Pain is Temporary

Those simple words got me through all 13.1 miles on Sunday.  At around mile 4, I overheard a marathon runner tell his buddy who just ran up that exact phrase when asked how he was doing.  Pain is temporary, he said, and that it's all in between the ears.  SO true.

{Warning - this is a long post with not a ton of pictures}

Let's start at the beginning...
We drove down to San Antonio on Saturday afternoon and headed down to the convention center to get our bibs and of course all fun swag. 

We actually got a cute brooks shirt and a bag that we could check our extra items in the next day.  We got to try some, quite yummy, Chomps from GU.  They were one of the sponsors of the race and handed out packets in our goodie bag.  After we got our fill of freebies, we headed to find our hotel.  We opted to not stay downtown and deal with that insanity.  There was a free shuttle that left from the AT&T center to take participants to the starting line, so we stayed at a sweet (sarcasm) Travelodge Inn that was close by for the evening.  We really only slept in the bed, so I really couldn't complain for $50.  Like all of our trips to San Antonio, we never find what we are looking for on the first try.  I put in the address on Google maps in my phone, and it leads us to a street with no hotel to be seen.  Lovely.  We finally found it under a complete different road name - thanks Google maps! 

Once we finally got settled in, we talked with our friends that were in town as well for the race and planned to meet for dinner.  There wasn't a huge selection around us, but we decided to try a BJ's Brewhouse that was closer to them.  Again, lovely San Antonio.  We drove to the address and nope, didn't exist.  It worked out for the best, because we went to Blue Star Brewery about 15 minutes away that was local and yummy!  We decided to carb up one last time and I got the chicken strips and D got the buffalo chicken sandwich.  Fries, check!  We ended the night with some delicious ice cream from the gas station on the way home.  Lights were out by 9 p.m.

The morning of the race, we got up at 4:30 a.m.  We wanted enough time to wake up and use the facilities before we had to head to the shuttle.  We ate our yummy bars for breakfast.  I had a Cliff Bar, and D had a not so healthy bar, and checked out.  We also each had a Gatorade and some water in the mix.  The AT&T center was packed with cars and people everywhere.  Come to find out there were 30,000 people running this race - HOLY COW - so many people. 

Not the best picture, but this was our excitement for the race!

It was a little chilly in the morning, so we both had on long sleeves and D wore shorts, while I opted for capris.  When we got dropped off, we headed to the starting line, but took a detour at the first port-a-potty site.  We figured we might as well get it all out to start with.  We had about an hour and half to kill, so it was a good move.  Once done, we headed to the starting line.  We were all placed in different corals by our estimated times, and I was in coral 15, while D was in 3.  He obviously is way faster than me.  We grabbed some more free water that was being handed out and looked around a bit.  We started to stretch and just really took it all in.   D needed to head to the bathroom again, so bathroom trip number 2.   We talked about it at dinner the night before, but really it would be horrible to start and have to use the restroom right away.  They have port-a-potties along the way, but who would want to wait in a line and mess with their time?  So after we killed some time, we headed to drop off our bag and our long sleeves, as it was warming up quickly.  As San Antonio always is, humid was in the forecast, as you can see from the fog. 

Had to have someone snap a picture before we parted!

As time went on it started to get super crowded and D decided to head towards his corral, about 30 minutes out.  It was my turn to hit the restroom one last time.  Of course now there was super long lines, which were mixed into some of the corrals.  It took me about 25 minutes to get through the line, but it was worth it.  I headed to my corral, and by the time I made it, they were singing the national anthem and getting the first group ready to go. 

I was definitely starting to get anxious.  I was excited to get started and there were just so many people around it was hard to not feel excited.  I haven't run a race like this ever, so feelings were all over the place.  I really tried to calm myself down and not exert more energy then I needed to.  About 45 minutes after the first group went, my corral got to go.  I actually ended up going with corral 14, but it really didn't matter.  No one really kept with their corrals and people were just mixed with who they wanted to be with. 

As I crossed the start line, it felt so good to finally be running.  I didn't want to go super fast at the beginning because it's so easy to just jump the gun and go way faster than I should have been.  I really tried to pace myself.  I got in a good rhythm and before I knew it, I was at mile marker 2, trucking along.  There was so much going on each mile.  There was a band every mile, cheer groups, family and of course TONS of runners.  Runners were in such good spirit - I saw one guy do a cartwheel in front of the first cheering squad and continue running.  I really was in the thick of it, D had a different experience.  I really started to have a hard time zoning out, which is when I do best. 

At mile 4, I started to struggle with continuing to push forward.  Training for as long as I did, I knew it was coming.  Mile 4 always seems to be troublesome and a hurdle that has to be crossed in order to go a longer distance.  It was nice to hear that reminder, it really is just all in the head.  I re-focused and pushed forward, reminding myself that this really was what I had been training for all this time and I could do this.  I also decided to have my first GU gel experience during mile 4.  I knew it took 15 minutes or so and would last for 45.  The next GU station would be at mile 10, so I thought it would help keep me going - it did. 

It was also around this point that I started to realize that I had someone running by me.  It was very odd to find that someone was running with me or pacing with me.  It was a guy and for the life of me I have no idea who he was.  I thought at first that I was making it up, but when I'd move around people or groups, he was right there with me.  I started to wonder... What is the etiquette for this during a race.  I don't know you guy, come on.  I just let it go and kept moving forward.  Around mile 5, I saw my friend and their running group.  It was nice to actually see her running, since she was the reason we signed up for the race to begin with.

One of the major challenges was the water situation.  My initial goal going into this was to run the entire time and the stations were a mess with water everywhere.  I did my best effort to run and drink water, but not the easiest thing to do.  The miles kept coming along.  The route has so many twists and turns there was hardly a dull moment.  Luckily the race elevation really was pretty flat with just a small hill in between 5-6.

Around mile 8, they were handing out salt packets, and for some reason, I decided to take a little with water.  Looking back, I don't think this was the smartest idea since I wasn't ingesting enough water with it.  Around mile 9, my Nike running app tells me that I'm about to reach my longest distance record... Thanks for the update.  I kept going, but I felt like I was dying and my pace was getting slower and slower.  I made it to mile 10.  I grabbed some more GU that they were handing out and prayed that it would keep me going. 

I really, REALLY wanted to run the whole time.  While I was pushing and pushing I finally hit my wall right before mile 12.  I was SO thirsty (salt packed not a good idea) and there was not a water station in site.  It actually hurt worse to walk.  It was like when you skate or bike for too long and you legs feel like you are still doing that motion when you stop, not fun.  So I actually quickly started running again.  I had a few brief stops, but again just had to keep going.  I kept up my slow pace until I got to the next drink station.  I decided I really should walk though this one and drank 1 cup of the sports drink and 2 cups of water before starting again.  Damn that salt!  After that I really felt SO much better.  I started picking up my pace again and was able to run the rest of the time with no problem.

I had heard the end was deceiving, and just when you think you are done, you are not.  I was prepared.  I picked up my pace just a little and turned the corner to see the largest hill of the race - thanks a alot!!  However, I actually felt great running up the hill and the ridiculous amazing joy of running up to the finish line!!  I was so excited.  I remember having a huge smile on my face and fist pumping at one point!  Makes me laugh, but it really was amazing.

Crossing that line felt so good and immediately after I wanted to fall over and just sit on my butt. :o)  Of course that wasn't an option with the hundreds of people that were lining up.  They immediately handed out cool towels and our super heavy metals for finishing!  Then it was a mess to get through the maze we were in.  It kind of felt like we were cattle being herded.  I grabbed all the drinks and food they set out for us to replenish and was off to find the hubby.  It was a sea of people and I was trying to call him, but no luck.  I just happened to look in a certain direction and there he was.  Of course he was fine since he had been done for over an hour.  He apparently sent me this cute text when he got done, that I didn't see until after.         

 We sat there for about 10 minutes before I attempted to walk again.  It was rough and my legs were super tired.  I stretched them a little and we headed to get our stuff and back on the shuttle.  I was in such a good mood on the way home!!!! 

We both said that we had a good experience for our first 1/2 marathon.  I'd definitely do it again, but I have NO interest in doing the full.  Holy cow.  I know when I hit the split up point, I was thinking there is no way I could go do 13 more miles.  Those people are nuts. :o)

We ended the night with some celebratory beers at the Flying Saucer.  Sorry, not the best picture, but had to document it all.

All in all, I was proud of what I had done.  I wish I could have ran the whole time, but I'm not beating myself up about it.  I honestly didn't have enough time to train the last month and knew I wasn't in quite the shape that I needed to be in. 

My official time that was posted today was 2:33:53.  D's was 1:43:50 - what a B.A.  I'm so proud of us!!!  Here is my unofficial stats from my nike running ap.

Here is my pace - I love that I'm at 7.20 minute miles at my good section and 31.11 minute miles at my worst!

Love B