I was nervous this time around. So much so that I pretty much made myself sick that morning. Let's just say I was in the bathroom for a while before we left. So whatever I ate that morning before the run, didn't stay in me long...it came out in one form or another. So, I had a sense of impending doom before the race. We got to the race at 6:45am and Ryan looked at me and said, "Don't be a hero. I know you don't feel great, so don't hurt yourself." He's always the voice of reason. "Don't worry. If I don't feel good, I'll stop and catch a ride on the injury bus." I told him.
Ryan and Rocky came with us and cheered everyone on from the sidelines. So, Michelle, Shawn, Lainie, and myself all piled into our starting corral with the other 32,000 participants (just like cattle) and waited to go. We stood there for a bit and then I looked at Shawn and asked the perverbial question: "What are we doing this for again?"Shawn gave the perverbial answer: "How the hell should I know?"
Excellent.
The gun went off (supposedly, but I didn't hear it from my spot 1/2 a mile back), and everyone started to go. It took us 15 minutes to cross the start line and then it is an endless game of bob-and-weave. Here are the rules:
- Don't run into someone else's line if you can help it. You don't want to trip up yourself or anyone else.
- Give a wide berth around people that are slower and infront of you.
- Say "excuse me" when you are passing by someone so they know you are there, and "thank you" after you have passed them.
- If you are going to stop and walk, make sure no one is close behind you that is running so you won't have a colision.
I don't think many people knew the rules. I have never had to dodge so many freakin' people in my life! They were cutting right in front of me and one guy actually stepped on my foot, that is how much he cut me off! But, that's what you get when you run with that many people.
The first 4 miles were good. Michelle and I talked and laughed and I tried to show her that this could be a lot of fun. We were enjoying it! The half-way point is on the Indianapolis 500 Speedway. This race track is 2.5 miles long and at a slant for the most part. There's no shade and everyone crams themselves onto the flattest part of the track. Needless to say, it's a lot of fun...nope. Once we entered the track, Michelle and I look up at a video screen and the first woman just crossed the finish line after 1 hour and 1o minutes. I looked at Michelle and said, "That does a lot for my ego. How 'bout you?"
Around mile 8 on the track, Michelle says, "Oh crap. I think I'm hitting the wall." In other words, she was almost done with her energy and it was feeling like she was about to literally slam into a wall. "No! You're doing great! Just keep going and you'll hit your second wind!" She kept going and made it all the way through. About mile 10.5, I felt I was starting to hit my wall. "Crap. Here I go." I said. But Michelle cheered me through.
We finished and both smiled all the way to get our tacky medals! Ryan saw us running down the last mile and cheered for us. When we met up with him later, he said, "Were you feeling okay? Last year you seemed in better spirits when I saw you at the same spot." I told him I was okay but trying to focus on finishing cuz I had nothing left.
We ate our complementary fruit, BBQ potato chips, and two bottles of water then headed for home. I got home, showered and immediately went to sleep for about 3.5 hours. It was awesome. I remembered why I am glad I did it, but I'm so freakin' glad it's done. Thanks to everyone who checked on me that day! Michelle took pictures afterwards so I will put them up when I get them.
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