Finishing the Mardi Gras Half

So...where did I leave off?  Mile 8ish was really hard until I saw Team Hoyt.  Seeing them didn't make the running easier, but it took my mind away from what I was feeling (physically speaking).  I went back to watching people, reading signs, cheering the crowd and thanking volunteers.

When I passed over the 10 mile mat, I cheered for myself because I had no doubts at that point I would finish well.  I only had a 5K to run.  I told myself I was nice and warmed up for my 5K race and I could turn up the speed now....or maybe I would wait until I got to mile 12.  About that time a woman said, "HOLY *&$@, WE JUST RAN 10 MILES!!"  I had to laugh.  We got to talking and I found out this was her first half and she had never run this far before.  She owns a gym in north Louisiana and leads groups similar to No Boundaries.  Most of the people in her group are straight off the couch, working on running their first 5K.  She was FULL of way more energy than she should have been at mile 10.  She asked me what I thought about her turning up her speed.  I told her she really did have a lot of energy, but my honest opinion (which was worth nothing since I didn't know anything about her) was that she should wait just a little longer to pick it up, then kick in a sprint the last little bit.  At the same time, she could slowly increase from here on out.

She opted for the latter, and I opted to stay with her.  My pace went steadily down throughout miles 11, 12, 13 and the finish.  However, I went from being happy and chatty, cheering spectators and thanking volunteers to a non-speaking heavy breather.  Mile 11 was spent speaking in short phrases.  Mile 12 was spent focusing on breathing and picking my knees up--FORM, FORM, FORM...BREATHE.  Thankfully my new found friend still had the energy to chat it up!!  When the "conversation" died--because I lost my ability to hold up my end--we were joined by another girl who asked us to please keep talking because she was using our chat to keep herself going.  She said she had opted to wait in the port-o-potty lines in the beginning like I did so she was one of the last people to start.  This was her first half.  She had spent the entire race trying to catch up to her training group (who started a few corrals ahead of her).  She had passed a few of them, but still hadn't met up with the bulk of her group.  She said all this in phrases, but much longer strings of words than I could form.  I knew she already had a better time than I did and obviously had more energy left than I did.

Around mile 12.5 I told them they obviously had more in their tanks than I did and they should go on without me, pick up their pace because the race was almost over and they both wanted to give it all they had.  They tried to get me to hang with them...but I knew I was holding them back so I told them to press on.  I thought about trying to keep them in sight and throw in my kick at the end...but I was running on fumes by that point.  Once they were out of sight (which took mere seconds) my pace dropped a bit.  I knew I only had less than half a mile to go...but I seriously didn't know if I would make it!!  I started telling myself...it's less than six minutes.  You can do anything for six minutes...and this is less.

And...then...I saw them.  The "GO Friend" girls!!  I tried to smile and cheer my "friends"...but all I could think was "don't puke in front of all these people before you even make to the finish!"  Then I saw the "RUN Kay-Kay! ALMOST THERE" guy. (Knowing it was an investment that would "certainly" yield a return) I mustered every ounce of energy I had  and screamed to be heard over all the cheering, "YES, I AM ALMOST THERE!!! I AM!!"  That carried me all of about half a tenth of a mile of a mile.  My mind started playing tricks on me, telling my body it wasn't going to make it.  Things like "the finish line is too far away..." and "what do you think you are doing out here" and "you know you aren't going to make it" kept playing over and over. 

I was out of "tricks".  Cheering the crowd wasn't working (much less happening), there wasn't enough time for Gu, I couldn't even remember what form was much less focus on it, I couldn't "disassociate" because leaving my body took more energy than what I had left!! 

And then I saw HIM.  My husband.  His bald head.  His goatee.  His big ole smile.  He cheered for me.  I looked at him and prayed I wouldn't throw up because he had the camera pointed at me!!  I wanted to smile at him, I just couldn't.  But seeing him and knowing my daughter (and her friend) where close by infused me with the little bit of strength I needed to get to the finish line.   As soon as I saw it, a guy in a purple shirt FLEW past me sprinting for the finish.  I wasn't very nice to him in my mind.  So sorry guy in the purple shirt.  But, somehow I found a reserve I didn't know I had and kicked in my own burst for the finish!!  (I finished with a pace of 6:45!!) 

2:19:14.  An almost 20 minute PR.

A volunteer put a medal around my neck, I had my picture taken (and had recovered enough to pose!)...and started looking for food.  I LOVE post race bananas!!  Seriously, I do.  That's when I finally saw my daughter and her friend.  They had seen me cross the finish line...my daughter was so excited I had broken 2:20...and so proud of me that it didn't matter her friend still couldn't understand why all these people would run a race they had no chance of winning!

We spent the day walking around New Orleans (which I think seriously helped me not be sore)...and EATING fantastic food.  I allowed myself to have what ever I wanted to the rest of the trip--crawfish and cheese, gumbo, biegnets, ice cream, Aunt Sally's pralines, BREAD!!!  Thankfully the "hangover" wasn't as bad as I feared it would be.  A week later I would say it wasn't worth it, but it sure felt like it was at the time that good food was going in my mouth!

The whole trip was amazing.  The apartment we rented, the neighborhood, the race, the food.  I have loved New Orleans since the first time I visited (about 25 years ago).  There's no doubt they are going to be feeling the effects of Katrina for years to come, and may not ever fully recover without some scars...but the town has an artesian well of spirit that will not ever run dry, no matter how much water is dumped on them.  I think I was somehow able to tap into that spirit at the finish line!!

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon.  (I'll post pictures soon.)  :D

Where'd You Get Those Beads??

I can't believe it's been two weeks since the Mardi Gras Half.  Time flies.

A year ago I was worried about trying to run 3.1 miles without walking.  Mercifully that race was shortened down to 1.6 miles or I never would have made it...and even then it took me 19 minutes and 41 seconds to get it done (an average pace of 11:51).  In New Orleans I ran 13.1 miles in 2:19:14 (average pace of 10:38).  I'm not writing that to brag, I'm writing that to remember!!  Wow.  I really did that.

I went into the race believing I would either not be able to finish, or end up walking.  I had made peace with anything that might happen, knowing I had not run enough miles to feel properly prepared.  At the same time, I wanted to run the whole thing.  Even though there were a lot of my friends at the same race, I intentionally didn't meet up with anyone at the start.  I wanted to simply run my own race and see what would happen.

We walked to the start from the apartment we rented.  Although it was only a couple of miles away, it took us a LONG time to get over there.  It was such a beautiful morning we stopped several times to take pictures.  I knew it was chip timed, so I decided before hand to just NOT stress about anything-even if I was the last person to cross the start line, that's when my time would begin.  I was glad for that when I saw the lines for the port-o-potties!!  Holy blue water, Batman--the day before at the expo I made a remark about there being plenty of them...boy was I wrong!!  Long story short, I didn't cross the start line until about 30 minutes after the horn blew!  But, I sure didn't have to stop along the way!  (Very good decision to continue to wait in that line!)

When I registered I guessed at my finish time (2:20---how close was that, huh?) so I was assigned the 14th coral, however, I really started with 19/20.  I can't say how much I appreciate a staggered start.  Even though I started pretty far back in the pack, with walkers and a lot of "intervalers" I really didn't have a hard time dodging people at all.  I did pass A LOT of people along the way, and played leap-run/walker with a lot of people, but there was only one time in the whole 13.1 miles that I had an issue with being stopped by someone in front of me--and that was at a water table.  I think, overall, it was a very well-run event.

I had signed up for runner tracking-something RnR does where they text people (who you put on a list beforehand) with your splits at 5k, 10k, 10 mile and then the finish.  I also wore my phone and had set up my "Map My Fitness" app to tweet my mile splits.  As I was running I had the sense that all "my people" would be "watching" me so the few times I wanted to slow down I kept on going so I wouldn't let anyone down.  The truth is, no one who was "watching" cared even a fraction of what I cared.  I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean I would have been the only one "let down" if I had slowed.  However, the feeling of having a personal audience was very motivating!!

One of these days I want to wear a video camera on my head so I can capture the entirety of a race.  I just don't have the mental capacity to remember all that I would like to after I'm done running.  There were costumes, and signs, and people I saw along the route that added so much to the already amazing experience of running 13.1 miles in New Orleans....but I just can't independently recall them all.  There were several people with signs who somehow made it to several points along the route.  The course was NOT spectator friendly...my guess is that was somewhat intentional so they could manage traffic a bit.  But, because of that I didn't expect to see my family at all until the finish.  So, seeing the same couple of groups of people several times on the course brightened my run immensely (probably more than seeing a bunch of strangers should).  The reason I think it helped was because of my inclination to cheer the spectators as much as (sometimes more than) they cheer the random runners!

One group had a sign that said something like "Run Kay-Kay! ALMOST THERE!!".  The funniest thing about that sign?  The first time I saw it was about mile THREE!!  I yelled out, "I sure wish I was Kay-Kay!!"  I said pretty much the same things when I saw them at miles 7 and 10!!  But when I saw them at mile 13, I just about cried and yelled out as loud as I could "YES!!! I AM ALMOST THERE!!".  Another group had a sign cheering on three different people (Go Julie, Go Sally, Go Barbie....) and they had added "Go FRIEND"!  I cheered my heart out saying "HEY THERE FRIEND!!  IT'S ME--I'M 'FRIEND'!!!"  They loved it and cheered their hearts out for me.  Seeing them three more times really was like seeing my good buddies out there cheering for me!!


But, those weren't the best two signs I saw.  One of my favorites was held by someone having what looked like a big party in her front yard.  Let me back up just a minute....the roads we were running on were completely closed.  They had posted signs stating they were going to be closed, and there would be NO street parking the day of the race.  If you've ever been to NOLA you know that parking is a premium....and EVERYONE parks on the street.  The partyer's sign...."I got my car towed for YOU!!"  There were about 5-7 people out there drinking (at 8ish a.m.) and cheering for all of us as we ran by.  I couldn't help it, I had to tell her thank you!!!!  She wasn't mad, she was happy and yelled back "you're welcome!!!".  It was awesome.

But I think my favorite was a sign held by a little boy that same something like "GO complete stranger GO!!"  I cheered for him and said "Thank you for being out here cheering for ME!!!"

There were spectators the ENTIRE route.  I loved every minute.  But...the best moment came when I unexpectedly saw MY family!!!  Because they had been getting my tweets, they knew exactly where I was and were able to catch me at about mile eight (maybe?).  I almost broke down crying I was so happy to see them out there!!  I didn't see them again until the finish line...but by that point I was running on fumes and couldn't even muster enough enthusiasm to smile.  (In fact I was praying I would throw up because I saw my husband holding the camera up taking video and I didn't want THAT captured on film!)

I took some Gu with me, and more or less forced myself to take one about every 40 minutes.  I like them, but at the same time I always get worried about ...intestinal distress...  Let me just tell you...if there was any doubt in my mind if Gu makes a difference, this race wiped it out completely.  I could feel myself wearing down but a few minutes after taking the Gu (5 or so), I had a noticeably renewed pep in my step!  I also made sure to take in fluid.  I stopped only one time at a water table...the other times I ran by someone holding out a cup and filled my Amphipod.  The one time I stopped was because there wasn't a person holding a cup, so I had to go to the table, and I ended up getting a little boxed in.  I added 1/2 a Nuun tablet to very other bottle of water.

Mile eight was hard.  I can't quite put my finger on why, but I kept mentally counting...8-9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13.1.   Over and over and over until I heard music.  At first I thought it was coming from the French Market, but I kept hearing it long after we had passed that area.  Even though it was getting louder I knew it wasn't one of the bands who dotted the race course, because it was radio type music, not live type music.  Then I saw where it was coming from....Team Hoyt.  (At least I'm pretty sure that's who it was-not like I interviewed them as I was running, but people around me were talking, saying that's who it was.  But, that race is not on their calendar, and neither of their names appear on the results page...so I can't be completely sure.  But if it wasn't them, they have twins.)  For anyone who hasn't seen any of the videos, grab the tissue and watch their story below (don't forget to pause the music player before you press play on the video).  I'll finish my race recap in the next post because there's no way I can follow this!!  (The first five minutes is their story from the Today Show...the second five is a video.  It's worth 10 minutes of your time-you're life will be touched.)

"The Joy that is Running"

Do the work. Do the analysis. But feel your run. Feel your race. Feel the joy that is running.

Kara Goucher, American long-distance runner

I felt the joy Sunday at the Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans, LA.  When I sat down to write about running the race "by feel", and saw this quote, I couldn't help but smile.

I was very nervous, as usual, before the race on Sunday.  I hadn't trained like I should have.  Seriously.  It seems everyone says that, but I had only done one 10 mile run, and that was over a month ago.  My weekly running miles have not been more than 20 (and usually more like 15), other than maybe two weeks, for the last several months.  Yes, I have been swimming, and have been on the bike a few times, but that is not the same as running miles.

When I planned out my training calendar, I set reasonable weekly mileage goals and planned out my workouts, but it seems I don't really adhere to a plan very well.  I had also set A, B and C goals.  (A-sub 2:15, B-2:20, C-2:30)  When Sunday morning rolled around I had decided, given my lack of sticking to my training schedule, I would also toss out the goals just to be fair to myself.  I decided to simply run by feel, make it an enjoyable experience, and see where that got me (even if that meant not finishing the race, or walking).

I pretty much stuck to that plan, if you can call not having a set plan "a plan".  Other than not having my usual running buddies with me, I have to say that was one of the most enjoyable runs of my life!!  I ran for a solid TWO HOURS AND NINETEEN MINUTES at a remarkably steady pace (until the last mile which I sped up a good 30 seconds!).   Every time I started to think about the run (What time will I finish? Can I speed up?  Do I need a Gu?  Is that a pain?  Will I be hurt tomorrow?) I made a decision to just keep running and stop thinking (except when it came to Gu--I made sure to take in fuel and drink water).

As the quote said, I felt my race run (I was NOT "racing").  It was a struggle because my mind has a hard time being quiet.  (If my husband is reading, he is now seriously laughing out loud.)

****

As I write this, I'm sitting in Starbucks watching a mother and her small son.  From the moment they walked in, he has been talking non-stop.  Excited, exuberant, demanding...loud.  She tried giving him something to eat; that didn't quiet him.  She tried giving him something to look at ("look at those big machines out the window"); that didn't work.  She tried distracting him with toys; that didn't work.  As I was writing, and blocking out the noise (albeit cute noise), I didn't even realize it had stopped.  She gave him her iPod and earphones.  Given the way he is intently looking at the screen, it's some kind of video.  She has relaxed and is reading her kindle, sipping her coffee.

...until five minutes have passed and we all hear, "MAKE IT TALK AGAIN MOMMA!!!"

The place is full of noise and activity and music and conversation.  The boy isn't bothering anyone and is incredibly cute, but he is keeping Momma from reading and sipping.  She calmly tells him it's time to go.  ((Not in an exasperated way, not in an annoyed way...just in a matter of fact way, as if she were planning to leave at this time all along... although I have the feeling if he'd continued to have been occupied, she'd have sipped and read much longer.))

She puts the earphone and iPod away.  She tosses the uneaten portion of his muffin in the bag and sweeps up the million fallen crumbs.  She wipes up the spilled milk.  She packs up the toys and leads him out the door...both of them smiling from ear to ear, holding hands.

That is a perfect illustration for my run on Sunday...I spent more time quieting the child that is my mind than I did reading and sipping my coffee.  But we both (my mind and my body) ended the run smiling and happy and knowing completely "the joy that is running".

Thanks for stopping in, come again soon....I should have a full recap written soon!
:D