13.1

To say I was anxious would be to understate the amount of freaking nervous I had. At 2:30 am my eyes popped open as I heard "Daddy!". Ugh... it was 2:30 am and I had to be up in 2 hours. I rolled over to nudged my husband, who then stumbled out of bed to take our Bug potty. "What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger" started playing at 4:30 am, because I figured if I had to be up at the ass crack of dawn I better have some motivational music wake me up. I got up still feeling groggy. Jumped in the shower. Yes, I showered before the race, which is something I never do, but I wanted  to loosen up my congestion as much as possible. Basically, hot shower = loogies. I geared up and ate 3 eggs and 2 pieces of toast.

Breakfast of champs... with a side of Ibuprofen.

At 5:30 am I was headed out the door to meet up with Lexie and her family and Josh was rolling out of bed.

We arrived at Union Station and parked around 6:30 am. Lexie and I kept repeating our checklist. I am pretty sure we asked each other a million times if we had GU, gum, chips, bib number, and water belt. I was so paranoid I would forget something. We headed into Union Station where we peed one last time (I attempted to poop to avoid the race poops, but had no success) and stretched.

Around 6:50 am we started making our way to the start line. I knew this was a big race, but holy cow, it was HUGE. We jumped just in front of the 2:20 pacer and began to set up our music and watches.
Then my phone started blowing up... are you kidding me! It was the Husband. Reception sucked so I could never speak to him so I got a text saying "At Liberty (Memorial)". Finally it was time, the horn was blown, smoke shot off in the air, and a wave of thousands of people began to move.

It sucked! It was not nearly as glamorous as I had played it out in my head! The first 3-4 miles I was feeling great. I was running off pure adrenaline. Vern and I were keeping a good pace and knocking out the miles. Then at mile 5 I began to feel fatigued. Are you kidding me. I just ran 5 miles on Wednesday without any problems. My body just didn't have any energy and it was difficult to put one foot in front of the other. By mile 7, I was pretty sure I was going to vomit all over the runner in front of me. Mile 8, I needed to shit. Oh, well hell if that isn't just freaking peachy. Of all the days to have my body hate me... it choose one of the biggest days in my life! Yes, there are port-a-pottys throughout the route, which could have relieved one issue, but I knew if I stopped there was no way in hell I would be able to finish. So I plugged along. All the time, keeping up with Vern. She would get ahead, but never out of sight. I would catch up and she would ask how I was doing. She suggested I started taking Gatorade at aid stations instead of water. So every two or so miles I would chug some Gatorade in hopes that I would find some energy. I never did.

Mile 9, I wanted to Q.U.I.T. I was over f*cking running and I was over this damn race. I didn't. I thought of my Mom and Dad who held up a sign that said "Go Melissa and Leix" (yes, Vern's name was spelled wrong, don't ask) at the top of the Liberty Memorial hill; my Husband and daughter who would be cheering me on at the finish line. I thought of all the runs I logged and the hours I spent on the road running instead at home with my family. If don't finish this then all of the work and time would be for absolutely nothing. I would have failed. Out of nowhere, Matt (co-worker who's wife was running) jumped out into the street and began to cheer me on! It couldn't have been better timing. It gave me a boost and  I plugged along pounding out the miles. Wishing that it was just over. Then I looked down and saw that I was at mile 11. Holy shit! I could actually finish this without passing out. I began to tear up. Then I stopped that shit real quick, because I wasn't about to waste any water from my body. Not now.

I had caught up to Lexie and we finished the last couple of miles together. The end was in sight and it was the most amazing feeling E.V.E.R. We turned a corner and began down the path to the finish line. Tons of people lined the coral gates cheering us on. Our family yelling our names! Lexie got a burst of energy and finished hard. I, on the other hand, just finished. As much as I wanted to sprint it out with Lexie, like every other race, I just could not find it in me. No matter how hard I dug.

After finishing the race and talking with my MIL, I realized a lot of my fatigue issues and not feeling "normal" while running were most likely due to the TWO BENADRYL I took the night before. Apparently it takes 12 hours for that crap to get out of your system. All I was trying to do is dry my snotty nose up so I would stop coughing and be able to sleep.  Note to self: NEVER take meds the night before a race it will tweak your body out and make it hate you. Nonetheless, Lexie and I finished with great times that we are both very proud of. Lexie came in at 2:15:09 and I was right behind her at 2:15:20.

Stats:
Time: 2:15:20
Avg Pace: 10:20
Division Place: 333/607
Calories Burned: 1,650

I enjoyed every minute of this journey with my best friend. It was her crazy idea to run a half marathon and I am so thankful that I said "Sure, I do it with you" when she asked me about it in January. Words can't explain just how proud I am of us. I couldn't ask for a better running partner and best friend! Love ya, Vern!

 Even though this was my goal, I would never have been able to accomplish it without my husband. He picked up the slack when I needed to get a run in. Many times he ordered me to go run or he would do bedtime after an exhausting day so I could get a run in. And at least once a month for the past 8 months he spent Saturdays walking up with Easton while I was off running a race. He has always been my #1 fan and knew I could do it even before I did. Love you Husband!

Mom, we loved the sign!

 This wouldn't have been possible without my parents help either. There were many nights Josh was out of town or working late and they would pick Easton up from daycare so I could get a quick run in before doing Easton's bedtime. So a huge Thank you to them for bailing me out the nights I had to be a single parent.

From May 16th until October 20th, I have logged 224.95 miles and ran 38 hours 59 minutes and 23 seconds and I have burned 29,182 calories! Whew... that is exhausting!

Some runners after completing their half say they are ready for a full marathon... I say the hell with that! I have absolutely no desire to run a full marathon. I will stick with 13.1.

So what now? What do you do when you have accomplished your goal? Well, you schedule your next half, of course. Coming 4.13.13... Vern and I will Rock the Parkway!

So worth it!