Route 66 Half Marathon

I DID IT, Y'ALL! I REALLY DID IT!

I had several panic attacks the week before but I managed to push through. My husband and I left our house Saturday afternoon and headed to Tulsa. We are not city folk. We do not like traffic. We do not like one way streets or road blocks. We drove around the Expo center for about half an hour before we found a place to park and decided not to pay the meter since we couldn't find it... I told you we're not city folk!!!

After picking up my registration packet we drove around for about an hour looking for a movie theater that was playing Flight. It was a very intense movie! I ate too much popcorn.

Through Him alone!

Dinner was at Olive Garden where I loaded up on spaghetti. And I ate too many bread sticks.

On our way! SO SCARED!

We then headed to my cousin's house where we would be staying for the night. I threw back a couple of Benadryl before bed just to help me sleep. I was SO nervous, it's a miracle I was able to doze off at all. And then I realized I FORGOT MY EAR BUDS AT HOME. I can't run without them!! Luckily my super awesome cousin had a pair and let me borrow them. SHE SAVED MY LIFE! We went to bed and I hastily dozed off...

Shakin' in my  boots. 

My alarm went off at 6:00 and I shot out of bed with a racing heart as nervous as I could possibly be! I brushed my teeth. I put on my clothes. I woke up my husband. I ate a muffin, drank some water, and the we headed off to the race. EEEEK!!!!

Say my prayers!!!!!! 

We parked and paid the metal box that told us we owed it $5. My awesome husband told me he was so proud of me (and that I looked good in my tights..) and we walked to the starting line. People people everywhere!! And everywhere I looked I saw runners who looked 100% more legit than myself. They had these neat belts with water bottles and power bars and gel packs and I was like whaaaaaaat is all this? I don't have a neat waist pack, what am I gonna do?! I can't call myself a runner without a fancy running belt!!

SO COLD. 

And we're off!!! 

Intimidated by all the professional runners and wishing I had brought a pair of gloves, I joined the herd and headed to the start. My husband stayed with me until the very last minute so I could toss him my jacket. I love that man!! Had it not been for him I probably would've had a meltdown.

By the time the race started my fingers were already numb. I wish I would have taken a picture of them--they were solid white.Why didn't I wear gloves!?

The first 3 miles went by pretty fast. I spent most of that time with my hands up my shirt trying to warm them up! There were so many gloves lying on the ground from people tossing them after they got warmed up and I really considered picking a pair up and putting them on... but I didn't. Around mile 3 the feeling had returned in my hands and I finally stopped picturing my fingers falling off from frostbite.

I hit a wall around mile 6. That's a bad feeling considering I wasn't even halfway done! But the spectators cheering everyone on was an ENORMOUS encouragement! I LOVED IT! People were holding signs all over the place. Some were hilarious, like, "Worst. Parade. Ever." and "Kick some asphalt!" I was amazed at how many runners there were, too. The crowd never thinned out at all. There were several water/Gatorade stations throughout the course, and someone was handing out some gel energy packs around mile 8 which was much needed! I hit another wall around mile 10. I knew at that point though that I couldn't stop, not even to walk. My legs were getting stiff already.

When I started this journey I committed myself to giving God all the glory. I promised to trust Him to give me the strength to endure. I even bought a shirt with Philippians 4:13 on it to run in. With a little less than one mile to go I had forgotten all of that. But then, right when I thought I couldn't go any further, a spectator made eye contact with me and shouted, "You can do this! Way to run for the Lord!" I almost started crying right then. He was SO right! I was doing it for Christ and through Him I can do anything! I finished that last mile strong and full of energy. I even sprinted to the finish line :) My time was 2 hours, 16 minutes, 16 seconds. Not bad for a newby who doesn't own a running belt!

I received my medal beaming with pride.

Several hours later, we left Tulsa (after driving around lost for a LONG time... whole other story!) and the only thing I could think about was COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE! My husband took me to IHOP where I ate ALL of my food and drank almost the entire pot of coffee!

By the time we got home every part of my body ached. My poor feet took a beating--I ended up with 6 blisters and a bloody toe. :( My husband informed me, upon seeing my ugly feet, that I was in desperate need of a pedicure! HA! When we got home the heating pad became my best friend.

So there you have it. My half-marathon experience, from start to finish! And to think that when I first started running after my son was born, less than two years ago, I couldn't even go half a mile without stopping.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!