The Mesa-Phoenix Half Marathon!

It was so cold this morning!  We woke up at 2:30 and left at 3:15 to head for parking to take a bus to the race start.  We got to the race start at around 4:30 so we had to wait for 1 1/2 hours in the COLD!!  We huddled around a heater with a bunch of other runners and tried to stay warm and get some stretching in.  We took care of the bathroom issues in the port-a-potties and just tried to stay warm.  10 minutes before the race started Katelyn felt like she needed to go again, so we waited in a long line to go to the bathroom again.  It's ok, because your time doesn't start until your chip goes over the start line, but we started almost 10 minutes late.  I'm glad we did though, because it's better to start late then to have to stop during the race!  Katelyn and I felt so good during the race, except for the fact that we literally could NOT feel our toes for about the first 5 miles!  It was colder weather than I've ever run in before!  But we felt good and didn't have any problems at all.  It seemed like every mile went really fast!  Then halfway through the race, Katelyn decided to run ahead of me because she wanted to try to place...and I was totally fine with that.  She said she'd meet me at the finish line (which she did!) and go over the finish line with me again (which she did!).  I was having a great run!  Mile 11 and 12 got a little hard, but then I just dug down deep and ran through the pain and tiredness.  On the last mile I was pacing with a guy just out in front of me, and I realized I could totally beat him (we were passing people the whole race-- guys, even!) so I ran out ahead of him and ended up with an 8min pace that last mile!  Pure adrenaline!  I don't know where it came from but I just sprinted it in and it felt so AMAZING!  Crossing that finish line was pure joy!  Katelyn ran with me over the finish line and we got in line to claim our medals!  We got some pictures in front of the sign.  I wanted to ring the PR bell, but decided the line was too long for that!  We went and got our free Kneaders French toast, and got in line to be stretched out.  We got some great stretching done and worked on our legs with foam rollers-- I'm now SOLD on those things!  I think I was less sore this race because of working with those, and the PT guys did a great job stretching us out, as well.  Then we went around and got all our free stuff inside the barricade...Katelyn went and got more Kneaders and then we left the barricade into the fair they had set up.  We got in line to have a massage, and I went to go get our stats printed out and get our drop bags.  I looked on Katelyn's stat sheet and it said she got 3rd in her division!  Wow!  I was so EXCITED!!!  So I went to the race officials who were doing the awards (we had barely missed the awards for her age group because we were getting stretched out) and they gave me her HUGE medal!  It looks like an Olympic medal!  I ran back to where she was standing in line and just yelled, "Katelyn!  You got third place!!!"  She was pretty excited.  I think she was bummed that she missed the medal stand.  After our massages (which were heavenly!) we went and got some pictures on the medal stand with her medal!  We walked around the booths and enjoyed the atmosphere for a while and then decided to head home.  It was such a fun race!  Katelyn said she never wanted to race again and when I asked her why, she changed and said that she loves to race but HATES the long training for it, so she said she'd race it again, but that she didn't want to train for it again.  I guess if you can get third place without really trying, you don't have to train!  I trained for 3 long months and got NOTHIN'!!!  Hahahaha! Oh well.  It was a great experience, and always such a sense of accomplishment.  And I always say that it is a spiritual experience for me!  This time I saw several people with physical limitations running the race and a feeling of complete admiration came over me when I saw them running, followed by a feeling of humility and gratitude that I have a healthy body and can do these things with minimal discomfort and difficulty.  I'm always humbled in some way when I run these things!  And I love it!!