Little Rock 1/2 Marathon

Okay, it's done! Whew! Umm, why have I already signed up for another 1/2 marathon in less than a month? I think it's going to take me that long to recover from this one.

Should I start with last night? I was very, very, very, cranky. Mood swings and nerves galore. I'd like to blame it on the fact that I was completing our state taxes last night but alas, it was just plain old horrific pms. Found out that I stress Elsie when I start cussing at the computer screen
(discovered that you have to e-file Arkansas state taxes at the exact same moment you e-file federal, wtf?!). Anyway I caused her to go and hide under the couch, sorry baby.

Finally forced myself into bed at 10 pm only to get awakened by Elsie sitting on my legs and grooming herself (nice way to say she was licking her privates, ewwww) at 3:23 am, little over an hour before the alarm was supposed to shake us out. Tried to go back to sleep but after 15 minutes decided it was a lost cause.

More grumbling at James ensued because he was-in my humble opinion-dragging ass. He really didn't want to be awake but neither did I, so there. Well, yes I know I was the crazy person who signed up for this but I still didn't want to be up.

Rolling south (finally) but I had to make an emergency pit stop at a McDonald's--the only place open with a decent bathroom. We lucked out and nabbed a great FREE parking spot just a short distance from the start line, YAY. I wanted to avoid the parking garage that reeked of piss that we had to pay $5 to park at Saturday when we went to the expo.

This is the closest I'll ever get to an elite spot!

The downside to leaving early to get that great spot? Almost 2 hrs of standing and/or sitting around while it's chilly.

Finally it's time to line up in the corrals, I'm kind of frantically searching around for Brenda because I wanted to chat with her for a few minutes beforehand. There was no way I was going to be able to keep up with her once the race started so I was very happy to see Vicki (I ran the route with her a couple of weeks ago) but they were kind of scaring me with the pace they were talking about keeping. I still haven't gotten accustomed to starting out as fast as they can and maintain it. It seems like it takes me forever to get my muscles warmed up and loosened.

Same old story, started out too fast at least once we got moving. James shot video of the start and it took approx. 8 minutes for everybody to get across the start line. My garmin decided to act up and while the timer ran ok, the satellite signal went all wonky so I only have mile split times for the last 3 or 4. The garmin was so screwy that it showed me doing 41.84 miles, LOL.

Vicki got me through the first 7-8 miles, if it hadn't been for her my time would have been significantly slower. It was great having somebody to talk to but we were both getting quieter and quieter as the miles added up. I apologized, explained to her that I was tiring and cramping (pms again), told her that I usually get very quiet or very cranky. Unfortunately her legs started cramping on her and I went on ahead. I feel very guilty about this by the way, wanted to stay and walk with her but at the same time could keep running so after the 2nd break I continued what was starting to feel like a slog.

I'd brought my mp3 player with me so fired it up to try and keep my pace steady for the final 5k. Also there were groups of kids that were cheering the runners on so I made it a point to high-five as many of them as possible, it made me feel better and they seemed to think it was cool. Couldn't seem to find anybody else to talk to during this section, everybody was focused on getting through it.

My fingers were fat little sausages almost from mile 3-4, yuck. I wasn't getting enough electrolytes into my system I guess although I was alternating water and gatorade at the water stations. Oh yeah, I only skipped 3. Even though I wouldn't take more than 2-3 sips of fluid I was trying to stay somewhat hydrated and the last 6 miles I would dump part of the water on my neck and upper back to try and stay cool.

Ah, the weather. Started out cool, but didn't stay quite cool enough to be comfortable at race pace. It would've been great if it could have stayed around 45F. Even so it was not near as warm as last year and it did stay overcast today so wasn't having to deal with the sun sapping my energy.

Finish line finally!!! By the time James realized it was me he could only get a picture of my backside.

James and I forgot to arrange a meeting place for afterwards so I think I wandered around for 20-30 minutes before Annette and Michelle found me. Annette was sweet enough to let me use her phone to call. He had been standing around waiting for me in the only place I hadn't looked.

Annette, Jane, me, and Michelle

Hope to get those front teeth fixed sometime this summer. If you can't rollerskate already don't attempt it in your late 30s, LOL.

Fuzzy picture of the medal

The aftermath. Dozing in James' truck while he did his pretrip and paperwork. I originally had the Pulaski load for Monday but he called our dispatcher Friday afternoon and swapped our appointments. He ended up only having one day at home so it was very sweet of him to do this.