Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

Soooo....I went to Arizona this past weekend. This first post is about the Half Marathon my Sister Sarah MADE me run! ;) Seriously, a few months back we talked about doing a half together. I have never run in my entire life. I wasn't sure I could do it. We set to train for a 10K and somehow a few weeks later, my sister talked me into doing the half. The coolest thing is A.-My brother, brother in law, little sis and big sis all were going to do it with me. B.-It's for an amazing cause (Londonsrun.org), and C.-It was the day before my birthday and something exciting and challenging to do the day before I turned 30!

Soooo...off to training I went. Now, the first two weeks were great cause the weather permitted me to run outside. Once the snow started sticking to the ground, it became more difficult. This is when my sweet hubs told me we could start looking for a used treadmill on ksl. We did, we bought, and had numerous problems (which is a whole other post, not going to go into details right now).

I trained anyway, even though some days it meant getting on the treadmill for 2 miles, jogging around my basement while the overheated treamill cools down, then getting back on the treadmill for 2 more miles, repeat! Some days it was running in the snow, and some days it was an easy run.

It was crazy. It was not easy. It was a challenge but I was determined and dedicated to not giving up!

Day of the Half...not super nervous, maybe too confident? Thinking the weather being nicer and road conditions/elevation would all work to my advantage. Normally it probably would have. However, about 2 minutes before the race started, so did my period! Sorry men who are reading this, but the day I start my cycle is cramp central. So I had no supplies with me. I just ran. And I knew it wasn't going to be pretty after (again, sorry for the visual), but what choice did I have?

I ran, and ran. And from mile 3, I felt like I was going to die. Why? I don't even know. But I felt completely lagging almost the entire race. It's weird because when I ran 10 1/2 during training, I felt like I could have gone on forever and never stopped. So I was shocked to be struggling. But I never stopped.

I knew if I stopped, I could never start up again. And the cramps continued, the back pain, the soreness everywhere was evident by mile 8, but I kept going. Now mind you, the further I went, the slower I went. At first I was with my sisters, then behind them slightly, then they were completely out of sight. But I never walked. I ran, slowly. Slow and steady wins the race! People would pass me, then later I would pass them, then it would be repeated. But in the end, I was slow, but made it.

During the last 1/2 mile, I was really sad that my whole family was finished and I knew they were just waiting for me. But then as I rounded a corner, my sister was running to me. She had this huge smile and was yelling "go Liz, you're almost done!" and my spirits immedietly perked. She ran with me for about 1/4 mile, then I booked it as fast as I could to the finish line and was done!

I felt to great! Even though it was hard, I felt undertrained (although I know I wasnt, its just how I felt at the time) and out of breath, it was also this amazing feeling! I felt like I could do anything!

So there you have it. I am publically admitting how slow of a runner I was, and how terrible I did during the 1/2, I am also admitting that I never gave up! it was awesome!!

This was before we started. Brother in law, sister and wife to bro in law, brother, me, little sis and little sisters niece through marriage. Good times.

After the race, sweaty, glad to be done. We have a ribbon to prove it!

Sisters!

And yes, I am posting the most unflattering, awful looking picture of me. I am trying to put all my vainness aside and show that even though I look absolutely huge and terrible in this picture, this picture shows me what I accomplished!

My little sis had enough energy to do a self portrait while running. Nice. See me in the background dying already??

And last but not least, I DID IT!