Oklahoma Aquarium Run

I did it!! I ran a half marathon! It is so hard for me to believe. Also, be warned. This will be long! I have so much to say I barely know where to start.

Friday afternoon we headed to Tulsa to pick up my packet. I was so nervous all day that I seriously thought I would puke. I got my packet and we headed to Zio's. I could eat all the pasta I wanted and didn't have to feel guilty. Woohoo! After dinner we went to Sports Authority because I wanted a new outfit. I couldn't find anything I really liked so I bought a couple of tank tops, one of which was pink (my favorite runningwear color) that I planned to wear in the race. As soon as we got to the hotel I tried it on and then spent the whole night miserable because I was pretty sure I looked fat and gross and everyone was going to make fun of me. Why do I do this to myself?

Saturday morning we got up at 5:15 so we could leave at 6:00. We got ready, had breakfast and finally left at 6:10. Now might be a good time to mention the weather. It was a beautiful 66 degrees. The good part ends there. It was windy and the humidity was 90%. Yuck. We got to the race, I picked up my chip, put it on then went to the car to finish getting ready. I put on my Buff and drank/ate a nasty gel. Those things are just disgusting. Also drank some gatorade. Then I went to stand in the long port-a-potty line where I put on my number. By the time I got through the line it was time to line up.

Some before pics:
Me and Adam (ignore my hair in all of these. It was windy)

Me with Mom, Alan, Ryan and Adam

Starting to line up

On your mark, get set, GO!
We're off! The first part of the race was spent with me adjusting everything. I decided to get a waist pack to carry my ipod and gels. I hate my armband, so this seemed great. Also, the pocket in my shorts only holds one gel and I wanted to bring two. It took me a while to get everything comfy but when I did everthing was great. Miles 1-6 were just fantastic. My goal was to walk for about a minute every 2 miles. That plan was working nicely for me. In fact, I kept wondering why it was so easy. On the map there was a huge hill and it seemed to be early on in the race. I couldn't figure out what the map was talking about because we had only run over some little bumps. I was feeling pretty darn smug! Then we passed someone (the race was a bunch of out and backs) that said, "there's a water stop at the top of the hill." I'm thinking, "what hill?" Oh.My.Goodness. I found the hill. It was long and steep! I got to the top (walking mostly, it was at mile six, yay!) I drank some water and kept running. Unfortunately, the hill went up and up. Eventually we came back down but it took me a very long time to recover from that. The worst part off the entire race? Chafing. I cannot even describe the pain. In fact, I will be writing a future blog just about that. Teaser? There was blood involved. Ouch.

About mile 10 is when I seem to hit a wall every time. I did again yesterday. From 10 to 11 all I could think about was the pain under my arms from chafing which I hadn't anticipated because I don't usually wear a tank top. By the time I hit 11 I was just done. I walked way more often than I wanted to the last 2 miles but I finished!

The finish line. I wasn't going to show this because it shows the clock and you can all see just how slow I am, but oh well. Please don't make fun. I will cry.

After the race I drank water and was talking to my family. I kept mentioning how I had sand all over me from running past the river and having the wind blow it on me. At some point Rick said, "Uh, Melissa? That isn't sand. It's salt." Yeah, I had sweat(ed?) so much that it dried on me and I was covered with salt. Can we say gross? The grossest part might have been when my mom licked my arm because she didn't believe me. Yeah, we're close like that. Don't judge. Ok, maybe it isn't closeness so much as being gross and weird. Oh well, it was funny.

This is my favorite picture because I was so happy with myself

And last, here is a picture of me and Rick after the race. Sorry it is far away. My mom took it and she might not be the handiest with a camera. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't get it to work and it was turned off :) Love you Mom!!!

All in all, it was a pretty great race. I can't wait to do it again.

I really want to sincerely thank everyone who has been so encouraging and supportive of me and my running. I really couldn't do it without Rick and the boys being so supportive and having all of my other friends, may they be online or real life friends always encouraging me. Some of those online friends are so supportive they send me body glide when I lose mine!

~Mel