The weather SUCKED! It rained all night and just stopped as we got to Publix to get on the shuttle. It was 50 degrees and freezing. The winds were around 20mph. I dressed in capris, a long sleeve under my Run Molly Run shirt, arm warmers, and I had a jacket and hat on. I knew I would discard those with Regina at the first mile. It was so hard to keep warm at the beginning. Finally I made my way to the start area. I couldn't find the pace markers. I thought I might have been too far back so I moved up. Then I saw that I was in the 9 min pace area. Oops. Too late to change.
Someone sang the National Anthem and then they fired the gun. We were off! I had gone about a minute or so when I heard my phone ringing. I looked and it was a number I didn't know but recognized. Bill! He was calling to wish me well but didn't realize we had started. I wouldn't have answered the phone for anyone else.
So I pressed on and surprised Regina. She was overwhelmed by all the runners that she didn't really see me until I had passed. I thought I was at a good pace and tried not to go too fast. I kept it up and made it to the 6 mile point at 1:01. I'm still wondering if I'll get that sub-60 10k. The headwinds were really strong on the way out and I was looking forward to a boost on the way back. We got to Gulf Place and did the turn around. All of a sudden the winds were variable and felt like a headwind most of the way back! Grr.
I slowed a little around mile 8. I'm not sure why, as I don't remember anything specific there. I picked the pace back up again as I realized that I was on DBR pace (the Garmin had me at 9.45 miles at 1:36). From that point it was one foot in front of the other as I pressed on to the end.
I saw Regina and waved. I made sure to get all the way over the edge of the road so she'd see me. She was on the phone. As I got near her she held the phone out. I knew Bill was on the other end but unfortunately with the wind noise and the crowd I didn't hear him. It was super awesome to know he was on the phone and that gave me some more oomph to make it. The guys behind me asked if she was giving me the phone and I said that it was my husband calling from AFG to cheer me on. They were impressed. I was smiling!
Then I saw the familiar sites: the wine bar (I wanted to stop there) and the cuteness of Watercolor and Seaside. Then I heard the music and saw the finish line banner. I put everything else I had into that final two tenths. It paid off!
As I came under the banner I looked at the clock and it said 2:13:56! My Garmin read 2:13:12! I can't believe I did it! My pace averaged 10:08 and I came in under my stretch goal of 2:15. I was realistically going for 2:20 to 2:22. But you have to have a stretch goal and 2:15 it was. For anyone keeping track, today's time is 15:04 faster than my Disney Half!
After I got through the chute and got my medal I went in and got a banana and had my official finisher picture taken. Then I wandered and asked the first person I saw with a beer where I could get one. I went to the beer truck and started replenishing the carbs. Bill called me and we talked for a few minutes. He is so proud of me and is amazed by my performance today! I loved that he was there at the start, near the end, and at the end. That was just great!
When I hung up with him I called Coach Mark. I got his voicemail and figured it was because he was on some crazy Ironman workout. Turns out he was, a 120 mile bike ride. I left the details in the message and he called me this afternoon to get a recap. He was also so proud of me and excited for me. He told me that he doesn't care how many bottles of wine I have today as long as I take care of my legs. It's a deal! Then he said he was going to call Coach John to share the news. Sure enough, a few minutes later Coach John posted on FB about my accomplishments:
Here I am after the race. Regina took the picture when she got back from calling the times. I wasn't able to smile as much as I wanted to because my face was frozen!
Here's my Garmin with the official unofficial results:
And my bling
and my Vera Bradley tote (she was the presenting sponsor and all HM finishers got a tote)
and my reward for later
No comments:
Post a Comment