It was a miserable day. The weather was very non-runner friendly. With temperatures falling from 52 to 44 during the course of the race, the 10-15 mile an hour winds, the pouring rain, and the moments of hail, I guess they can only get better from here, right? I hope!!
I finished the race with a PR (personal record) of 2 hours and 47 minutes.
Seeing as it's the first time I've ever run 13.1 miles (13.4 based on my GPS), I guess just finishing is a PR!! My original goal, when I was starting my training, was 3 hours and 30 minutes. In the last few weeks I had really hoped that I could get done in 3 hours flat. I thought that 3 hours was going to be pushing it; I was going to have to be on-point to get that done. I really can't believe that I finished 13 minutes less than that. That's about a minute-per-mile faster than my training pace.
Why Oklahoma? Why not? Just kidding! I originally signed up for, and paid for, the Rock & Roll Marathon in Dallas which was March 27th. Unfortunately I got really sick at the beginning of February. That flu and bronchitis hung on for over 4 weeks. When I finally got the go-ahead to get back to my training, I had lost so much ground. I could hardly run 5 miles. There was no way I was going to be ready to run the half in 2 weeks. I had to just put that race behind me, and decide if I wanted to try for another one. I went back and forth for several weeks and tossed around several reasons for and for not running this race in Oklahoma City. Eventually, I just decided I was going to do it, no matter if anyone else went with me.
For the most part I trained and planned to go all alone. My trainer signed up to run, and another friend, Deanna, was planning to run the race with some friends from college, but other than that, it was just me. I can't "run with" either of these ladies.... they are fast!!! Deanna and I rode to Oklahoma City together, and I was really grateful for the company, especially on the long, stiff ride home. I also was very thankful that her Dad chauffeured me around some during the weekend. And most thankful that they found me after the race and gave me a ride back to my hotel with the heater on full blast!
One of the most sweet moments happened the night before when I was alone in my hotel room. Deanna, along with several other ladies I work with, my friends, recorded encouraging messages that I was to sift into my playlist for the run. Unfortunately, I didn't have the ability to get those songs into my iTunes playlist, so I just listened to them the morning of the run. They still made me smile several times during the race as I thought about those kind, funny, energetic, and thoughtful words from my friends. Although I started alone, ran alone, and finished alone, I was never really alone.
Well, it's done. Will I do another? Probably. But not for a while. I've got a few of those other three goals I need to mark off my list. They need to become my focus here in the near future. For now, I'm going to rest for a few weeks, and enjoy my accomplishment.
Deanna and me on the "road trip" to Oklahoma City.
Why Oklahoma? Why not? Just kidding! I originally signed up for, and paid for, the Rock & Roll Marathon in Dallas which was March 27th. Unfortunately I got really sick at the beginning of February. That flu and bronchitis hung on for over 4 weeks. When I finally got the go-ahead to get back to my training, I had lost so much ground. I could hardly run 5 miles. There was no way I was going to be ready to run the half in 2 weeks. I had to just put that race behind me, and decide if I wanted to try for another one. I went back and forth for several weeks and tossed around several reasons for and for not running this race in Oklahoma City. Eventually, I just decided I was going to do it, no matter if anyone else went with me.
For the most part I trained and planned to go all alone. My trainer signed up to run, and another friend, Deanna, was planning to run the race with some friends from college, but other than that, it was just me. I can't "run with" either of these ladies.... they are fast!!! Deanna and I rode to Oklahoma City together, and I was really grateful for the company, especially on the long, stiff ride home. I also was very thankful that her Dad chauffeured me around some during the weekend. And most thankful that they found me after the race and gave me a ride back to my hotel with the heater on full blast!
One of the most sweet moments happened the night before when I was alone in my hotel room. Deanna, along with several other ladies I work with, my friends, recorded encouraging messages that I was to sift into my playlist for the run. Unfortunately, I didn't have the ability to get those songs into my iTunes playlist, so I just listened to them the morning of the run. They still made me smile several times during the race as I thought about those kind, funny, energetic, and thoughtful words from my friends. Although I started alone, ran alone, and finished alone, I was never really alone.
Well, it's done. Will I do another? Probably. But not for a while. I've got a few of those other three goals I need to mark off my list. They need to become my focus here in the near future. For now, I'm going to rest for a few weeks, and enjoy my accomplishment.
Deanna and me on the "road trip" to Oklahoma City.
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