Lucky 13 Half Marathon #13

Family, friends, blog readers:  I did it.  I ran 13 half marathons in 2013!  It’s been quite a journey.  And it was certainly a bittersweet moment to finish the last race.  This blog post is a recap of the race.  I’m already working on my thoughts, feelings, insights and lessons learned from the entire year – I think you’ll be surprised and entertained by what I have to share, so check back soon.  It’s going to be a series of postings I publish over the next couple of weeks.

Back to half marathon #13, which was a unique race compared to others.  Technically, it was not formally a race.  About midway through the year, I started looking in earnest for a race in December.  I could not find a half marathon in Iowa or nearby states for the entire month.  It didn’t work that I would be able to travel far away either. I was not deterred!  I decided I would make my own race.  I set parameters with myself, like for example, I had to try and finish in a comparable time of my other races.  Even if it was going to be a race of one, I was going to run it in earnest.

Pre-race line up.  We did a quick
count down and took off on half
marathon #13!

It also couldn’t be a race without a name or a race bib.  I called the race Lucky 13 Half Marathon, which I’m sure you can guess why :) I made myself a race bib. I printed the name of the race, my number (13 of course) and December 2013 on a piece of paper and used packing tape to make it firm to wear.  I certainly had picked a date to run this race.  However, the weather forced me to consider moving the race date up.  With scheduled rain, sleet and overnight freezing temps, I knew my original race morning could be a little dicey.  It was a tough decision though.  I had originally scheduled the race for my birthday and I had family and friends coming to cheer me on at the finish and join us for a lunch celebration afterwards.  Those plans were cancelled.  However, my heart was lifted by all the kind words from those family members and friends who sincerely wished me the best and cheered very loud for me virtually when I finished!

So, race morning brought warmer than usual temperatures for December.  It was around 30 degrees at race start.  We lined up at around 9 a.m. for the start.  That’s right; Jason joined me for this race!  I was not a race of one, but of two really excited participants!  I very much appreciate that he took the time to run with me and celebrate each and every mile of my last race.  We had originally mapped out a route in the northwest part of town; however, the day prior we had driven the main streets that ran parallel to the trail and many sections were still covered in snow.  We knew that the trail that’s near our house was clear, so we made a last minute decision to change the route.  I’m glad we did for several reasons.  First, it was clear so our shoes and feet stayed dry.  Second, it was sort of fitting that I ran this important race on this trail.  I’ve ran on that trail for years.  I’ve done many, many training runs from 3 miles to 18 miles (when I tried training for a marathon years ago) all using that trail.  It just made sense I’d run on it for this race.

I met my goal! 13 half
marathons in 2013!

The start of the race was good.  I felt strong and I kept a pretty good clip the first several miles.  As we approached a large loop (around 2 miles) to run, we turned direction and then we felt it.  The winds were strong at 20+ mph.  There were also two pretty tough hills.  Despite this, I asked that we run it a second time because I wanted to cover more mileage here instead of running the same mileage past our starting area.  So we did it again.  I had decided that I didn’t come out to have some easy race; I wanted it to matter and feel challenging.  After the two loops, we headed back up the trail the same way we came.  There I found a new definition of challenging.  We ran directly into the wind for about four miles.  We both felt our pace slow and mentally I started breaking down a little.  I wasn’t going to give up, but I certainly was ready to be done.  We keep moving and were given a small treat as our final turnaround point, with less than a mile to go) was the opposite direction.  The wind was at our backs and helped push us to the finish.  I officially hit 13.1 miles at 1:53 and started cheering!  I DID IT!!!

What a moment.  I was too tired to jump up and down but we did share congratulatory hugs and high fives!  Jason took my picture and then we had to walk almost a mile home.  I kind of forgot we’d have to do that, so we limped our way along the trail.  I certainly could feel those 13 miles, plus I think the overwhelming feelings of joy and excitement.  It’s a big achievement for me.  I really didn’t know if I’d be able to complete this journey, whether it was because of injury or simply giving up.  I am proud to say that I never gave on myself.  I pushed and pushed and I made it.

One of the best parts of this journey was all the people who supported me along the way.  ALL of you who asked me how a race went, showed up to cheer for me, pushed me to train, simply asked how I was doing – all of it means so much to me.  Thank you to everyone who has congratulated me and acknowledged what I achieved!!!

Again, thanks for sharing in this journey and come back soon to the blog to read about all my big picture lessons!

Miss FitGab