And what a lovely Monday morning it is! I am in an unusually good mood today, considering it's Monday. I think it's because I got so much done this weekend and can start this week having gotten a lot accomplished. Isn't that a great feeling?
What did you get accomplished, Laura? Did I hear someone ask?
For starters I RAN THE ST. JUDE HALF MARATHON!
And, yes, despite my own mental anguish I managed to finish without dying. Believe me, there were a few moments of "maybe I can fake a knee injury and get out of this scott free," but I persevered and kicked that finish line's butt!
So let's get on with the race recap, shall we?
*One more thing* though...as promised, this week will be 'Before and After Week' on RITD, so today is the first day! I'm excited because I have some fun/funny/pretty/boring things in mind for you guys.
*Anyway* let's get on with it....
On Friday night I planned my traditional pre-race meal (which I forgot to photograph) of whole wheat pasta with fresh tomato sauce and goat cheese. It was a lovely pre-race carbo-load. I also drank two beers.
I find that two alcoholic beverages is just perfect for me for the night before a race. They give me extra carbs, and I fall fast asleep like a baby. Any more than two and I might risk a headache in the morning.
Also on Friday night, I got all my stuff prepared:
Here's my list of must-haves, and my morning schedule
And all the must haves:
These items included:- extra shirt to change in to
- Gatorade
- SweatyBand
- new Nike Dri-Fit cap
- throw away gloves
- GU
- iPod
- Garmin
- Race Bib
- Luna Bars
- Gum
I also filled out my 'Medical Information' on the back of my race bib in case I fell out of exhaustion on the course. I was considering this to be a very real possibility.
On Saturday morning I got up and checked the weather. It was supposed to be 51 degrees, overcast, and windy. Pretty perfect December race weather, if you ask me!
I got dressed, gathered my stuff and was out the door in plenty of time to get to downtown Memphis and park.
There is plenty of parking for this race within 1/4 mile of the start and finish lines. Once I got there, I waited in line a few minutes for a porta-potty and went to the bathroom one last time.
I got in the 9:30 minute mile corral at the start because I knew my pace would be somewhere around there for the first couple miles of the race.
There was great energy at this race....I think everyone loves a good charity run during the holiday season. There's just something extra special about it. The gun went off amidst a DJ blaring Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action." I love that song, such a fun one to start to!
I didn't listen to my iPod at first because the people and the bands and the music were plenty of entertainment for me.
I had planned to take a break, and eat my GU at mile 5 and mile 10. I felt great for the first 5 miles, and checked my watch. 48 minutes. Way too fast for this 11-minute-mile girl! I was also hot by this point. So I took off my long-sleeve and ran in a tank top for a while.
I realized it was not a pretty site, me running in a tank top, chest a'bouncin' but I was hot, okay? I made sure to put my long sleeves back on before the finish line. :)
Miles 5-8 were very brutal for me. I think you reach a point where the thought of running 5 or 6 MORE miles is just so unattainable and daunting. In this race course, there is a looooong stretch of straight-away that is a little boring towards the end. I was having a serious mental battle and beating myself up for not training better.
I can't tell you how many times I walked during those three miles. Too many to count. At mile 6.5 I decided to run to the mile 8 water station, got into a good breathing rhythm, and made it without a problem. I took a 2-minute walk break and chugged down 1 Powerade and 1 water. Ran to mile 9. Quick break again. Ran to mile 10.
At mile 10 I checked my time and was around 1:47:00. I was happy with this because I was head of pace from my last 10-mile run. At mile 10 I also ate a GU and had Powerade and water.
I took my last break at mile 11, and after checking my time realized I didn't have time for a stop at mile 12 if I wanted to make my goal time of 2 hours 24 minutes.
*However* when I stopped at the mile 11 water station, my Garmin said 11.45. I overheard another runner saying, "My watch says we're at 11.5 not 11. Mine has been ahead the entire race."
So I think the course was a tad long...you'll see why later.
As I pushed through the mile 12 station I had to really turn it up to finish at my goal. I didn't stop as I grabbed some water from a volunteer and basically just dumped it on my face. I was hurting, and tired, and just thinking about a hot shower and a long nap. As I turned on the straight-away that led us to the finish line my watch beeped at 13.1 miles.
My watch read 2:24:44!! Not exactly under 2:24:00 but I'll take it all day long!
I walked for a few minutes because my legs simply weren't cooperating with me. As we entered AutoZone Park, the crowd of spectators was great!!
We ran along the outfield, and down the third base line, and crossed the finish line somewhere around home plate.
FINALLY! Done, done, and DONE! Third half-marathon completed!
I hit my watch as I crossed the mat and it said 13.53 miles. This course WAS long!!
After the finish, I found Tom in the giant sea of people (there were soooo many people there) and we very slowly mozied back to our cars. We went to Interstate Bar B Que for lunch...I wanted a giant plate of BBQ Nachos and boy did they hit the spot!
We gobbled down lunch and headed back to Tunica for a loooooong nap. I literally slept from 1:30 until 4:30 and it felt so amazing.
Here are a few 'Before & Afters' from the race!
How I looked before:
Aaaaaaaaaand After:
My meal BEFORE the race:
My meal AFTER the race:
Tom's sandwich covered in the Neely's awesome BBQ sauce!
We shared a little plate of BBQ spaghetti. Hit the spot!
And a basket of fries.
Ahhhhhhh....and a Blue Moon. I crave beer after long runs.
See, I wasn't making it up. This was a long course. .43 miles is a long overage if you ask me! And I don't know if this is 'politically correct for runners' but I am calling my time at when my watch showed 13.1. Because I like that time better. :)
We did kind-of a Christmas dinner theme with a spiral ham, yummy casseroles, and delicious rolls and dessert.
Here's the whole crew! So cute and funny. Love these friends.
how 'bout that big 'ole wine bottle in front of the camera? I clearly have some learning to do when it comes to the self-timer. 
The hostesses with the mostesses!
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