All Done...Not!

So on only four hours of sleep I headed to the race. I was glad that Christina was driving. I couldn't kick that feeling of being exhausted. I love to watch the dynamics of everything going together for a race. (I can only IMAGINE the stress. I'm sure I felt it when I had to do the ward road show in Cali....little did I know that LOTS of people worked for movie productions, drama companies, etc... Anyways I'm going off on a tangent.)

Of course I was glad to get on our way after standing around. We started off and I heard Sandra say, "We are at a 9:15 pace.) I knew I couldn't start the race off behind. So off I went. I had wrote mile 3, 5, 8, 10 , & 12 on my wrist. It was a good idea. My 3 I hit and was under. My 5 I was pumped up realizing I could actually be able to succeed at my best time. It made me feel like I couldn't give up. Mile 7 I realized that my sleeve from my shirt was rubbing my skin raw! Oh how it hurt! I couldn't figure out how to fix the problem. (Next time I will be wearing a tank top.) It was a beautiful run and I kept having to remind myself to enjoy the beauty. By no means was I having a leisurely run. It was work. I remember thinking too that there was no way I'd be able to run a marathon at this pace, but it's a year away, I could get faster. Mile 10 was the hill. It wasn't by any means as big as I thought it would be. It did pull a lot of my strength out though. I was still under after I hit mile 12. I couldn't believe my goal was within reach. I think at this point I started getting emotional. I had to stop myself from crying. Even now my eyes are getting teary. It's tears of joy. Of hard work. That for months we worked so hard. All those miserable work outs weren't for nothing. Some were enjoyable. But most I would've rather stayed in bed. Especially the ones I had to do by myself. I was glad that I was healthy. That I had bounced back from being sick. I felt emotional too because I knew my friends had invested a lot of time with me. I believed they would be proud of me. I thought of the tri and the joy it brought me to see them cheering me on! This is what it is all about. So I did get a little emotional.

The last mile was the hardest. Especially when I hit 13 and started wondering how come the finish line wasn't there. Then I remembered oh ya .1. I ran across the grass to the finish! I made it!

I about passed out waiting for food. My sugar level was really low. I will have to figure out what to do in the marathon and the next half. It was a lot of fun....and yes I will do it again.

I kinda have that after Christmas feeling. Taking down the calandar, it's over. It's a weird kinda let down feeling. I guess the good thing is I will be getting my next "fix" soon enough. Yes I'm becoming addicted to races. I enjoy watching the people, being with friends, doing my best, improving, and sometimes the rare shock of getting a ribbon.