I Did The Rock 'n' Roll!

I did it!

I did it! I finished my first half-marathon at the Dodge San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon & 1/2. Mostly, I just wanted to finish, and to accomplish the goal that I had set for myself.

I was feeling really good for what I thought was the first five miles... and then I saw the freakin’ three-mile marker! I hate when that happens.

32,000 Runners

The run was absolutely gorgeous, though, which helps a lot when you’re tired. I think miles 8 – 9 were the hardest, but I knew I was going to finish when I hit the ten mile marker. Somehow, knowing there are only three miles to go helps a lot. I tell myself that I’ve just done ten miles, so I can certainly do three more.

I’ve heard runners talk about the proverbial wall that you hit at some point during a long run. When I saw the mile twelve marker and looked over toward Sea World where the finish line was, and I hoped against hope that somehow I really wouldn’t have to run ALL the way over there, that’s when I hit the wall.

But real runners don’t give up, I reminded myself. I even told myself that I could walk the last mile if I wanted to – a lot of people were walking that last mile. But I was really just ready for the “race” to be over, and so I kept on running!

And the cheerleaders lined along the road are AWESOME! Here are some of the signs they held up to encourage us to keep going:

·         Left Foot, Right Foot, Left Foot (very helpful, in case you somehow forgot what you were doing! I can see how that can happen).

·         Run like you just stole something.

·         Why are all those people following you? (When you’re my age, knowing that people are actually behind you – which means you’re in front of them...yeah, that helps).

·         Run like a Kenyan (I Wish).

·         Mortuary ahead, look alive! (probably the best advice I saw).

·         The end is near (when someone dressed as the grim reaper is holding this sign...).

·         Your feet are hurting because you’re kicking so much ass.

·         That’s not sweat, those are your fat cells crying.

·         Great stamina, call me (for those singles out there).

AND they clap and yell cheers for you as you’re going by.

But the best part of the whole thing? The incredible support I’ve received! My sister Donna carted me all over San Diego. Friends and family tracked my progress on Competitor Wireless, three of my friends (Kirk, Jayme, Angie) say that I’ve inspired them to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll next year!

And I can’t forget the awesome cake. My niece Alyssa spent four hours making a cake from scratch, just for me – isn’t it awesome?! And totally yummy!

On Vacation - Gone Running!

Whew! It’s been a marathon just training for the marathon!! But the time is finally here. I’m leaving tomorrow (Thursday), June 2^nd and returning on June 16^th.

I had hoped to be further along in my fitness, aka Wish-I-Was-Doing-The-Full-Marathon, but at this point I’m happy enough doing the half (13.1 miles).

My main concern is shin splints. Other than that, I’m pretty sure I can drag my butt across the finish line, no matter what. I have four hours to complete it, but I’m hoping I can do it in three. I’m counting on training at 9000 feet to help me run at sea level.

With 30,000 people signed up, you probably won’t see me in the crowd, but I’ll be the one in the green tank top that says, Does This Shirt Make My Butt Look Fast?

I will be checking in, but I am on vacation, so if I don’t respond quickly, I’ll be at the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, or Disney Land, or Sea World, or the San Diego Zoo, or the San Diego Wild Animal Park, or at the beach hanging ten, or at the Colorado River in Yuma laying on a raft with a margarita in my hand.

Wish me luck!

San Diego, here I come!!

10-10-10 AKA Marathon Madness

Barking Mad

What is the significance of 10.10.10?  While I’ve heard that it represents divine intuition and ambition that makes you feel motivated, it must also represent some kind of full-moon madness.  I don’t know if tonight is a full moon, but I don’t feel like howling at it, unless it’s with mad, hysterical laughter for what I’ve just done.  Or I guess I should say half-moon “marathon” madness, because surely I didn’t just sign up for a half marathon of my own free will!?  When I can barely even run two miles! 

So I’ve just got to blame this madness on 10.10.10.  This is another one of those “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast” moments. 

Why, Why, Why, do I always think I can do everything? 

I'm just saying.... I must be barking mad. 

She's a Member of the Zipper Club

Today is my baby’s 28^th birthday – hard to believe that 28 years ago today, I was in immense labor pain and lamenting the fact that I ever wanted children awaiting the birth of my bouncing baby girl.  Happy Birthday, Amber!

But her early life wasn’t so easy.  She was born with two holes in her heart (ventricular septal defect), which grew larger as she did, and required surgery when she was a year old.  Even though she was a cardiac kid, she wanted to run from the beginning.  In her hospital crib, still hooked up to tubes and wires, she ran and fell, ran and fell, from one side of the crib to the other, laughing her head off because she was wobbly and kept falling down.  She learned how to run, before she learned how to walk again, and she did it with such joyous abandon.  She never looked back.  T-ball, little league, gymnastics, soccer, 5K’s, 10K’s, mud runs, marathons and bull riding (the mechanical kind), she’s up for it all!  As you can tell, I love and admire her a lot!  She doesn’t give up.      

Cooling Off at the Mud Run

She joined the Zipper Club, a non-profit, support network for heart patients and their families.  Her only lamentation is that she doesn’t have a vertical zipper scar, but a horizontal zipper scar.  I told her that whichever way she looks at it, she has a zipper.  Hers is sideways, so what!  At the time, it was a new procedure that the cardiac surgeon (Dr. Lamberti) called the Bikini Cut, designed so that she could wear a bikini and most of the scar doesn’t show.  So the first thing she shared at Show-and-Tell in Kindergarten was her scar.  Yep, she lifted her dress right up in front of the class and shared!  She wants her battle wounds to show, LOL. 

The Mud Monster

Un-duct-taping the shoes after the Mud Run

Amber recently finished her first marathon – the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego, and did pretty well considering she made some first-timer mistakes; doughnuts for breakfast, no extra socks, no emergency tissues, and her biggest mistake, pouring water into her shoes because of the heat, and causing massive blisters. She still has scarring four months later. 

So next year, she wants me to run the half-marathon while she runs the full marathon.  She figures we’ll finish about the same time.  Plus, I train at 9200 ft. elevation (so very little oxygen up here!), so running at sea level in San Diego should be an advantage for me.  I envision us running, about to set a record for the Guiness Book of World Records for the fastest half marathon / marathon for a mother and daughter team.  A man runs up to me and tells me that we’re really close to setting a record, and says, “Maam, I’ve been sent here to pace you so you can beat the current world record.  Just follow me and keep up.”  And I sprint off behind him (not the real me, the skinny, healthy, fast me), more than up for the challenge.  You know, sort of like in the movies, when someone’s needed to save the world, and you’re the only one who can do it.  Of course Amber is right on track and doesn’t need a pacer, and we meet near the finish line and cross together, arms linked, with the crowd cheering us on.  Hey!  No laughing!  I can fantasize whatever I want.  This is my blog!!!  Have you never read Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll?!!!  The White Queen says to Alice, “Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”  Well, me too!!! (Thanks for the quote, KelliJ.)

Now back to reality.  If I can ever get past my two-mile hump, I might just do that half marathon next year. 

Happy Birthday, Amber!