The First Half

Josh Downs and I ran our first half marathon on Saturday with our (great) friends, Jeremy and Coral in Leavenworth, Washington.

We didn't run it together because we all keep different paces, but even if we did run at the same pace, there's just something in me that prefers to go it alone.

A friend just texted and asked how it went and my response was, "Kind of life childbirth - it sucked while I was in the middle of it, but now I want to do it again."

More accurately though, the first two miles were amazing. I just kept looking down at my Garmin watch and seeing a low 8:00 minute pace and thinking, "Wow, I feel great at this pace!"

The next three miles felt pretty great too with an average pace just under 9:00 (8:58 to be exact). I was feeling pretty excited at this point because while my main goal was simply to run the whole race without walking, my this-won't-happen-but-it-would-be-cool-if-it-somehow-did-happen goal was to run the whole race at a sub-9:00 pace, and at mile five, it looked like that might just happen.

As I was coming through the water station just shortly past the five mile marker though, my legs started feeling heavy, my pace started slowing, and I quit feeling amazing. I saw some kids handing out packets of Gu (an energy supplement) and decided to grab one. I had never taken one before, but figured I needed the energy. As soon as I put it in my mouth though, I regretted it - just something about the combination of the gooey texture and the dryness of my mouth that didn't settle well with my stomach. Just as I swallowed it (choked it down), I looked up and saw the only steep hill of the race. By the time I hit the top, my legs were Jello and I felt like I was going to throw up.

By mile six, I was feeling better and regaining some energy, but felt like I had a rock in my shoe. I moved over into the ditch, sat down, pulled my shoe off as quickly as possible and shook it out before putting it back on and starting running again. Within ten steps, I could tell that whatever it was was still there, so I moved over into the ditch again, sat down, ripped off my shoe, pulled off my sock, and groaned upon realizing that what was stuck in my shoe was an enormous blister on the bottom of my foot next to my big toe.

Mile six through eleven felt decent, minus the constant reminder of my (growing) blister every time my left foot hit the ground. I just kept trying to bring my mind back to thankfulness every time it tried to stray to less-than-thankful thoughts...

- I felt thankful for the cool weather, because I'm a weenie when it comes to running in hot weather.

- I felt thankful for legs that (with some training) are willing to run wherever, whenever, and for however long I ask them to, even though I frequently complain about them looking like sausages.

- I felt thankful for the girl in the aqua jacket in front of me who (unknowingly) kept pushing me to run harder (I followed her the entire race, and stopped her just past the finish line to thank her).

- I felt thankful for the varying sights on the course (downtown sidewalks, dirt trails along the river, asphalt roads leading to mountain views, rocky and windy paths through evergreen trees, etc.).

- I felt thankful for the girl behind me who kept murmuring, "JC, JC, JC." I have no clue what "JC" was in her mind, but in my mind, it was a constant reminder of Jesus Christ (and dang, I love that guy).

- I felt thankful to somehow avoid being hit by the non-stop snot rockets this one guy kept shooting (he kept sprinting ahead of me, only to let me pass him again, and again, and again every time he started walking). 

- I felt thankful for a husband and friends who were running the same course with me and encouraging me, even if we weren't running together.

- I felt thankful that after mile 10, each step was taking me further than I had ever run before.

- I felt thankful for (and prayed for) the people who looked like they were struggling just like I was.

- I felt thankful that out of 1580 runners that 1100+ were females (who typically don't blow snot rockets).

- I felt thankful to be running my first half marathon at age 42, even though I spent the bulk of those years hating running.

Near mile 11, the route passed close enough by the finish line that I could see other runners finishing the race. And while that initially brought encouragement, the rocky, sandy terrain, and the pain in my feet was slowing me down enough that I contemplated walking for the first time during the entire race.

I didn't walk (though it's quite possible that I was running slow enough that a fast walker could have passed me) because it seemed absurd to have run for 11 miles of the race, only to walk during the last two.

I just kept running as fast as my body was willing (though lots of people started passing me at this point) because I knew how good it was going to feel to cross the finish line with the knowledge that I had run the whole thing, even if the word 'run' was a bit of an exaggeration.

Just short of the finish line, I saw Josh Downs on the sidelines cheering me on.

And then I used a bit of the crowd-inspired adrenaline to kick it into a faster speed for the final stretch.

And then I passed the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 50 seconds.

And then my husband and I stretched our cramping legs while drinking cup after cup of water, and eating pretzel after pretzel dipped in cups of peanut butter and chocolate.

And then we went back for a second round of even junkier junk food (Red Vines and Cheetos) while laughing about all the horrible things runners eat after a race.

And then we laughed some more when we went to check the preliminary race times and realized that I had accidentally worn Josh's race bib and he had worn mine, which means I was listed as finishing in 152nd place and Josh was listed as finishing in 592nd place.

That's one way (the only way I can think of) for me to beat Josh Downs in a race. 

Comments

[jennifer]

Congrats to both you an Josh. Loved the thankful list while running. Appreciate you sharing it all.

[amyellen]

You Go Girl! You're an inspiration to non-runners such as myself :)

[Kelli Williams]

You are amazing! And the bib thing.... Hilarious!

[DanaL]

So proud of you!! -- xoxo

[Stacey]

Wow! You are a remarkable woman, mom and athlete! You inspire me more than any other person I can think of! Karen...YOU ROCK!

Stacey

[Andrea :)]

Yay, Karen! That is so exciting. Good for you! :)

[Rachel]

Congrats, Karen! Love distance running and all the uninterrupted miles it allows me to spend being thankful and talking to God. And I particularly love seeing my guy, cheering for me at the finish. :)

[Trish]

That's so cool Karen, well done to you! That's an awesome time too.

[Kirsten J]

Hahaha! Love the finish. Good for you....I doubt I could even walk a half. Be so proud!

[Linda]

That is awesome !!! I ran my first half when I was 53, having just begun running for the first time in my life six months prior. I can totally empathize that comparison to childbirth--- parts of it were just plain miserable, yet I did another since and I'm training to do it again this winter. Kudos for tuning the entire thing, too---I do a slow walk/run and it is still so hard at times!! But those pretzels afterwards make it all worthwhile----lol!!

[Linda]

Oops! That was supposed to say "kudos for running". ;-).

[Addie]

Good for you Karen, very inspiring!

[Yolanda]

You finished faster than 1000 other people! Way to go!! I have zero desire to run. But I admire anyone who pushes themselves to do more and go further than they thought they could.

[Gayle]

You should be so proud! I offer encouragement to my sausages as I run trying to remember that they've never failed to carry me wherever I need to go.

[Kili]

Ahhh Karen! Great work! that is so so awesome. You are an inspiration. I need to sign up for a race and get my body back in gear. I have only done a few 5ks since my marathon. I need to do something productive. Good Job beating Josh!