Okay, so I finally have the pics and the time to write up the final installment of my adventure weekend! It's true folks, I ran a half marathon last Saturday, March 27. It was the Zooma Women's Half Marathon at Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, TX. (That's just south of Austin a few miles.)
Anyway, on Friday night after leaving the tennis ranch in New Braunfels, I drove to the hotel that my friends and I booked to be closer to the race since it started at 7:30am the next day! My lovely running mates were Christy VanDerwerken, Leilani Rogers, Esther Perrill and Tannie Smith. We got a deluxe sized room near the airport where we had to park the next morning to be shuttled in to the resort. (Lost Pines didn't have enough parking to accomodate all the runners.) I arrive at the hotel first and got a quick shower and rest (kinda tired from a day in the sun, swinging 50 feet in the air!) The rest of the crew arrived later bringing dinner from Tannie's bro-in-law's italian restaurant. MMMM, pizza, pasta and salad - and so the carbo-loading feast began.
After feasting and getting our gear ready for a 6am departure, we sat around snapping silly pics and laughing. We did get to be before midnight and for the most part we slept pretty soundly. But that 5am alarm still came early. We were ready though. The anticipation was high and we dressed and ate quickly. We all had matching tie-dyed purple t-shirts. We got quite a few compliments during the run about our purple shirts - yeah, we're cool!
Once we had parked in the airport shuttle parking we boarded school buses for the 1/2 hour drive to Lost Pines. It wasn't a very interesting ride, but we were pumped and took some more silly pics.
At the resort we began our pre-race preparations: bathroom break, check-in bags, more pictures, bathroom break, stretching, oh yeah, and one more bathroom break. (Hate to have to stop to pee during the race!)
The race began right on time. There were lots and lots and lots of racers! We positioned ourselves towards the back of the pack, with the theory that it would be better pyschologically to run so we were passing other racers most of the race, rather than being passed. We also committed to staying together for most of the race. Both ideas worked out well. We were able to help pace and encourage each other through the tough hills while we consistently passed other racers.
The weather was perfect! It was overcast for the entire race, but the temperature wasn't bad. In the 50's and 60's with little wind. Perfect for staying cool.
The first half of the race was pretty hilly, but I was glad for the hill training I had done, because the hills didn't make me as nervous as I expected. I ran up most of them and if I stopped to walk, it was only to catch my breath and then I was off again! That felt so good - to know I had trained enough to tackle the course and enjoy it at the same time!
We all kept chatting with one another to make the time pass - we came up with our group name: The PurPeeps (purple shirts, hanging with our peeps). There were plenty of water stations and we passed the half-way mark moving strong. Plus, the hills were pretty much over - yeah!
About mile nine, Leilani was accosted by a bad calf cramp. I ran and walked with her for a while, but unfortunately, the cramp stayed until the end of the race and Leilani fell behind the rest of us trying to walk it out. The last few miles of the race were on the Lost Pines golf course cart trail. We zig-zagged back and forth along the course and were able to keep an eye on each other as we began to space out depending on how much juice we had to make it to the finish line. Tannie and Christy both pulled ahead and made a FAST sprint to the finish line. I came in about a minute after them and then Esther and Leilani. We all received star shaped necklaces instead of finisher medals as we crossed the finish line. My official time was 2:29:34. How awesome is that for my first 1/2 marathon!?
After some time cooling down, we wandered through the sponsors area and grabbed our lunches. We picnicked on a hillside and listened to a live band. Of course there were more silly pictures. After lunch we realized how stiff we were getting (tired muscles and sweaty, salt-crusted bodies). So after one last picture in front of the awesome spring bluebonnets, we boarded the bus back to our car and then onto the hotel room for a quick clean-up.
We checked out and headed home that afternoon. When I got home I realized how stiff and swollen my knees were feeling. Jeremy suggested we grab a spicy bite to eat (apparently the spice helps decrease swelling) and then we returned home and I went straight to bed. It was only 4pm, but I think I deserved to turn in early - don't you?
I'm very happy and impressed with myself to have done this race. Six months ago, I would have said - Never, Never, Never could I do that! Just goes to prove, Never tell yourself Never!
3 comments:
Way to go Kellie! great run!
Yay! You did AWESOME Kellie. It's fun to hear you tell it again! Come see my version when you get a chance. ;)
Thanks for telling all about it. I'm so proud of you. I know it's not an easy thing to do, so way to go. It's so great that you were part of such a fantastic team of women. Are there more 1/2's in the future? You have motivated me to keep it up.
PS Good to know about the spice.
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