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| That's the kind of sign you get when you are very open with how much you love Jillian Michaels. |
And it was really fun. Are you ready for some play-by-play action of Saturday morning? You better be 'cause it's comin' atcha right now.
Part I at least.
I rolled out of bed and I was - as expected - nervous, excited, and sleepy. Waking up on race morning is surprisingly similar to the feeling of waking up the mornings when I had to hand in a big paper that I stayed up perfecting the night before.
My plan to eat my egg sandwich was only thwarted by the fact that I was not hungry. AT. ALL. While I was pacing around the kitchen and doing bicycle crunches trying to rev my stomach up to be a little bit hungry, Dad says to me, "See, this is the best part about being a guy. I have no problem eating when I'm not hungry."
I compromised with myself and made my egg sandwich while slurping down some coffee, and then brought it to eat in the car on the way to the race. I ate about half of it.
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| Hey guys! Thanks for letting me crash your race day photo! |
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| I know the Capitol is pretty, but look at the pack of runners! |
We managed to get to a 9:00 min/mi for the second and third mile, but it was still crazy crowded. But through the crowds, we were able to spot my mom and Liza!
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| "Hey! Mom! Mom! We're here!" |
And guess what Liza was holding so that I could find her?!?!
Nothing like NICE PANTS to find people in a crowd. Remember?
We made the turn onto Constitution and the course widened out so it seemed as if the pack was going to disperse some. But the stretch on Constitution only went about a mile and a half and then we were all funneled back onto 18th Street.
Then the hills started. But despite the constant up and down for the middle 5 miles, it was a really fun part of the race. Running under Dupont Circle was almost surreal - the band was stationed up on Dupont and there were huge crowds of fans cheering all along the railings as we ran through the tunnel.
The music and the fans gave me a huge adrenaline rush and I really wanted to push our pace around mile 6, but bobbing a weaving through the hoards of runners while still running with my dad was pretty tough.
And then at mile 8, my Crohn's got angry. Like, "Child, please. You're running a half marathon?! You have got to be joking me - just quit it."
Yes my Crohn's got all kinds of sassy with me. Cramping, pain, grumbling.
And I got upset. Like hard to breath upset. In trying to find a bathroom, feeling like I was letting my dad down, and well, running, I got worked up.
I found a bathroom. Took a deep breath, and told my Crohn's to shut up.
It didn't shut up completely, but it shut up enough for me to finish running. At mile 10 we saw my mom and sister again, and I knew seeing them would push us through the last 3 miles.
But as you can see, we were still running with A TON of people. At mile 10. Normally at mile 10 there are a few people to keep me honest, but by then I've at least found my groove. We never found a groove in this race.
After that we trudged through the last 3.1 miles. It was hot (well, comparatively to the weather I trained in), we were tired, and it was crowded.
At mile 12.5 we could see the finish line, and there were crowds all along the fences. But it seemed as though there were silent. And then I got angry. I think something along the lines of, "Let's get a cheer for the runners!" came out of my mouth. I wanted some encouragement, dammit!
As we were making the final bend, my dad stopped and said, "Go without me. I'm having some intestinal issues."
TMI? I talk about this stuff on the blog all the time. Stomach issues are a part of the deal.
I stopped and said something like, "No way, we're finishing together."
And we did!
When I crossed the finish line I wanted to really ham it up and go for a sweet pic. All I got was some crazed contorted faces and the before and after of my ups.
Official finish time: 2:09:41. Not too shabby for all of the angst and bathroom searching. And hey! Dad got a solid PR!
Want some of my analysis of what went down Saturday? Believe me - there has been plenty. Part II is coming up soon!
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| NICE PANTS |
We made the turn onto Constitution and the course widened out so it seemed as if the pack was going to disperse some. But the stretch on Constitution only went about a mile and a half and then we were all funneled back onto 18th Street.
Then the hills started. But despite the constant up and down for the middle 5 miles, it was a really fun part of the race. Running under Dupont Circle was almost surreal - the band was stationed up on Dupont and there were huge crowds of fans cheering all along the railings as we ran through the tunnel.
The music and the fans gave me a huge adrenaline rush and I really wanted to push our pace around mile 6, but bobbing a weaving through the hoards of runners while still running with my dad was pretty tough.
And then at mile 8, my Crohn's got angry. Like, "Child, please. You're running a half marathon?! You have got to be joking me - just quit it."
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| This is me. Looking angsty and running. Hot, I know. As you can see in the right side of the photo, my dad is making sure that I am not going to die. |
And I got upset. Like hard to breath upset. In trying to find a bathroom, feeling like I was letting my dad down, and well, running, I got worked up.
I found a bathroom. Took a deep breath, and told my Crohn's to shut up.
It didn't shut up completely, but it shut up enough for me to finish running. At mile 10 we saw my mom and sister again, and I knew seeing them would push us through the last 3 miles.
But as you can see, we were still running with A TON of people. At mile 10. Normally at mile 10 there are a few people to keep me honest, but by then I've at least found my groove. We never found a groove in this race.
After that we trudged through the last 3.1 miles. It was hot (well, comparatively to the weather I trained in), we were tired, and it was crowded.
At mile 12.5 we could see the finish line, and there were crowds all along the fences. But it seemed as though there were silent. And then I got angry. I think something along the lines of, "Let's get a cheer for the runners!" came out of my mouth. I wanted some encouragement, dammit!
As we were making the final bend, my dad stopped and said, "Go without me. I'm having some intestinal issues."
TMI? I talk about this stuff on the blog all the time. Stomach issues are a part of the deal.
I stopped and said something like, "No way, we're finishing together."
And we did!
When I crossed the finish line I wanted to really ham it up and go for a sweet pic. All I got was some crazed contorted faces and the before and after of my ups.
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| Before. |
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| After. |
Want some of my analysis of what went down Saturday? Believe me - there has been plenty. Part II is coming up soon!
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