Run YOUR Race

I just finished my 2nd half marathon on Saturday in Joplin, MO. I signed up for it shortly after my first run in OKC April 25th. I think I was still feeling a surge of adrenaline and wanted to do it again! I can say however that throughout the month of May and the first 2 weeks of June, I began to question my decision. Not because I didn’t want to but because it was HOT and HUMID. Running had become much harder. I didn’t realize how much the heat would affect my ability. And I’m not only referring to running after work in the heat of the day, runs at 5:30 or 6:30 in the morning were more challenging too. I began to question whether my running had gotten worse or if it was strictly weather related. I think it must have been a little bit of both. There were a couple of Saturdays that I was on vacation or something came up where I wasn’t able to run as much as I should have. I debated cancelling this run for several reasons, one because I didn’t feel as prepared as I should have been and two because a couple of days before, rain was in the forecast with 30% chance of thunderstorms the morning of the run. Now I know 30% isn’t a lot so backing out based on weather would have been a bit of an out but I heavily debated it. Anyway I decided to stick to the plan and go and I’m glad that I did. As it turned out, it didn’t rain. It was a nice muggy morning at 81% humidity. :)  Not ideal running weather by any means but doable. When my alarm went off that morning at 5:10, I thought oh crap. I was a little scared because I felt like I was winging it a bit. I hadn’t ran 13 miles since my last run in April so I felt a little insecure. But I had made the commitment to do it so by golly I was going to do it. My Mom had met me in Joplin to support me on my 2nd run. We woke up and got ready and headed to the race. Luckily this race was nothing like OKC. There were approximately 500 participants. Considerably less than OKC. But it was nice because we just drove right up and parked. We didn’t have to worry about traffic or parking. The race was scheduled to begin at 6:30. I lined up with a pace group and began feeling a little ancy because we didn’t get the race going until 6:40. I swear, halfway into my first mile I already felt tired and hot. I thought oh my goodness try to make it through the hard part, run the first 3 and then see how you feel. So I did and like always, I started to feel better as I got into my run. Now that’s not to say that I felt good or great but I was doing it. Mile 5-7 was pretty hilly so I coasted the down hills and walked some of the hard up hills. I didn’t want to burn too much of my energy and strength. I knew I’d need it, especially in this weather. This was a really nice run but nothing like OKC. There weren’t tons of fans and absolutely no fun signs to read, but there were a lot of really nice volunteers. I swear there was someone at every half mile for the entire race to yell out your time and say something encouraging. I don’t think people realize how much an encouraging comment helps. I tried to say thank you to every person who yelled something for me or gave me a smile to keep going. At one point, I ran past a volunteer who said I like your hat! I had to think for a moment that’s right, I’m not in Oklahoma.. She stood up and I saw that she was sitting in an OSU chair. Here we were 2 OSU fans in Joplin Missouri. That brief connection cheered me up even if it was only for a minute or two. I kept trucking along and thought to myself, it sure would be nice if they had some of those misting fans like OKC did right about now but I never saw one. They did however have ice cold towels that you could use and then throw down when you were done. I took advantage of every water stop and every ice cold towel I could get my hands on. I knew with as hot as it was that I needed to, literally needed to be very careful or I might not finish. Miles 8-11 were probably the hardest, as I’d anticipated. I say that but this time even miles 11-13 were quite difficult. Last time adrenaline got me through the last couple miles but this time my adrenaline was lacking. It was at this point that I realized if I can just keep up my pace, I have a chance of beating my time. I didn’t go into this race expecting to beat my time by any means. I mean yes when I initially signed up, I thought it would be great to beat my time, but considering my month leading up to the race, I didn’t expect to. My ultimate goal was to run my own race and finish. No joke, I was less than ¼ of a mile to the finish line and I had to stop and walk again. At this point I was having a hard time, and I knew I needed one more deep breath before I finished this race. So I looked ahead and thought here goes! There were a couple of make it or break it moments in my race and this was one of them. I knew I had to suck it up and finish what I'd set out to do. The finish line became closer and closer and right before I crossed I heard Amanda DeMoss from Tulsa, Oklahoma! This was different and I liked hearing my name. Immediately afterward we were instructed to walk straight up to a volunteer who would cut off our timing chip. I hesitated because for a brief moment, I thought I might yak all over her. But luckily I didn’t. Ha-ha I held my head back and took some deep breaths. I was alright. It was over. The feeling I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I had completed my 2nd half marathon and it felt great! I also beat my previous time which was just icing on the cake. I can’t explain the feeling you get after a race but it’s worth every second of training and every minute of the hard run you've just endured. It’s hard to run but if it’s wasn’t as hard as it is, the sweet just wouldn’t be as sweet. I’m happy with my race and proud of myself for sticking to my commitment. Thank you once again to every single person who has encouraged me to do my best. Your kind words inspire me more than you know.