Run the Rock!
Oh yes I ran that sucka in all it rainy and cold glory! I was like this is crazy as I step in cold puddles of water and soaked through my parka! BTW I did not have a change of clothes and had to brave the cold wrapped in the foil cloth they give you after you cross the line. LOL!
The morning started off crappy. First I missed my train, DART decided to run early for this event and I did not have the forethought to check that out. So I missed my train and my running partner was like, "Girl you need to catch it at the Mockingbird station." So off I go, rushing out the door, forgetting my change of clothes and headed out in a down pour. So now I am playing beat the train and I am hauling tail down Greenville looking at the train as I drive. All of a sudden I hear that dreaded beep that signals you are low on fuel, WTH!! I'm riding on fumes! I can't stop so I start to pray, Lawd get me to the station by your Grace. Ok, I made it YES! Now I need to get a ticket to ride the train....the freakin machine would not take my money so here I am standing at the terminal listening to the train come and go and I cannot get a dayum ticket! I almost started to cry Im like Devil you are a lie! So the next thing I know, a little elderly man came and was like you need help? He had a five dollar bill and I gave him my money and I got my ticket! WOW Thank you Jesus! You always are right on time!
Now I am on the train and all is right with the world, found all my buddies and line up. It was awesome, the national anthem was sung and yes the singer messed up the words, fire works go off and the gun shoots! Off we go into the cold and wet and when I say cold Oh My Dayum! Anyway, I start to pace myself at a slower pace because all I need was to injure this bad knee I have because I slip and fall which I saw a lot of. So I check my Garmin adjust my pace, blast my headset and run.
GRRRR I hate that but in spite of the rain and cold and large puddles I did it and it felt great! So for a quick overview of the run in mile 1 I tried my best to pull back, I kept letting the excitment of the crowd pull me in but that quickly changed when I saw a runner fall on the curb and that was enough for me to slow my roll. Mile 2 caught side stitch and shoes came undone so I had to make a pit stop and carefully cross over to the curb. Not an easy task when you have thousands of runners going the same direction. Mile 3- 6 enduring the rain and cussing all the way. Now after mile 7 or so I saw a runner with no legs or arms running on those carbon metal Cheetah I was humbled by the fact he was out there running and by the way he ran passed me. LOL Ole boy was getting busy with those prosthetic legs in the rain and cold. From there it was not that bad, my hands started to get cold because my gloves were holding rain water so I was constantly squeezing them out until finally I just took them off and attached them to my belt. I was not about to throw them out in the street like I saw other runners do.
Oh yeah , I forgot to mentioned I had to go to the bathroom since the beginning of the race and I held out for 10 miles until I could not hold out no longer. I was praying Lord please let me find a porta-potty cause I was cramping up something bad! WOO LAWD! I was trying to do a major catch up in mile 10 -12 and you can see that from my splits. I had to laugh at myself cause I was looking at the marathoners pass me like they were skating on ice. 26.6 in 2 hours and 17 minutes and I still was not finished! Pure effortless running, I can only dream to run like that.
As I edge closer to the finish it seemed like the finish line kept getting farther and farther away. I was like I see the start but where is the finish!?! I hear the announcer but where is the finish!?! WTF! WHERE'S THE FINISH!?!?! Finally as I turned around that corner I see the finish line and I crossed over legs cold and body wet. I grabbed my piece of oversized foil, wrapped up and walked into the building where I grabbed a beer and soup.
Would I do this again? Yes, in a heart beat. This was one of the most enjoyable runs, mainly because we were all out there fighting the elements doing something we all love, RUNNING. I experienced a multitude of emotions out there, at times I wanted to cry, laugh, cuss and other times I just zoned out and remained silent. I cannot explain it but it is feeling like no other. It is a joyous and at time a painful feeling, a feeling of freedom and at times a feeling of being captured and overtaken by the sounds and feeling of running. This is a passion that everyone can experience but only few choose to have and I am one of those few.
Official time: 2:33 (includes pit stops and potty break)
Keishabadger Garmin Time: Time: 2:24:56 Moving Time: 2:22:59 Elapsed Time: 2:34:16 Avg Speed: 5.5 mph Avg Moving Speed: 5.5 mph Max Speed: 8.4 mph Avg Pace: 10:59 min/mi Avg Moving Pace: 10:51 min/mi Best Pace: 7:07 min/mi
1 11:07
2 11:15
3 10:43
4 11:11
5 10:57
6 11:26
7 11:04
8 11:28
9 11:25
10 10:24
11 10:25
12 11:00
13 10:35
14 10:11
Crazy us. As awful as that weather was... Yeah, I would do it again too LOL Just insane
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