"They" say people who run half marathons are only half crazy. I guess because I agreed to do this rodeo again, I must be twice as crazy. But it's just so hard to pass up for a few reasons...
1. It gives me something to work towards and my body may not always be able to do this.
2. It's fun to do something with "the girls."
3. It includes a 24 hour getaway (with Luke) away from the kids. I thought about bringing them with us this year, but changed my mind a few weeks ago.
This year Julie wasn't running it because of the foot problems she had after last year's race. Luckily, Cassie recruited Kelly and Leisa. It wasn't the same without Julie....but Cassie is as close to Julie as I am gonna get.....and I have known Cassie pretty much her entire life. It's fun to spend time with "old" friends who are more like sisters from another mister. :)
A run in January is a difficult time of year to stay healthy. I was trying really hard to keep everything in the house/work clean and sanitized so I wouldn't pick up that nasty flu bug...or dreaded cold. I was drinking Emergen-C everyday and popping vitamins. Thankfully, all the effort I put in was worth it. A few days before the race Bubba and Luke both were coughing up a storm....and I managed to come out unscathed! A small miracle.
This year I wasn't able to run as much leading up to the race. Partly, it was lack of time during the week, but also because I was nursing so many injuries this year. I think because I knew what to expect from last year's run, I was OK with what I was able to do. I did fit in a 8.5 mile run two weeks before the race and an 11 mile run the weekend before.
I had one tiny hitch in my plan, that I still have no idea how it happened. Wednesday evening I was in Target when my left calf started aching. Very strange because I have never had any pain in my left leg....much less the calf. I thought it might go away within a day or two, but by Friday morning I was very nervous. It hurt to walk so I called the orthopedist and he squeezed me in that afternoon. After an x-ray and exam he diagnosed it as a calf muscle strain, possible tear. He prescribed me some steroids and physical therapy. I sent a message to my physical therapist and he amazingly squeezed me in on Friday afternoon for an ultrasound and therapy. i was so grateful. Seriously. I really didn't want to have to drop out of the race or walk it. Who pays $160 to walk 13.1 miles. Besides, at the rate I was going, walking the half marathon would probably get me picked up by the "sweeper." So Friday evening was spent putting ice on my calf and waiting patiently for my drugs to kick in.
Luke's parents came down Saturday morning to stay the night with the kiddies again. So thankful for them! We headed down into LA earlier this year so I could have some time to walk around the expo at the Disneyland hotel. This was my leg posted up on the dash with an ice pack on my calf. I was desperate.
We got to the expo before 3pm and the weather was absolutely perfect. It was nice to take off the sweatshirt and enjoy some warm sun. I picked up my race packet/bib and walked around the Expo for an hour.
After the Expo we checked into the Marriott hotel. The only rooms they had available had two double beds in them. I thought it was pretty funny we each got our own bed because there was no way we were going to share a double! :)
Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory, of course! :) Luke and I tried to eat much healthier than we normally do. No appetizer, raspberry lemonade, or dessert! GASP! I had some chicken stuffed tortilla and a small side of spaghetti noodles with Parmesan cheese/butter. It was goooooood.
We got back to the hotel before 8pm and I got my stuff together for the next morning. I had to take this picture of all the stuff I bought to put on my body so I could run this race. It made me feel so old. I did find the most amazing product at the Expo....KT TAPE. It's my new best friend. I watched some YouTube videos on my phone on how to use it on a calf muscle strain so I decided to give it a go. So Saturday evening I showered and then I had Luke tape up not only my calf, but my SI joint.
The steroid the ortho put me on has all sorts of side effects. Crazy side effects...at least in my opinion. When I picked up the prescription Friday night, the pharmacist was reading off the dosage for the 7 days I need to take it. Since it was the end of the day, I asked her if I could take all 3 pills that night. She looked at me like I had two heads....and I'm glad I asked. The first side effect is insomnia. Holy crud does it cause insomnia. Saturday night I was all taped up and trying to fall asleep. I think it was around 10pm when I dozed off. I woke up at 1:30pm....and couldn't fall back to sleep. After flopping around the bed for 30 minutes and starting to fret about my calf again, I got out my Nook and read. I ended up reading magazines on the Nook until my wake up call came in at 3:45am. I really couldn't believe I was going to run on 3 hours of sleep, but I got myself ready to go and said goodbye to Luke around 4:15. I headed to the lobby to find the hotel shuttle. I stopped in the hallway and said a prayer. I really thought it was the least I could do for myself...was to ask for some help. I had no appetite, so I nibbled on my banana on the brief shuttle ride to the park. There I met up with these three fabulous ladies for 13.1 miles of fun! :) We all started in the last corral so we could start the race together. The first corral crossed the starting line at 5am, the last corral crossed the starting line at 5:30am. There were 15,000 people out there....and it was a party.
Showing off the back of our shirts Cassie/Kelly designed for us!
I had no idea if I was going to be able to run or not, but I went for it. As soon as I started to run I didn't want to stop. I was feeling so blessed to be able to go the speed I needed to help me make my goal. Last year I ran it this race at around 2:31. Before I hurt my calf I was thinking I could easily shave off 10 minutes. However, hours before the race I thought I was going to end up walking most of the race, trying to keep up with the 16 minute pace requirement. During the race, around mile 8-9 I started to get a little choked up because I realized my calf was going to hold up and I was on pace to beat my time from last year. I was trying not to get too sentimental...and who cries in the middle of Disneyland?! :) I had my phone with me in my pouch pocket, so I checked it every other mile to see where Luke was (and let him know where I was). Luke ended up waiting for me at the finish line instead of trying to locate me at various locations like last year. This year I ended up beating my time by 2 minutes. Thank you! That was a miracle after the stress and pressure I put on myself the last few days before the race.
After the race we met up with each other for more photos. We were exhausted and not as smiley as 5am. Shocker. My legs were really tired. I could hardly even squat down to rest/pick up my snack bag. After standing around with the ladies for an hour and sharing details of the race we parted ways. Luke and I walked back to our hotel, which was about 1/4 mile away.
After I showered and cleaned up, we checked out of the hotel and in search of a hearty breakfast. El Torito has an awesome Sunday brunch.... Who knew?! Not me since I guess we are normally at church on Sunday morning. :)
We ate as healthy as we could, but we were in heaven, I had to take a photo of these banana fosters waffles they made. I think my kids would have died and went to heaven if they could eat this for breakfast....complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
On the drive home we made our usual stop at Sprinkles Cupcakes. For the first time EVER I purchased only 2 cupcakes for myself. I was quite proud of Katie. (Not to say I didn't earn more, since my Garmin says I burned around 3500 calories from the run.) :) I waited until the kids went to bed Sunday night before I ate my first PB Chip cupcake and I am pretty sure my eyes rolled back into my head. Great way to end the day and celebrate completing my second half marathon.
That Stop Wasn't On My Itinerary....
So the Hogue's made it to Florida for our first official family vacation. It was Sawyer's first plane ride....and Simon's first plane ride that he can remember. We were excited....the boys were stoked. We had everything we needed! But it seems that Sawyer packed something with him that wasn't on our checklist: a big case of pneumonia. Yes, the little fella made it almost one whole day in Florida before he started heading downhill fast. Our 2nd day in Orlando we were in the Urgent Care south of Cocoa Beach. (By the way, to see a doctor more quickly, it helps if you vomit all over the waiting room in front of the receptionist. Little tip for ya) After chest x-rays they advised us to head to the ER in Melbourne, where they eventually admitted him to the hospital. So, we had 3 night deluxe accommadations at the Holmes Regional Medical Center. The little whipper snapper was a trooper though! The nurses loved him, thankfully, and made us all feel right at home. We were going to send postcards out with pictures of the hospital since we spent 40% of our trip there...but they didn't have any. Imagine that!Hmmm.....maybe its something they should consider.
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