Rock 'N Roll Half-Marathon Relay Race Details Inside:

Oh my goodness!!! I am so proud of myself...I hardly have the words to say how proud I am! This was such a wonderful run! So I will give you a run down of how my morning and race went! 

I woke up at approximately 0500 (no I did not hit the snooze...an impressive feat for me)! I had set everything out for me last night so all I had to do was wake up, dress myself, feed myself and go! 

Everything set out and ready to go!

So I got ready, ate a Chobani yogurt and a couple slices of an apple and a bit of water! Afterwards I went to the bathroom and we were all ready to go a little before 0600...so later than we wanted but that is why we scheduled it the way we had to give us a time limit with extra time built in for any unforeseen delays!

Dressed and ready to go

Traffic was great on our way so we got parked (we parked at the fair grounds where the finish line would be) and then got shuttled over to the starting line! We were there by about 0700!! One hour before beginning! So we all took the opportunity to pee and then found shelter by some large rocks...it was cold and windy so that made just standing around very uncomfortable. So we just chilled out for a while and then about thirty minutes before start we started to stretch and warm up!

Starting to feel the excitement of what is about to happen

David and Elise (they told me they were sick of taking pictures with me and needed pictures of JUST the two of them...RUDE!...JK)

After we warmed up we decided to take one more pee break (aka last minute nerve drizzle) and then it was to corral #3! I think once we got into the corral is when I started to get nervous. I was nervous that I was going to be too slow and that I would get in the way and I said to David, "all these runners look so good!" *in a nervous voice* to which he replied pointing at me, "yes, ALL runners!!!!" So that helped calm me down! And then before we knew it...it was time to get started!! Before we got going we snapped one more "before" picture of all three of us...After the picture David and I took off our sweaters and handed them to Elise and got ready to roll (we were more than ready to run because it was very cold and windy)

As we were getting going David told me that he was getting teary-eyed for me!! :D I had to hold it together so I could start out strong and not become breathless right away! David ran about the first 1/4 mile with me and then he was on his way to rock his run! So with him gone it was a little intimidating initially but I just kept running. I felt a little better about half a mile in when I already saw someone walking and as I passed her I said, "good job." 

A mile in I was surprised when I looked at my watch and it was just past an 11 minute mile! Much faster than my goal pace. My goal starting out was to stay at about 13:20 and to finished in 1:30-1:40! I hadn't stopped running yet and kept up about a 11:45 pace for my next two miles. I made it through my 5K in 37:13...I had planned on walking once I hit my 5K but then there was a middle-aged gentleman (I told him he was doing great but didn't say much else because I didn't want him to feel like he had to talk to me) that was huffing and puffing and then came running alongside me and somehow I just didn't want to stop...I said to myself, "Just make it to mile 4!" Once I passed mile 4 there was another water station and I decided to walk through the station but that didn't even last a minute and I was running again! I just wanted to make it to mile 5 at that point. I was feeling pretty good and my breathing was under control...and before I knew it I was at mile 5! I decided at that point I had run all that way there was no way I wasn't going to run the rest of the way!! The only times I walked from there on out was at the water stations! I made it to my 10K in 1:18:50...shortly after hitting the 10K there was a bout of individuals that came alongside me and gave me some encouraging words! One was a younger guy that said, "you're doing great"...then another gentleman came along side me and said, "keep it up 'hon" and shortly after that a lady came and patted me on the shoulder and said, "way to go girl!' After each of these individuals said something to me I got choked up and shed a few tears, but I couldn't let it get to me too much because when I started to cry I couldn't breathe..so I enjoyed it but then kept going! Those all happened in the matter of a 10 - minute span I would guess! A little after mile 7 a woman with a prosthesis on her left leg passed me and I got so emotional and yelled out, "you go girl!" nothing like that to make you keep pressing on! As I turned the corner past mile 7 I saw where the transition area was for me and Elise to trade-off! I pushed it and tried desperately hard not to cry so I could keep breathing...

So the transition area is where it gets crazy. They're supposed to call out your team race number and your team name so that your teammate can come up and start running. I got to the end and Elise was nowhere to be seen, they were giving me my award and telling me to keep walking so I did...but I hadn't seen Elise! I was very confused because I thought I would have at least seen her before she took off...I thought it would be weird for her to have gone without me seeing her but I didn't see her anywhere else after I walked around for a bit. So I decided I would send her a text just in case that said, "I didn't see you at the transition area, but good luck girl!" I am so glad I sent that text because all the sudden I saw her pop up and book it to the transition area! They would repeat team names if the partner wasn't in the area but they never recalled our team name...Elise felt awful but I honestly think they missed announcing us because I never heard our team called either! So there was a good 10 minutes that we "lost" because of the lack of communication on their part! So we hugged, I took her bag and she went to the transition area and had to explain what happened so she could book it! 

After my run my hips definitely ached, but my knees felt good...it was just a stiff feeling in my hips and groin. So I stretched for a little bit...and of course I had to take a picture..priorities...

Super excited about running 7.1 miles!!!

My watch said 1:31:26 so I was really happy with that, and my phone said my average pace was 12:20!!! Totally rocked my 13:20 goal pace! While Elise was running her half I had to make it to the DART (Dallas transportation bus) so I started walking to the nearest station where I had to take the train to one station and then get off and get on another connecting train to make it back to the fairgrounds where the finishing line was! 

Shortly after I finished I got a text from David saying he had finished his half-marathon!!! WOOOT!!! He rocked his time and finished in 1:52:27!!! I am so proud of him! He did amazing! By the time I got to the fairgrounds I had a feeling Elise would be finishing at any minute, so I found an awesome spot and camped out and waited for her to finish! I was so lucky I got a place where I was able to see her and she was able to see me...but I wasn't able to get my phone out fast enough to snap a picture of her...she just zoomed past me!! She finished her 6 miles in 62 minutes!! David was able to stay in the secure area and wait for her to finish...so they met up at the finish line! 

So we made the most and took advantage of the free giveaways they had...we were given 11 (or 12? I can't remember) Jimmy John's sandwiches, gatorade, powerade protein bars, water, we got a free beer at the end, some chocolate milk, and chia pods! Of course we had to take one more victory picture together...

So happy to be done...trying to keep warm!

It was freezing (really it was like 50 degrees)...it was overcast and windy and hard to keep warm! So after we took advantage of all the free items we could find we had to trek back to the car! With all the walking around we had to do I walk 2.3 miles...almost 10 miles for the day! 

The race was great, my half I had the incline so there were some difficult hills but I just kept running. I didn't want to stop! It seems I have been holding out on myself for quite some time. I had trained to run for 5 minutes and walk for 1 minutes the entire distance! I was even more excited when I came home and looked up my official race time and saw I did the 7.1 miles in 1:28:30!! I beat my goal window!! :D Our official finish time is 2:40:58..but that is not accurate because of the time that passed while our team name hadn't been called so Elise didn't know to come to the transition area...So she ran in 62 minutes so our race time was more like 2:30!! I am super proud of Elise..that is the longest distance she has run without David by her side...and she has a tendency to get overzealous and pushing her pace too early in her runs..so she did awesome keeping her pace under control and pushing it for the last 1/4 mile!!! Both David and Elise really pushed in in the end! I am so proud of them. 

It was a blast doing this..but it was even better it doing it with David and Elise!! I can't wait for my next run! 

Oh, one last picture...I had to capture all of the free loot we got...