I'm official!

So the morning didn't start out well. My oatmeal didn't show up until 6:30 and I needed to be out the door at 6:35 so that wasn't going to work. I did cancel it so I better not get charged tomorrow. So I had to improvise breakfast – a bar of some sort that I had gotten free in the mail earlier last week and Accelerade. Joy. Not the best option – no protein other than what's in Accelerade and the calorie count was low. This would come back to bite me in the ass later.

So the weather guys were a little off and one of them who was running got a lot of shit from spectators, Debbie told me later. It started raining – a light sprinkle – at mile 2. By mile 6 it was a downpour – well not quite but it was heavy. I was squeezing water from my skirt and shirt. Joy. Then the rain stopped and the cold Easterly wind came up and I was numb from the neck down.

By now it's mile 12 and I started cramping really bad in my quads. It was now that I wished I had worn tights instead of the skirt – stupid me. But by that time there's no turning back. So I spent a lot of 12-19 walking or stretching or jogging – in that order. After that I was just tight so I walked when I needed and ran when I could.

I did finish officially – which makes me a very happy camper. 6 hours on the nose and I got to run through the Target tunnel and see all these water stops I wasn't even close to last year. :) That was fun. At points I thought to myself, “I don't remember running through this area.” Oh yeah, because I walked more of it last year and I was looking down in shame most of that time.

My first two hours really saved me I think. My first 5 miles were completed in 58:24. Holy shit! I've never run that consistently. The second hour I lost 7 minutes because I walked a bit more here. Then it went down hill. At the point where I officially got kicked off the course last year one of the race guys rode by. I asked how he was and where the Sweep Bus was. He said, “About 2 miles back.” I said, okay. And he said, “I'm assuming you want it to stay back there.” Hell yeah! I don't want to get on that.

So I started doing the math, where I was, how many miles I still had to go, what pace I'd need to stay at or under to stay in front of the sweep bus and still finish officially. That helped my brain keep going, which was good.

Highlights this year:
- Seeing Sean and Becky at mile 4. And Debbie moments later. That was a great boost to my adrenaline...much needed and very grateful.
- The guy at one of the 20 miles (I think 21 but I'm not positive – those all run together when you get to that point) who was playing Irish jigs on a recorder. Suh-weet.
- The EMS lady just before mile 19 who said, “You're just about to the bridge!” And I replied, “Yep, it's all up hill from there!” She laughed and wished me luck.
- Ron, Holly and Ann – all whom I met and walked/ran with at different points on the course. Ron and Holly started out with me, Ron finished just a few minutes before me and I'm praying to God that Holly is okay. She wasn't feeling well at mile 23. I'm not sure if Ann dropped at 19 or not...she mentioned she might, but I'm not sure what she did.
- The spectator lady who said, “You're doing great and your hair still looks good!” at mile 22.
- Trish who ran by me and said, “You're doing a great job, runner.”
- Being called “Blue Lady” all morning in light of my shirt. Maybe I should have put my name on it...I just didn't want to.
- The Obama for President group chanting, "Yes You Can!" That was great and inspired smiles and a few chuckles from my running mates.
- The guy running with both an American flag and POW flag – and they were huge. I don't know how he did it.
- The fact I ran the first 6 miles without stopping to walk at all; the fact I ran up hills I had to walk last year; the fact I finished officially, running across the finish line right at 6:00 and hearing my name called out.
- Debbie seeing me on the big screen (they video the finish line on a big screen for the spectators to watch). I hope I looked okay and not as dead as I felt.
- Stretching afterward with the super cute boy watching me the entire time. I'm sure he was just critiquing my technique. But he was nice eye candy while I was trying to keep my muscles limber.
- Various texts from friends when I finished – finding out Jenna had tracked me the entire time, JG's text while I was running sending me well wishes of the Force being with me, and others.

So after I ran and stretched, Debbie took me back to the hotel to shower, ice and change. We went to Major's for dinner and I had super yummy tilapia with lots of veggies. Yum. No beer this year though. I'm sticking with water (and maybe a chai tomorrow) for a few days.

Then I waddled to the Guthrie. Waddled, I say, because Debbie commented how you can really tell who ran today – because they have a very distinctive walk. I debated on going because I'd be sitting for so long, but I did anyway. I continued to stretch out my legs during the performance as well as I could. I am in the front row so I have room to stretch, but I was trying not to be annoying to my row mates. I went up stairs at intermission and I discovered it's easier to go up than down on stairs when your ankles are hurting like no other (not to mention your quads and knees).

The play was freakin' awesome. “A View from the Bridge” by Arthur Miller. It was really awesome, intense and emotional. I loved it and I'm really glad I went.

Now I'm back in my hated Hilton room and took a cool bath to try to ease my muscles...it didn't really work, so I'm going to bed. I'm tired and it's a busy day tomorrow.