Our race was November 15, 2009 - the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon.
Oh my goodness - so many people! There were over 30,000 runners in the race so you can imagine the parking and driving nightmares throughout downtown San Antonio. The race started at 7:30am, although we didn't actually start until sometime around 8:20am.
We (Me, Beev and Harold) got to the Alamodome parking lot around 6am. We posed for a few pictures and then got on the shuttle to the start line. Harold decided to ride my bike around the route to catch glimpses of us as we ran the course.
There were so many people at the start line. Wish I had my camera to take pictures while we were running, but didn't want to run 13 miles carrying a camera. This is a very well-organized race: food, drink, music......one thing they need more of: toilet paper! We got there kinda early so we walked around. We went up to the start line to see the elite runners before the race started. We were in corral number 28. I think there were 33 or so corrals. You are assigned a corral based on the length of time you estimate finishing the race. So, we were towards the back. One exciting thing happened before the race: a guy in our corral proposed to his girlfriend right before the race started. She said yes! Everyone clapped and cheered!
The race starts and we don't move. Since we're in the back, it takes us a while to get to the start line. They release each corral about 90 seconds after the previous corral started. So, we didn't actually start until about 8:20 or so. Oh by the way, the weather was TERRIBLE. The only kind of weather we don't run well in is hot and humid. And it was both that day. Humidity was about 95%. Yuck!
We get to the start line and they release our corral. As we begin to run, the announcer guy says "Blazing Turtles in the house!" (We had signs on our shirts to let others know our team name! That was broadcast on the sound system so that was cool. We put our hands up over our heads like champions!
I was already dripping sweat during the first mile and trying not to think about it. We come to the Alamo at about 2 miles and see Harold on the side of the course. He didn't see us at first - so I had to yell to get his attention as we ran by. He saw us and I could tell he was very proud of me - he had a huge smile, and waved and cheered! I'm glad he was there. Oh and that was the last we saw of Harold until we finished the race. He rode my bike around, but never found us on the course again. We met him at the finish line.
We made it 4 miles before we had to stop for a drink and walk for a minute. We had planned on going 6 before stopping, but with the humidity, I really needed water. We really felt refreshed after that, so we started running again pretty soon after that. There were bands and cheerleaders along the course every couple of miles. So that was nice and kept us from getting bored and from concentrating on the pain and on the inevitable question: are we there yet? There were also random people on the sidelines cheering for the runners too and some even cheered for the Blazing Turtles as they read our signs.
We also had purchased a funny shirt to wear on race day. It said "Dear God - Please let there be someone behind me to read this." We got so many comments from other runners as we were running. I'm so glad we decided on those shirts.
Towards the end of the race, I was having to stop and walk often - mainly due to the humidity. But around mile 12 I was ready to run. However, at that mark Beev's knee and foot were hurting because I had made her stop and start again so many times. So, we decided it was better to just walk the last mile than to take the chance of permanently injuring (or at least cause months of physical therapy) Beev's knee and foot. What was weird is that my feet were hurting so bad, that it actually felt better to run than to walk. I never thought would happen, but I was hobbling a little bit as we were walking and my feet felt better when we ran the last 100 yards to the finish line. Weird.
So, we finished strong. I wish our time had been better: 3 hours and 25 minutes (or close to that). We could have done so much better had the weather been nicer. As luck would have it, the next day a cold front came through and it has been nice and cool with low humidity since that day. Oh well!
The race folks gave us a heavy medal right after we finished. That thing is heavy. But it's very cool!
We decided to pay major $$$ to park at the Alamodome - where the race ended. We did this because of the volume of people in the race and all the spectators too. Most people would park at the AT&T center and then take shuttles to the start and then take the shuttle back - from the Alamodome to the AT&T center. We did NOT want to wait in line for a stupid shuttle after we just ran 13.1 miles, so we paid to park at the dome. So, when it was over - we found Harold and then got in the car and went home.
My feet hurt so badly I thought I was going to lose a few toe nails. When I took my shoes off (after we hobbled over to the car), I was delighted to see all nails still attached! Yeah! However, 2 of the nails did turn black (bruised) but I didn't know that until I had my next pedicure and the nail polish was removed. Gross! But at least they didn't come off and that was my only injury!
After the race, we both went home and got cleaned up. I tried to take a nap, but my feet and legs hurt so badly that I couldn't nap. Harold and I met Beev, Brien, and their son, Nick, at Scenic Loop Cafe for a victory dinner! It was very yummy!
I am very proud that we set this goal and then trained so hard to make sure we accomplished it! It took a lot of sacrifice and time to get there, but we did it!!! Yipppeeee!!!!!
Post-Race update:
I still have 1 black nail. And Beev's knee and foot no longer hurt. I took a few weeks off from running, but Beev and I ran for the first time together just the other day. We did 3 miles. I actually missed the running -not so much the running really but the time I get to spend talking with my friend away from the office! We plan to keep running when we can. It's great exercise and fun to do together. Oh - and I have a new goal: triathlons. Not sure how to get to that point yet since I don't have a pool to practice. But, I am starting with a duathlon in February. Duathlon: run, bike, run........ it's a short one. I'll work my way up.
KEEP RUNNING!!!!!
GO BLAZING TURTLES!!!!
- Perry
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