I’ve completed my first running half marathon. Months of
training came together yesterday in OKC as I crossed the line, finishing time:
2:05:58. The race was great. Oklahoma City puts on a very nice memorial for the
OKC Bombings with this race. And the course was very fun to run.
The day started early, 3:50 wake up call, and I met Stacy
& Leslie to get on the shuttle at 4:20. The shuttle was late, but we still
made it in plenty of time. We missed the 5:30 memorial service, so that we can
could into our chute for the race. But we could hear the service, and it was
very beautiful. Soon, we had everyone, save Mercedes, from our running group in
the chute with us and it was time to start. The race coordinators did 168
seconds of silence in remembrance of the people who perished on April 19, 1995…
and then we were off.
I wore a throw away over shirt to keep me warm before the
race, that I could toss once the sun rose. I wrote on the back: “Hey Ladies my
eyes are up here and on the other side” ha,ha… cheesy I know. Anyway, a group
of women running behind me at mile 3, not realizing that Stacy was running with
me, dared her to slap my ass as she ran by me. She ran up besides me and said,
“I’m gonna slap your ass…” and then ran on through. Then we were laughing about
it, and I don’t think the women ever realized we were running together, and
probably thought they had created a love connection!
The course was wonderful. It took us through Bricktown,
downtown OKC, and then through some amazing residential areas in OKC. The
residential areas were really nice, because a lot of people were outside and
cheering us on!
During the start of the race, we had most of us from our
running group together, but by mile 7 I was on my own (much to my chagrin).
This sadly meant the second half of the race; I was without someone who could
pace me… so I just ran. It seemed to work out OK, though I do wish I had
crossed the finish line with some of the group. (By the way congratulations to
Pat for her PR, Stacy & Leslie for their first half marathon, and to
Mercedes, Pam, Andrea, Wendi, and Winnie for finishing!)
One oddity, at the finish line, Carl’s Jr. was handing out
cheeseburgers. Apparently it’s a tradition. Who knew?
Well, now I need to decide if I’m up for a marathon in the fall/winter. We will see. But for now, I reached a really nice goal, and I think I’ll just celebrate that for a few days!
