This week was madness. We worked on Monday. Drove to Bama on Tuesday (it took us a long time, but it was a nice trip) visited before a late bedtime. Worked on Wednesday for a while, ran some errands, and did some 'pre-cooking' Wednesday night, Kiki and Kara came late - full house at this point... Thursday was hectic for me since mom couldn't cook or clean up the kitchen and I was stuffed and tired, EVERYONE stayed Thursday night and some crazy people even went out shopping at midnight - I opted to try to get some sleep in preparation for the weekend since I was WAY behind in that department. Friday we visited, ate more really bad stuff, watched the iron bowl, packed, and drove half-way back stopping for sleep in Tallahassee...Saturday we got home, went to the expo, went to the grocery store, cooked dinner, and was in bed at a reasonable 9pm.
I slept so horribly last night, that I woke to the sound of Jack (my little rat terrier) peeing on my luggage at 2:30am! UGH. I just went ahead and got up at that point. I was wide awake, and I would have to leave in 90 minutes to start the pickups anyway. I ate a Clif bar early, thinking it might help me go...moved around.... got dressed, watched dvr'd Days...still nothing...but still feeling really good and alert....I triple checked my bag and set off to pick up Brian and then Jeanine.
It was a nice trip and didn't take as long as we thought, we arrived at 4:56. I have never been to Cocoa Village before. Its very cute!! There was plenty of portalets (short lines), the weather was chilly but really it was perfect. We met up with SueAnn and Holly outside the bathrooms and found Magda later (via phone messages) by the park. We had left our cold weather clothes on so after scoping things out, we went back to the car to put our stuff up - and about got lost trying to find the right parking lot! :)
One more last minute potty break and we lined up with the 10:00 pace. The 'start' was pretty awesome, they had a big screen at the front with the shuttle lift off :) Very cool!! At mile 3 / 10 there were martians handing out drinks - that was pretty funny! The half course was very well done, a pretty good amount of spectator support, BEAUTIFUL scenary - we were literally right beside of the lagoon, water stations and gatoraide drinks at about every mile (I believe?!) and gels at mile 8. I only had a drink at mile 5, thanks to my handy fuel belt. :)
With the news that Magda was coming down to run, and that the first half of the marathon would be ran with the half, I felt confident that I would PR today. I knew that as long as I stuck with her, that I would not back off, I would not slow down, I would not walk. I felt strong - and after the nearly 19 mile race I just did 2 weeks ago, I was confident that I could do this!
Magda was a most excellent pace keeper and I got a summary of each mile. She was so fantastic to run with - I was huffing and sweating by mile 2 and she didn't even look like she was moving. I'm like - how does she do that?!?! We were moving faster than my 9:50 pace and I was feeling good...until we got to mile four and then - THEN - I had to go... UGHHHH. I hate this! So at mile 5 potties, I had to tell her goodbye and WAIT IN LINE for what seemed like forever.
The turn around was around mile 6.5. As I approached I saw Magda pass first, then Jeanine!! She was rockin! I tried for the next 6.5 to catch up with her, but I couldn't even see her ahead of me after the fold. I felt really great until mile 9 - I mean really great! I thought for sure that I would PR this time. But alas, I ran out of steam around mile 11 and had to eat a Gel and walk it out. I did pick it back up to finish strong, but the walking and the waiting at the bathroom stop really put me behind.
Its ok though, I knew it was better than my last two, and not as good as my first one. How could it? I was in MUCH better shape then - and 10 lbs lighter. Plus, until Magda showed up, I had no inclinations of PRing today anyway, it was just a fun training run. And I did have fun! It was amazing to watch Magda finish the 4/6 combo to get her 3 gold stars from Marathon Maniacs! It was amazing to watch Holly, SueAnn, Suzette, and Brian finish their first half!!!! YAY!!!!!! It was completely awesome to see Jeanine's face when she realized that she totally beat me by several minutes! :D
I am sooo lucky to have been surrounded by these awesome friends today! I had so much fun hanging out after the race ended and waiting to see Magda come in - this was the first time I have hung around for the post-race activities. I am so proud of all of my friends and so happy that we all finished the race strong and uninjured.
In the above photo: Holly, SueAnn, me, Jeanine, Brian, Magda
61 747 1121 Chandra Claycomb 35 Palm Bay FL 2:14:03 10:14
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