Making Our Marks: In Case You Haven't Heard...

I'm finally posting the good news about Saturday's Half Marathon:

We did it!

I knew Alan would be fine and he did great. A little slower than he'd hoped and half the family wasn't immediately on hand to see him cross the finish (woops!), but he ran most of the way and didn't let the hills beat him. In every picture he looks athletic and strong and confident...except for this one right before the start where you can replace "confident" with "impatient". He's saying "it's time to go, Lois!". I was just getting over feeling like I might need to barf, so this was about my best moment of the day in terms of physical health.

Here's Alan approaching Eagle Lake:

Here I am getting my camelbak from mom-in-law, Mary around the 2-mile mark:

Just before this, as I crested the first major hill, my legs were feeling really shaky and I was actually contemplating when and where I might choose to quit. But then I saw my awesome fan club sporting neon green signs (one of which featured a roof with shingles on it...get it?..shingles?? yeah, that was Dad's contribution!) and clanging cow bells. It was very rejuvenating, and adjusting my camelbak and having some water distracted me enough to get me back on track.

Here I am approaching the water (and pit) stop at the top of Eagle Lake. I was thrilled to see that my fan club had grown and split in two: in the first group I saw Mum, Madeline, Jeremy and college roommate, Kathy with son, Alex. In the next group I saw Dad, Mary, James and Kathy's husband, Dave, their daughter, Elizabeth, and Dave's mom Tera. I knew Kathy and the kids were planning to show up but Dave and Tera were a bonus!

There was one person behind me at this point.

I'm off again in a blur (of Mum's making, not speed), but I like how it sort of looks like I'm running through bubbles.

When the girl behind me came through, Mum made the sweeper wait for me to get out of the lou. Over the next 2 miles I gradually caught up to her again. We chatted a little, and then I pulled ahead.

I wish I had pix of all our supporters, but there was a photographer there and I know he took some so I'm eager for them to appear on the event website.

I had a rough time of it pretty much the whole way. I was "smiling and moving" every time I got to a water stop and saw my friends and family, but in between there was a LOT of walking and a lot of pain and discomfort. Fortunately it was a cool day so my right butt cheek(which has been feeling a lot of heat from the shingles) didn't feel too bad. The nerve pain in my hip was pretty intense, though, and radiating right down my leg. There were times when I had to actively flex my toes to wake up my foot. At one point I was thinking how nice it would be if the whole leg just went numb. I logicked that while I would probably lose all function of the leg and collapse in a heap, at least I wouldn't be hurting anymore.

Despite these thoughts, I kept moving around the lake and even almost enjoyed the nice downhill stretch. The back half seemed longer than I remembered, though. I finally made it back to the top of the lake and found the whole Fey family there to greet me. We'd told the 'rents not to wait for me there in order to be sure to catch Alan at the finish, so it was great to have a whole extra family on hand. Here'a a picture of them we took after the race:

After leaving the Feys and the beautiful lake and the 10-mile marker behind, I felt spent but hopeful. I knew that the next (and last) hill was going to be a bear and was prepared to walk it. I was all alone--couldn't even catch a glimpse of anyone before or behind me, but I didn't mind. Somewhere around miled 11 or 12, though, I started wondering if I was going to make it after all. I had gotten to the top of that hill and thought I'd start running again but I really didn't have any "run" left in me. I'd try to start up and then go all jello-y and cut back to a walk. and then try again. If someone had come along and offered me a ride I just might have taken it.

All the volunteers were really nice and I'm particularly grateful for the die-hards who stayed out there until the bitter end. I got to the turn where a nice man dutifully stood at the intersection pointing the way and announced "one mile to go" and I mentioned that I must have missed the 12-mile marker. He sheepishly said he thought they'd picked them up already. I laughed and said, yeah, I can't blame them! Earlier I had seen the truck picking up the tables and water jugs from the aid stations, so I knew they were ready to wrap things up.

I kept slogging. Earlier I'd at least been able to walk fast, now I was just plodding. Past the golf course, past the lady in a lawn chair who said I was doing great, past the man who advised me to cross to the other side of the road.... A month ago I had thought about where I would start my kick, now I found myself trying to just make myself run. I had Avril Lavigne on my mp3 which was supposed to be edgy and energizing, but I suddenly listened to the lyrics and heard "isn't anyone tryin' to find me?/Won't somebody come take me home?" and I was sobbing and hoping Emilie would come...so I switched to Dilana singing "Ladylike" which is very UNladylike and makes me laugh.

And then there was Emilie right before the last turn! And I sobbed some more and she said things like "you're doing it" and "this is it; this is your moment" and she took my hand and said "do you want to run?" and I just nodded and let her pull me out of my lethargy. And then we rounded the corner and there were the kids and Alan and Mum and Dad and the finish line! Here's Emilie and the kids bringing me home: