I give myself credit for. That’s what the friends do. They help you to discover that you are better, faster, stronger, and more capable than you knew. I have so many things to say about what I discovered today, that I am going to save my post race thoughts for an other post.

After we finished, we sat in the grass to stretch for a few minutes before getting back on the shuttle.

Sam & Lisa--aren't they the cutest couple?!

"Look!!!! We have medals!!!!"

"2:05!!! What? That says 5:02? Oh...."

We never claimed to be smart...

"Take more than 1 picture so we're smart twice as often as not smart!"

"Let's lunge to each other"

You wanna know the icing on the cake?

I checked my official chip time. You wanna know what it was?

2:04:59

And now, I’m crying again.

I just can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe the pride I feel in myself since I took up this little “hobby”. I can’t believe how much my life has changed.

Hey Lisa! Thanks for being my inspiration today. I am beyond grateful to you.

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading and making me feel like I have a place to share about my accomplishments. I am a happy girl today. 🙂

RnR AZ 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

January 16, 2012 · by Ari ·

Honestly, it’s hard to even know where to begin. Yesterday feels kind of like a blur. I got into bed the night before at about 10:00, finally kind of fell asleep after about 45 minutes, and then proceeded to wake up about every hour until my first alarm went off at 4:40 am. I had a “take your pill” alarm and a “yo b, get yo booty outta bed and run this half marathon” alarm, but I knew after the first one went off, there was no way I was falling back asleep, so I got up and started getting ready. I still felt about the same sick level as I had Friday and Saturday, but was grateful not to feel worse and knew that it would be annoying, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t push through.

Kara and Mona arrived at about 5:40, Kara and I drank some iced via (which was delicious and did everything I wanted it too—HOORAY! Why have I NOT been drinking coffee before my long runs until now???) and ate our pre-run breakfast of Ezekiel bread with sunflower butter and banana.

Just like what every other blogger out there eats. So yummy and almost always sits well and fuels well!

Then, we took some pictures and were on our way!

“Even though it is the butt crack of dawn and the sun is not up, I am really excited to run this half marathon!”

“We’re ready!!!!” Mona is sleepy. Good friends wake up at 5am to watch you cross the finish line 🙂

We got to the start/finish area of the race (loop course) pretty quickly and were amazed that traffic really wasn’t bad and we found parking immediately. After a quick stop at the porta potties, we made our way to the starting line just as they were setting up the corrals.

As soon as I saw this, I got a little emotional. I couldn’t believe after 3 1.2 months of training, this was finally it,

Pretty soon after we got there, we met up with Nicole and Carolyn.

Of course we had to take an action shot. You know, just getting warmed up 😉 Ok friends, my face is flat out ridiculous–feel free to laugh at me!

Steve took a picture of my shoe with my time chip. I don’t know why.

Pretty soon, it was time to start heading to our corrals. I handed my sweat shirt off to Mona and Steve, wished Nicole and Carolyn good luck and set out to find lucky number 13. Steve headed over to the starting line and caught the first people to take off.

That guy in front was the frst to start and the first to finish in a ridiculous time of 1:02. Holy amazing.

He also got pictures of the dragon. You know the one that I passed later on in the race 😉

And he caught Nicole too. Of course, she had made a friend in her corral and was talking her ear off haha.

Go team lava, go!!!

We had to wait quite a while (almost half an hour) before finally starting due to delays with the light rail and just being back in such a high corral. I was so antsy! I kept saying to Kara “I want it to be my turn!!!” like a 5 year old. Finally, we were off and running through Mill Ave. It was a pretty neat area to start out, and I was really grateful for some new scenery. We saw Steve and Mona pretty quickly. Steve took a lot of pictures of me and I learned the lesson that I should never put my arms in the air for these pictures because I look about 40 lbs heavier than I am in most of them, but I figured I had to post one, so I picked the least unflattering of the bunch haha.

Awesome arm pit sweat and everything. Running is the most attractive sport ever.

From there, Kara and I just kept on truckin’. I was super annoyed by my ipod because I had spent all of this time putting my perfect playlist in the perfect order, but I couldn’t get the stupid thing not to shuffle. I messed with it for a while, and then just decided it was okay and I still liked all of my music, so it was fine. The day before at the expo, Kara and I had picked up these temporary tattoos that have your goal time on the bottom and where you need to be at each mile to reach that. They didn’t have a 2:20, so we grabbed the 2:15.

This was so unbelievably helpful. We took the first mile as a warm up at 10:24, and then every mile after was under the 10:18 needed to finish sub 2:15. I had told Kara she was in charge of making sure we started out slow, but honestly we were both too excited and I know that I was feeling really great, and so we didn’t go out speeding, but we went out with the intention of following the tattoos. We ran through Tempe, and pretty quickly got into Scottsdale. I was so excited that we had made it into a different city! My dad and Hermano were supposed to be in Scottsdale–my dad was all nostalgic about meeting me right in front of where my high school used to be–so I looked for them, but never ended up seeing them. I was a little bummed because I thought maybe I had just not seen them, but figured they’d understand and I’d see them at the finish. Turns out they had some directional confusion haha.

Before I knew it, we had reached the 10K mark and I still felt like we were passing people left and right! I love passing people. Is that bad? I definitely felt like the motivation to get in front of people pushed me to go faster. Just after the 10K mark, I took my first Gu. Not long after that, Kara and I lost each other. This race was packed from start to finish (my only maybe not so favorite thing about it) and I thought she was right behind me, but I turned around and she was gone. I kind of started to panic, and didn’t know what to do. Do I wait? Do I keep going? I slowed down a bit, but eventually I just went for it. I knew I’d see her at the finish and I was so grateful for being able to run the first half side by side, but I knew I just needed to focus on my goal at this point.

Right around this time, I saw a man in pink compression socks running the entire race backwards. I also so him run into a gate. It was pretty entertaining and took my mind off how quickly I was starting to feel tired. By the time I got to mile 8 marker, I was no longer feeling like I could run forever, and I started to wish for the finish line. It’s funny that the tattoo says “lucky mile 9” because mile 9 was my least favorite of the entire race! I had to start taking walking breaks, I was exhausted and I just wanted to be done. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to walk during this race, but I got 8 miles without walking (except for water and Gatorade), and I knew I needed to take breaks if I was going to make it to the end. I was still right on track with my time goal though, so I just kept pushing and running hard so that my walking breaks didn’t kill my time.

Once I got to mile 10, it started to get real. I was going to finish this race. I was going to complete my first half marathon. I was exhausted, my feet hurt, and I wanted to lay down on the side of the road, but I was going to make it. Most of the end was even downhill!! Excellent choice, map people. Seriously, thank you. I took my second Gu and tried to soak up the energy from the crowd. One thing I will say, is there was so much crowd support! I don;t think I went through a single section where there weren’t people on the side lines cheering, and several people called me out by name which was awesome! Having a shirt with my name on it was more than worth it for that extra support!

Finally, I realized I was crossing the bridge back to the finish line. I saw the building I had pointed out to Kara when we arrived and said “When we see that, we’ll know we’re almost to the finish line!” and that’s when the emotions started, but even more than the emotional idea of finishing, I was so focused on my goal. I knew I had to keep pushing if I wanted to make this new goal of sub 2:15 (I’m so glad there was no 2:20 tattoo!!!!). I was meticulously checking my Garmin, and I knew it was possible, but I had to focus. Just before I got the mile 13 mark, Defying Gravity came on my ipod and I started to cry a little. “I’m through accepting limits cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change, but ’til I try I’ll never know.” Seriously, it’s like the musical theatre kid’s anthem and the words are so fitting.

I crossed the finish line, stopped my Garmin and realized that now Proud Mary was playing and even with my stupid ipod shennanigans, I finished to it after all. And then I cried more, and took my medal and just kept walking, overcome with emotion. I took my phone out of my spibelt and it was ringing! I answered the phone and Bethany asked where I was and I said “I’M AT THE FINISH LINE!!!! I DID IT!!!!” She told me how proud of me she was. I can’t think of a better person to talk to right away than my best friend who has been there through the last 13 years of my life, has seen me at my very worst and understands just how far I’ve come.

Once I got off the phone with Bethany, it didn’t stop ringing! Hermano and my dad were trying to find me, then I had to meet up with Team Lava and Steve was at the finish line still trying to get pictures of Kara. I found myself a little area, sat down and just tried to stretch a little and soak it all in. Before I knew it Kara was right in front of me! I was so happy to see her!! I honestly don’t know if I could have done all of this without her.

Steve got some more super attractive photos of me just before the finish. Haha, it was like a series of unfortunate pictures, but here we go 🙂

I actually don’t hate this one!

That face! Hahahaha. “GET ME TO THE FINISH LINE!!!!!’

And he got one of Carolyn crossing too!

Whooo! Go team lava!

Okay, now the part you’ve all been waiting for (unless you’re my friend on facebook or follow me on twitter)….

OFFICIAL CHIP TIME: 2:13:58!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5K–31:47

10K–1:03:09

10 mile–1:42:18

Average pace–10:14

Although, according to my little garmin

My least favorite part of racing is when my Garmin tells me I’ve finished the distance, yet I’m not across the finish line!

My average pace was 10:07 😉 I like the sound of that much better!

Regardless, my goal was sub 2:20, and I beat it by 6 freaking minutes!!!!!! I had signed up for updates to go to some friends and family so they would know where I was in the course. Steve told me that when he got the final message that said 2:13:58 he even got a little emotional knowing I had beat my goal.

After I graduated college and got married, I thought all of my major life events were behind me at 26 years old. I felt like I already had my big moments, and there was a sense of sadness that came with that after our wedding. I’ll be honest, I am a person that thrives on making others proud and feeling supported by the important people in my life, and of course they always support me, but there are moments in life where you realize just how amazing your life and the people in it are.

Almost exactly 4 years ago, I reached my breaking point. Something shifted in my mind and I wish I could explain how it happened or why or pass that shift on to others I know who are struggling with the same issues I was and continue to struggle with. I knew I wanted to change, and I loved the feeling I got every time someone said “Wow, you’ve lost so much weight!” I knew I ~~wanted~~ needed to lose weight for my own health and well being. I never expected any of this. My waiver for the race had a spot at the bottom that said “signature of athlete” I looked at my friends and said “Who am I going to find to sign this? I need an athlete.” Me? An athlete? A runner? ME?!

I spent so many years of my life believing I couldn’t do things, believing I wasn’t good enough to perform, to run, to have friends, to be likable. So many years spent telling myself every reason why I couldn’t do things and living in too much fear to take risks and try. More than anything, I want every single person out there to know that you can do anything. And it is so freaking worth it to do the things that matter to you, that make you feel proud. Nothing worth accomplishing is easy, but good lord is it rewarding. In 3.5 months, I went from barely being able to run 3 miles, to running a half freaking marathon–A HALF MARATHON!!!!

The only time I can remember feeling this proud of myself is after I did my senior recital, but the best part is, this isn’t the last time I will feel this way. This is just the beginning of accomplishing new things, proving to myself that I am strong and capable, and crossing finish lines both literal and figurative.

Lastly, in the longest blog post ever. I want to say thank you to everyone for the amazing support I received during this process. All of the texts, comments on facebook, phone calls, and especially to Steve, Bethany, my dad, Hermano, and Mona for showing up at the race to support me, Nicole and Carolyn for making the whole experience amazing and all of your kind motivating words, and most especially Kara–you’re friendship has changed my life and I am so grateful to have you as my friend! I don’t know how I scored the most amazing people on the planet to all be my friends, but seriously every single congratulatory message I got meant so much to me and I am beyond grateful. I don’t know what I did to deserve all of you, but I do know that I am beyond grateful.

Running Lately

Whiskey Row Half Marathon Race Recap

Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

RnR AZ 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

Featured Here

Member Of…

Archives