God used her quite a bit to help me with the race. Besides sending that text she was also taking us all to the race starting line!!!! It takes a special person to get up that early to help a friend out! The plan was for me to get picked up. I got a text from my ride changing the plans. I didn't wanna drive my car to the trolley stop where everyone was meeting our shuttle driver Michelle for a few reasons. Mostly though because Elizabeth had said at one point this is the last time I will (insert action here) before I am a marathoner. I had parked my car the night before & said this is the last time I will be in my car...etc...didn't wanna mess with my mojo. I opted to walk to the trolley. It is not far but I am very paranoid so walking alone in the dark freaks me out. I didn't make it all the way there before the anxious crew was in the car & picked me up part way there.
Some how I was elected navigator & put as co-pilot. I was so stressed at that point inside I was freaking out & putting a thought together was virtually impossible! & somehow I need to figure out how to get us there. The route I opted for put us dead in traffic going to race shuttle parking. We did maneuver past it luckily & got dropped off a block from the race start. We had an hour or more until the start. We used the potties & took some pics.
I had put my name on my shirt as I was told spectators will cheer for you by name & it helps energize you! I put on the back of my shirt my dedication to my brother!
The marathon girls!
I was anxious to find my running club & get with Stacy whom I was running with. We were near the end of the corrals and I was meeting her (& the whole group) at corral 4. It was not close. It stressed me out to do so much walking pre-race. I knew we had to walk all the way back to 31 where I just came from basically. There was stations set up with bagels, bananas & sport drinks along the way. I grabbed 2 bananas & a water & a bottle of cytomax (sport drink). I ate the bananas & drank the water. I poured the cytomax in my bottle for the race. I was hoping doing sports drink instead of water would help & I knew there was lots of water stations along the route. After we met up with the group we took our race bags & checked them to be sent to the finish line. Along the way we go to watch a flash mob! That was a fun surprise!
Then the waiting started! We got in our corral & waited & waited it ended up taking an hour! The team in training had giant beach balls people were batting around & the kept hitting us in the head! Grrrrrrr my buddy finally popped one & this chick says I can't believe you are ruining people's fun! They had words (I found it amusing) & that helped pass sometime! As we waited that hour the sun came up. It was definitely something we hoped would NOT happen-well the sun is gonna come up BUT we hope for June gloom & overcast skies! This was not the case & the longer we had to wait to start running the more blazing sun we would face!!
I can see the start line!
Stacey (ready to run her 4th marathon) & me the first timer!
Our corral
As we were waiting I was texting my friend Mike who was up & out early to watch me! We was literally at the first turn we take only a 1/4mile or so in. I was excited to have a spectator & also I planned to toss my jacket to him so I didn't have to abandon it pre-race (when we did the half I froze for an hour prior). He says "like a rock star"?! & yes like a rock n roll star I tossed my jacket to him as we passed by!
We started out quick! It seemed like all that driving we did on the route was whizzing by just as fast! I was nervous & freaking out in my head at our pace starting put cause I was scared # about getting up the 163 & #2 tiring out way too quick.
It felt good though & didn't seem like I was pushing myself so I kept at it!
This is at mile 3 or so in Balboa park we had a long way to go!
It was definitely a great vibe throughout the first miles! Everyone was smiling happy & full of energy! As we exited balboa things changed as the half marathoners split off and headed up the 163 & the full marathoners (not so many of us) headed into downtown.
The nice part of downtown was the shade the buildings provided! Also as we reached Petco Park I was greeted by my second set of spectators! My cousin Rebecca, her boyfriend George & Lola her dog! It was so neat to run through Petco Park. I had my runkeeper app on my phone & it was set every five minutes to tell me my current pace & average pace. As it told me I was telling Stacey. We were booking it!! We were about a 10:30 min/mile pace through downtown! As we ran a guy ran next to us congratulated me on my first marathon & told us he was doing his 55th! He ran with us for a while & chatted about his races gave us words of encouragement & then split off! We got to the section I was dreading! The 163 was LONG & a slow climb up it all the way to friars rd! I felt like once I got past this part the race was flat & I just wanted the climb over. It seriously felt like it took forever! Thank God I was with Stacey not that we talked but we were together! I saw some weary discouraged people on BOTH sides ( the half marathoners were on the northbound side). One guy came up to me in his cape & congratulated me on my 1st marathon & gave me a high five!! I think it was moments like that, that Christian was telling me about before the race. To have fun & enjoy it. That is exactly what that goofy guy was doing!
The 163 felt like FOREVER even when I could see Friars Rd we still had to run up to the freeway off ramp a ways away. Once we got off the freeway I felt pretty dang good still. We were almost half way done. We ran into Christian. She asked if we had been takin pictures? Nope...she had us stop for a photo...
I really did not want to stop for anything on the race! From my training runs I felt like if I stopped my knee pain would start. Even when we took the picture I was moving my legs up & down.
When we got half way I was still mentally feeling good but my body was fatigued. & it was HOT! I took the amino vital packet a friend gave me with some water & I swear it helped!!!!
Half way through the race...to be continued
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Location:San Diego
