I did not sleep well the night before as nerves keep waking me up. It was a constant back and forth in my head. Could I really run 9 miles? Of course I could, I've run 8 before. Ya, but I wanted to die when I was done. But you are running at a better pace now. Conversations like this went on all night.
Saturday morning we got up and made our way to Birch Bay, checked in and were ready to go. Look how great we look pre-race.
The course was beautiful. The sun was out and the calm bay was amazing. We ran along the bay for a few miles and then headed into the Birch Bay national forest. While running along observing my beautiful surroundings I had a moment I will never for get. We were on about mile 4 and I was feeling great. The sun was out, the thick green trees were beautiful and all you could hear were the birds chirping and the sound of hundreds of feet running along the pavement. No one was talking, but the sound of our shoes on the pavement was overwhelming to me. At that moment I felt a part of something bigger.
Looped back and knew we were half way there. Kristen and I found a couple that ran at the perfect pace and followed them the entire run. Chatted a little with them and thanked them for the great pace.
With about 2 miles left, I noticed that one of my socks was sticking in my shoe. I looked down to see this.
My toes were bleeding so much that they bled through my socks and into the top of my shoe. I could not feel exactly where it was coming from and it did not hurt so I figured I would keep running and deal with it later.
I felt like Dory from Nemo and kept telling myself, "Running, running, just keep running" and before I knew it we had made the last turn with only 1k left. The home stretch included a steep hill, but once you made it up that the finish line was literally 500 feet away. Made it to the top and almost came to a walk when Kristen gave me some quick encouragement to keep running. We did it. Crossed the finish line without ever stopping to walk.
Our goal was to finish in under 2 hours so we were pumped to see our finish time of 1 hour 44 minutes. Crossing the finish line almost brought me to tears as the feeling of self accomplishment overcame me. I never ever would have thought I would be running in 15k's. I DID IT!
Kristen was the perfect running partner. I was so proud of the both of us. I tried to convince her to wear her medallion everywhere she went for the rest of the day, but I don't think it happened. You can bet I sure did. As we were heading out of town I made everyone stop to get a diet coke. The cashier asked about it and I said, "Oh, this this little thing. I just ran a 15k." She did not seem to care, but the guy behind me said congrats.
Jane and Camille were great cheerleaders and fun to see as we were crossing the finish line. Thanks ladies!
Headed back to the car, removed my shoes and found this. Strangely the only source of blood I could find was a little nick on the side of my middle toe from the smaller one.
Felt sore for the rest of the day, but feeling great today. Can't wait to go out Monday for a short run and to get ready for my 1/2 marathon in June. I don't think I could have asked for a better race. Thanks to everyone for all of the support and encouragement along the way. It was a day I will never forget.
4/4/09 - 9.3 miles, 104.23 minutes
