1/2 Marathon Conquered!

It's been 17 weeks since I started training for the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon and yesterday marked the culmination of the miles I covered, the pain I endured (my poor knees are not very happy with me) and the satisfaction of knowing that I did something that I didn't think I could do. A big shout out to my Trainer Lauren for making me a schedule to follow and for being a good resource for the questions I had along the way as well as my cheerleader from afar.
There were 25,000 people that were signed up for the race and although that number is huge, I wasn't sure what to expect. I started my morning early (4:45 the alarm went off) and needless to say I didn't get much sleep as I was filled with nerves the night before. They were running shuttles (school buses) from downtown so Joe dropped me off down there around 5:30. At first I got in what seemed like the line but as more time went on and more people showed up, it just became chaos with thousands of people trying to get on the buses to get down to the start line. I can navigate large crowds with the best of them and managed to grab a seat pretty easily. It was about a 20 minute drive south of the city down to where the starting area was was. When we arrived all I saw were lines of port-a-potties. My fear of public toilets (and toilets that don't flush) was heightened upon arrival with a gross smell to accompany it. I forgot to mention that the projected forecast for the day was 70 and sunny but at 6 am it was quite cold. My legs were a nice shade of purple and I couldn't help but shiver in my running shorts and tank. After I dropped off my bag at the check-point I went to find my corral number. There were corrals numbered 1-39. When I initially signed up for the race one of the questions they ask is what your projected finish time is going to be. I had no idea so I said 3 hours and 30 minutes. That put me to start out in the "slow pack" at the back of the race in corral #36. The race started at 7 with corral #1. At that time I was in-line for the bathroom which took about 45 minutes. By then I joined my "pack" and started the race at 8am. They stagger start the corrals every 3 minutes so it took a while to go from #1-#36. We started out pretty close together and I was amongst a lot of walkers so it took a while for me to find my pace. There was a huge blown up guitar player over the initial path of the race with the first band playing. We ran on closed off streets, neighborhood streets, along Lake Washington, through a tunnel, and back on closed streets as we made our way to the finish line in front of Quest field downtown. Along the route, bands were playing on small stages, tables were set up with volunteers handing out water and sports drinks, high school cheerleading groups positioned themselves to give a boost, and locals sat in their yards to cheer us on. It was a good route for a beginner like me as there were few hills which was really nice. When I got to mile 7 I started to feel some pain in my knees and feet. Luckily I had these amazing jelly beans (sold at running stores) that I ate which gave me a good burst of energy for the final 4 miles. I had my best time the last four mile leg so I'd like to think the jelly beans along with pure determination to get to the finish line had something to do with it. When we got onto the downtown streets for the last mile and a half, there were people lining the streets cheering everyone on. I crossed the finish line about 10:20 and as soon as I stopped running I was very aware of the hurt in my legs. I felt really good breathing wise and was happy to cross the finish line without stopping anywhere along the way. The finish line area was a sea of runners and friends and family coming to congratulate them. Joe and Sydney were there to meet me. It felt the longest day and it wasn't even noon! We had plans to stay for the concert afterwards but the US soccer game took precedent. We walked to a nearby bar for some post-race lunch and the game. My post-race meal was french toast and let me tell you food never tasted so good! The atmosphere in the bar was fun as everyone was really into the game and more and more fellow racers stumbled in as time went on. After the game, we made our way back home (at this point my legs were so stiff I was walking a little funny) and I was so happy to have a hot shower! After a nap and some down time, we toasted the day with friends and champagne. I feel a good sense of accomplishment and am happy to check off something from my bucket list. I plan on letting my body rest for a bit but may find myself back in my running shoes for pure pleasure (and probably less distance!) :-)