PF Chang's Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon 2011

Well, here we go.

I'll start with Saturday at the Expo. The night before, i picked up two friends from the airport who flew in to run the race. Kathy was running her first marathon & Corrie was hitting up her second half marathon.

We got to the Expo around noon on Saturday and it was a complete MADHOUSE. Wall to wall people - have I mentioned i am a wee bit claustrophobic? We stopped by a few booths, i got to meet the lovely Danica from Chic Runner and bought a 13.1 emblem for the ol' Honda.

KG & I rocking the flannel & Elvis wigs.

After the Expo, Kathy wanted to drive part of the marathon course - which unfortunately is not very scenic and quite boring. We drove to the finish line and found a spot to meet up after we got done running.

Later that night we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens so Kathy could take some photos with her new fancy camera, and went to Nello's Pizza for some carb loading.

I managed to sleep ok that night, but woke up at 4am wide awake. The nerves were definitely getting to me. Thanks to Tom, we were able to be dropped off at the start & not have to worry about parking.

Our matching tees. Once a sorority girl, always a sorority girl!

Corrie & I headed off to get Kathy to the start line for the marathon. Like i said, this was Kathy's first marathon. She was pretty nervous, but i just knew she was going to do great. She totally killed it with a time of 4:19!!!

KG getting ready to kick ass in her first marathon!

After Kathy took off, Corrie & I got in line for the porta potties. Let me just say, there is nothing nastier than the porta potties at a race. I mean, i seriously almost vommed when i stepped inside. Ugh. 

We hustled off to Corral 19 and waited for the countdown to start. This race is so huge, it takes a while to cross the start line. The first corral started at 8:30, but we didn't cross the mat until about 9:15. Then it was go time.

First mile, I'm feeling good. I definitely didn't have that "high" like i did last year. The magic of running a half marathon isn't the same when you are doing the second. (At least for me.) The adrenaline that carried me through the first 6 miles last year was definitely not with me. After mile 3, i was already struggling. Talk about disheartening. I mean, after running easy 3 miles so many times in this training process, i just couldn't believe that i was already beginning to shut down. The doubt started to set in and unfortunately, never left.

I was able to see Tom and my friends Ben & Corey at mile 5. I knew at this point a sub 3 was not going to happen. I was sad, but knew that i still had 8 more miles to go & couldn't let myself fall apart.

Giving Corey's "hand" a high five.

And unfortunately, that was the last i saw of them until the very end. They were also at mile 9, but i didn't know they'd be there & didn't look for them. And they never saw me. 8 miles is pretty lonely and long when you have no one to look for!

At this point, i had a lot of people saying how much they loved my shirt and how they were at the part of "hating" running. I knew others would be able to relate to it. :)

Off to meet my doom.

The good thing about this race is that there are plenty of water & cytomax stops along the course. And the support is usually pretty good. You have the bands of course, and the high school cheerleaders who are always great at yelling words of encouragement. And i just LOVE the few people i saw who stood on the corners, obviously just there to support the race as a whole, cheering us on. I made sure to give them a thumbs up or a thank you as i passed.

Like i said, the scenery is pretty boring on this race. But for the most part, it's a flat course.
Until you hit about mile 9.
And then the inclines start and don't really stop til mile 12.
I mean, who's idea of a cruel joke was this?!

Unfortunately i remembered this all too well from last year and it definitely played against me. Looking at my Garmin, i knew my chances for a sub 3 were toast. But i didn't give up. I had to walk, but you better believe i busted my ass walking. My feet were throbbing, my shoulders were tense and i promise you i had a couple of times where i thought "You know, maybe i should just stop. My goal time is gone, who cares."

But i didn't stop.

I kept going. Goal time or not, i was going to keep pushing. I could have broke down & cried & felt sorry for myself. But i just kept thinking "Today was just not your day. But you need to finish."

Finally, mile 13 was in sight. I gave it everything i had and crossed the finish line with my arms up. I opted to not wait in line for the official race photo and instead grabbed a water, cytomax and a frozen Mojo yogurt. (What a GREAT idea to have those!!)

I headed to the meeting spot and found Tom, Ben & Corey. Corrie was right behind us. "Officially" she didn't get her sub 3 because she stopped for the porta potties. But subtract that time & she did!

We found Kathy and took a break on the grass for a bit. It was really starting to warm up at this point; so thankful it held off until AFTER we finished.

The medals were much better this year.

We made the looong walk to Macayo's & they celebrated/i drowned my sorrows in Dos Equis and chips & salsa.

My thoughts about the race.

So, there you have it. At this point in time, i am not thinking about another half marathon. My confidence has definitely been shaken and i need some time to put this race behind me.

I am signed up to do the Lost Dutchman 10k in February, though. I can wrap my head around 6 miles much better than 13 at this point.

Catch you on the flip side.