Race Day!!

So, you will have to bear with me as I try to put down the events of the day as well as the thoughts we were having throughout the race itself!! First of all, I will start with it was an amazing experience and such a huge accomplishment!!!!! We got up that morning at 4:30 in the morning and were ready to go. Of course, we knew what we would be wearing that day, so we were rady fairly quick that morning and were just a bundle of nerves. We couldn't wait to get there and just get started. The waiting and anticipation was almost too much to handle. We met at Mike's at 5:45 and he was very generous in that he drove us right to the corral in which we would be starting the race. Because he knew his way around town, he dropped us off right at the gate and the parked the car and met up with us. Based on the times we had entered at the time of registration, we started in a particular corral, which meant that the first corral would begin and then a few seconds later, they would release the next corral. So, we weren't all starting at the same time, but we were wearing a marker on our shoes that would provide our start and end time. Again, it was very well organized for that many people. Speaking of people, what an amazing sight!! To look in front of you and see miles of people and then to look behind you and see the same, it was awesome! I couldn't believe we were a part of this, and it was so neat!!!

Before we all got started, we did have a few minor mishaps. Tara and Jeff needed to use the restroom, so they left the corral to go stand in line. Well, long story short, we lost them and didn't think we would find them before the race got started. But, to our surprise, the blue shirts we all had in common came to the rescue. We spotted them in line and they were able to join us before we got started! But, as I was searching for them, I jumped up onto a cement wall and busted my shin...even before the race started. So, it was throbbing for the first few miles, but after a while, I did forget about it. Lastly, Jeff and Tara have both had to wear their headphones while they run, and unfortunately, Jeff broke his right off the bat and didn't have them the entire race, so we were hoping that wouldn't trip him up at all. We knew he would do great either way, and he did!!

So, off we went. We got off to a great start and were running at a good pace. Tara stopped to get a drink at one of the water stations and we thought about it for a while, but then knew we might not be able to tay together the whole time anyway, so we kept going. We felt bad for leaving, but we also talked about it prior to the race that it would be okay if we separated. Shell and I on the other hand, ran side by side the entire time, which was a huge help along the way. When one of us slowed down or needed a break, we were right there for each other every step of the way...literally!! Throughout the race, we did have trouble with the blazing sun and the various hills along the way. We found out later that it was about 20 degrees warmer than it usually was that time of year, and they changed the course this year, which did cause more hills throughout the course. And when I say hills, I guess I should say slight inclines, but even still, any change in ground level was that much more exhausting! Nevertheless, we kept pushing on and as I mentioned previously, the t-shirts were a huge hit. It truly was great motivation to keep us going. Just when we were feeling down, someone would make another comment and it would push us even more. It was so funny to hear all the comments, and we knew then, they were a success and worth the time it took to do it!!

Another huge motivation was the people that were standing along the sidelines. There was not a stretch in the road that didn't have people standing, cheering, motivating and keeping you going. It was amazing the amount of support that was there to help keep you motivated. We didn't know any of these people, but they cheered you on like they were members of your family. It was great!!!! In addition to the people, there were bands along the way as well playing music to help pump you up! Although a little distracting cause we just wanted to stop and dance, it was fun to hear the country music playing every step of the way! About halfway through the race, we did see Terry and Sandy (Tara's parents) on the sidelines, which was really fun! They were taking pictures and tried to get video, although we didn't want to stop just to get filmed! :-) We were on a mission to keep moving as much as we could, although we did have to walk some of the time too! However, it felt great cause we knew we weren't the only ones. People were walking every step of the way.

We had good miles and we had bad miles. We started off strong, and were great for quite a while, and we remember miles 7-9 felt really great too. But, once we hit miles 9-12, it was starting to get pretty painful. We had a hard time staying in sync with each other and when Shell needed to rest, I needed to keep moving and vice versa. However, we stuck it out and wanted to finish strong. So, we did start to slow down until the end of mile 12 and we picked it back up again. We knew we were close to the finish line and wanted to finish strong. The course was layed out so that you wouldn't see the finish line until right at the very end, so when we turned around that last corner, it was within our sights and what a fabulous feeling! We were so close and couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces!! We ran the last stretch and actually grabbed each others hands as we crossed the finish line!!! We did it!! We gave each other a huge hug after we crossed and just couldn't believe it!! Throughout the entire race, there were participants that fell down and couldn't get up, and the paramedics were all over the place helping people, yet we did it all on our own! We started training in January and completed a half marathon on April! We were so glad to be done, but we made it!!!

We saw Sandy immediately after crossing the finish line, so that was really neat. She was able to take our picture right after we finished, which was fantastic! Then, we all filtered through to receive our medals, get out pictures taken, and then get some food at the food tables. You name it, they had it. It was great to get through there and then get some food and water to help keep us hydrated. It was a very long walk to get to the family reunion area, and I was starting to feel a little weak. So, as we were waiting to meet up with everyone else, I did end up having to sit down for a minute. The funny thing was, they handed out salt packets for that very reason. So, I downed a few salt packets and felt better right away. So, that was a great tip and one that helped tremendously. Once everyone got back together, we celebrated for a little while before heading back to the car!!! It was a very long walk, but we were done and it felt great!!! The pictures from the race day are listed below.