Pilgrim Pacer 3rd half

I'm not sure where to start this post....So I will start by saying it's done!!  I finished.  I had no time goals just to go out and have fun.  I did want to PR on the course, but knew that if I didn't, I would be okay.

On Friday night Brandon was supposed to be off work between 4-5 so we could hit the road to KC.  At 9 he finally gets home....Gotta love the restaurant industry.  At this point I was exhausted, had a major headache and a tad pissed.  I was honestly just debating on getting up at 5am and driving to KC.  I decided however to just head out and get some good sleep in KC.  We leave JC around 10 get there around midnight.  Luckily I was able to sleep in the car. 

We got to Brandon's folks house and headed straight to bed.  I set my alarm for 6:30 so we could leave for the race.  I actually hit snooze until 7:30.  I was so tired.  I woke up with the headache I went to bed with, and  I felt queasy.  I chocked it up to nerves, and knew that once I started running my headache would go away.  My mother-in-law had picked up my race packet for me so I didn't have to do it that morning.  I got dressed and went to put my Garmin on and noticed it was off.  I pressed a button and it said low battery and started flashing.  Strange, I charged it all day on Friday.  I was peeved, how am I going to run a race without my Garmin?!?!?  I walked downstairs and told my mother-in-law I wasn't going to run.  Everything was pointing in the wrong direction. 

Beautiful fall day

My mother-in-law took me to Shawnee Mission Park where the race was held.  We left Miles and Brandon sleeping.  (Lacey stayed the weekend with my parents)  We got to the park and it is absolutely gorgeous.  The weather is perfect, though it was WINDY!  I walked around a bit, stretched out my hips, they have been bothering me lately.  I saw Bryan  and he was busy chatting it up with Marathon Maniacs.  We got lined up and were chatting a bit, and I finally got to meet Bryan's wife, she was running the half.  The race started and I could tell something was off.  My left foot started to bother me half a mile into the race.  It was probably my new shoes, however I have ran in them and they never bothered me.  I was talking to a girl name Jenn who was using this race as a training run for a marathon she is running in February.  Bryan was running with us and it felt good to not have any goals.   Bryan even joked that "It's all down hill from here!"  Which totally made my day! 

The start of the race

I picked up my pace and lost Bryan and eventually Jenn picked up her pace and I lost her.  I was enjoying the beautiful day and the beautiful course.  Around mile 4 I took a cup of Gatorade from the aid station  and it turned my already queasy stomach sour.  I felt like I was going to throw up.  Around mile 5 I started dry heaving and took a slice of banana from the 5 mile aid station.  Had Brandon and his mom made it to the 5 mile marker I may have asked them then to take me home.  Everything went down hill from there.  I knew that the turn around point wasn't too far ahead and I could keep pushing through.  I ate some Stinger bites and just kept going.

Bryan and I

I made it to the turn around point and drank some water.  We climbed a big  hill to get to the turn around and I knew that I could run down it.  I saw Bryan and cheered him on, it was nice seeing a friendly familiar  face. It kept me going a little more.  I started to walk a lot more and it was nice to run with people that were doing the same.  They would walk and I run past them and then I would start to walk and they would run past me and each time we would cheer each other on.

At mile 8 I saw Brandon, his mom and Miles.  I blew Miles a kiss took some water, Gatorade, and a banana and started walking.  My heart was racing and it felt like I was having a heart attack.  I would run and it would pound out of my chest.  With 4 miles left a guy who was running I think his name was Dave he had twisted his ankle running on Wednesday.  He asked if the marathoners had started coming back as the marathon course is an out and back twice.  Right after he asked the leader came running by.  We ran/walked together for a mile or so.  He said we had 3 miles left and I asked how long we had been running he said it had been an hour and 47 minutes.  My heart sank a little, even though I didn't have any time goals my goal to PR on the course wasn't gonna happen.  He started walking and I kept running.  We wished each other good luck and kept going.   

With a mile left a marathon maniac was running past me and told me it was only mile.  I could do it.  By this point my knee is killing me, my feet are killing me, my body is sore, and I still felt like puking.  We ran for a little bit together and I started walking.  I caught up to a lady and we talked about the hills and the weather.  I started running knowing that this was it.  I saw the finish line and got a huge smile on my face.  I didn't even notice the time.  I WAS DONE!!  I finished got my medal and a sticker and went and laid down on the grass. 

DONE!!

I ate some pumpkin pie and headed home.  It was DONE!  WOOHOO!!  3rd half marathon done!!  

Next week I run a 5k Turkey Trot! Then on the 25th a 5k in KC with Brandon.  Then on December 16th  another 5k then my racing for the year is done!!  I will have surpassed my goal of a race a month.  By the end of this year I will have run 16 races.