My 1st Half Marathon

By Twinkles 10-12-13

So many of you know that Cathi (Iggy) and I (Twinkles) ran the ING Half Marathon on Saturday and we survived!  I have to say that this is probably the absolute last thing I thought I would be doing if you had asked me a year ago.  Anyway……we have been running together for a year, we have done many 5k races, we ran The Bimbler’s Bash and worked on a training plan for the Half.  I felt we were fairly well prepared.

The morning of the race I woke up at 5:00 a.m. very excited.  Iggy and I were meeting at 6:15 and heading up to Hartford.  I had a good healthy breakfast (scrambled egg on wheat toast) and some liquid.  We met at our destination but I was 5 minutes late which would later prove significant.

We hit Route 79 at race car speed.  Iggy in the lead and me trying to keep her headlights in view since I had no idea where to go once we reached Hartford.  We literally were flying and I was very nervous about getting pulled over.  We did pass a police officer somewhere along our route but we managed to get by him without incident.

We made it to the Capitol Avenue exit and bam!  Gridlock……we were not moving.  By this time it is 7:00 a.m.  We crawl like snails off the exit and I watch the clock tick by the minutes knowing that we still needed to walk from the parking lot and I desperately needed to pee.  We decided to attach our numbers while we crept toward the parking lot and that did end up being a time saver.  We made it to the lot and quickly walked the two blocks to the park.  The site that met my eyes literally put me in shock.  The lines to the porta potties were unbelievably long and it was now about 7:35.  We grabbed a line and hoped we picked the right one.  There was no way I could start this race with a full bladder and Iggy agreed with me.  Turns out we picked the line with the most polite and timid runners who refused to be aggressive when a door opened up.  At this point I’m yelling “Go, go, go” and “hurry up people” to complete strangers.  We still had about 8 people in front of us and it was now about 7:50.  Finally got in and got out and Iggy and I ran across the park to start.  It seemed like we were in the very back of the line but people did pile in behind us……….more people from the porta potties I’m sure.

Then we were off.  I had taken half a GU about 15 minutes prior and felt hydrated and fueled.  The day could not have been more perfect.  Sunny, breezy and temps in the 60’s.  I had my throw away shirt on and threw it away about 10 steps in the race.  We couldn’t have asked for a better day.  The beginning of the race was pretty exhilarating.  I was really feeling the adrenaline and our pace was comfortable.  We agreed to stop at every aid station for liquids and that was extremely helpful.

Running by all the spectators was just amazing.  We had the young families, the shop keepers, the firemen, the senior citizens, etc. all cheering for us.  We saw encouraging signs like “ You Can Do It Complete Stranger” to signs that made me laugh “Worst Parade Ever” to signs that left me confused “Run Like Channing Tatum Is At The Finish Line”…. who?  Guess that shows my age……anyway, the crowd support was just amazing, constant and so much fun.

What was also tons of fun was dodging the prevalent road kill.  I mean seriously…….Hartford and West Hartford know they are hosting a major race and they can’t clean up the road kill in advance?  It became somewhat of a game to jump over or go around the dead animals while at the same time shouting out “Road Kill” for all about to approach.

So Iggy and I hydrated at each aid station and I ate a few chews.  I was very leery about taking in anymore GU since my body wasn’t really used to GU and I had read some horror stories online about certain gastrointestinal issues that GU can cause.  Not taking any more GU may have been a big mistake but I wouldn’t learn that until mile 8.

Iggy and I cruised along; thank goodness the course is relatively flat.  We high fived at every mile, we dedicated each mile to people near and dear to us (leaving the last mile to Iggy and Twink).  We made it through the halfway mark and then we got to mile 8 and Twink hit the wall.  Each step felt like it was definitely going to be my last, my responses to Iggy turned into grunts and nods, my high fives were more like wet, sweaty, sticky noodles (why were my hands to sticky)?  I’m thinking to myself that there is no way I can run 5 more miles.

Somehow I got through and it really came down to Iggy and her amazing energy that day.  She talked me through this rough patch and never showed frustration that I was slowing her down.  Somehow seeing the city in front of me and hearing the people on the street say “just run down the hill, turn right and you are done” allowed me to gather enough energy to power through.  Iggy and I crossed the finish line together at 2 hours, 40 minutes.

We came over the finish line and I immediately got my silver blanket.  I was already feeling cold and then I became extremely dizzy and lightheaded and had to sit down on the curb.  I took a few steps and had to sit down again.  Made it through the exit and received our water bottle, goodie bag and 100 lb medal and again I had to sit down.  We managed to find a spot on the grass and we sucked our Dole fruit cup from our goodie bag.  The Dole photo girl asked to take our photo during my mini body collapse but we gave her our best smile and held our fruit cups up and posed.  Finally worked up enough courage to try and walk around and once again, I had to sit (then lie) down to avoid fainting.  I was getting so frustrated with myself and wondering why it was taking so long for this after shock to go away.  I really wanted to mingle with the other runners, get our race meal and even shop for some schwag but that was not to be.  I finally felt well enough to walk to my car with Iggy by my side.  I was never so happy to sit in my car as I was at that point.  I had been dreaming of it during the race.

By this time I felt almost 100% and wanted to head out.  I was so proud of myself and Cathi and I know she added to her time to stick with me and that was crucial.  I know I could not have finished without her.  Congratulations to those of you who ran the full marathon.  I would have loved to have been there to watch you finish your race.  Maybe next year?  (Did I just say that)?