Summary of The Avenue

Alrighty! Here's the summary of my first 1/2 marathon.

We were warned that parking would be limited so we were up at 6AM for 9AM start time. We enjoyed a breakfast of bagels with peanut butter & bananas and a glass of water. The last ditch effort to load out body with good carbs. After several attempts to leave & running back into the room for whatever it is we kept forgetting Melanie & I were on our way to the race.

We arrived, parked & walked the 1/4 mile to the race start and had about 2 hrs to relax, stretch & get nervous. We found some friends and found our teammates. The fog was burning off, the sun shining through the trees. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Coach MamaLisa joined us for a pep talk and our pre-race moments of silence for all our honorees. It was time to head to the starting line. The gun rang and I sent Melanie & Donna on ahead - they run faster than me. The first mile was crowded and full of energy.

At mile 1.5 I saw MamaLisa taping up a teammates leg. We learned that she was pulled from the race due to that injury. I can't imagine the disappointment she must have felt.

The course was beautiful and I enjoyed it most when the pack had thinned out and I could enjoy the light playing through the trees. I felt good.

I was about mile 4 when I saw someone sprinting toward me. The lead runner for the FULL MARATHON was already heading to the finish line (he was actually about 1/3 of the way to his finish line... but still). That was pretty amazing to see.

Mile 5-6 was mostly uphill and I couldn't wait to reach that turnaround. The best part of this section of the race was seeing your friends go past you on the way to the finish. I said hi to Mindy, Melanie, Donna... They informed me I was almost there & that gave me a big boost.

I reached mile 8 and realized I had just passed my longest distance. At mile 9 I still had a smile on my face. I felt great. I was almost to the end.

Then you know what happened? The wall! At mile 11 my legs had reached their limit. My lungs felt good. My mind was sharp. My thighs were burning and wow did my hips want to stop the motion. Now it was mind over matter. Time to talk myself up. Time to remember why I was out there.

My personal honoree - my dad, Bill
My team honorees: Brenda, Cole, Joe, Michael, Vanessa, Adrianna, Kendra
Special requests by friends & family to run in honor of:
Betsy’s sister, Nancy
Kate’s sister, Elizabeth
Sandi’s grandmother, Kinuko
Katie’s grandmother, Ruby
Vicki’s sister, Betsy

I was running for them. My legs had to keep going just 2 more miles.
I hit the 12 mile marker and think I shocked the other guy on the trail when I shouted out an "f-bomb" and I was so sure I was at 13.

Finally mile 13 and the cheers of the TNT team. Gretchen ran a few yards with me to push me to the finish. You have no idea how much I needed that boost right then.

I ran 13.1 miles. I raised $5,400. I did it. I'm off to do it again.