The Outcome

      40 Comments on The Outcome

Out of 1472 runners, I finished 796.

While I told no one my goal finish or planned pace (really I just wanted to finish), I finished a good 8 minutes faster than I was planning to pace myself.

So…how did it go?

It started bright and early with my go-to breakfast of whole english muffin, peanut butter, banana and coffee with almond milk.  It was an early morning but I woke up not feeling over nervous.  I turned VH1 on the hotel TV and it was basically good song after good song playing and getting me pumped up.

photo-225We left the hotel, easily found parking and just waited.  When it was time, I found my place in line and joined the 2:20 pace group.  When the guns went off to start the race, I found myself immediately emotional.  I was feeling great and excited and blessed to be able to run.

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I quickly realized I needed to pull away from the pace group.  I was careful not to go too fast but was feeling like I could, needed and wanted to go a bit quicker so I allowed myself to push a little harder to a pace that felt right.  I quickly got in my groove and just kept going.

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The first few miles flew by really quickly.  In fact, the first 1/2 went by pretty quickly and I was feeling strong.  I didn’t start hurting until about mile 9 or so when we had another hill (I thought this was a fast and flat course?!) but was still going strong.  It wasn’t until mile 10 when I couldn’t get a water cup from the stand because there were too many people and they only had volunteers on one side (the left). I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal (I was carrying a small bottle) but as we hit mile 11 and were running AGAINST the wind, I was wishing for water.  I slowed down, big time.  This was really when I started hurting.  My hips (especially my left) were hurting and the wind just took so much effort.  But I was so close I could take it.  I kept telling myself only 2 miles, you can totally run 2 miles.  So I didn’t stop. 

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I passed the final water station and made sure to grab a cup.  And then I kept going.  I knew I was close.  I knew I only had a mile or so left.  I knew I could finish.  I turned the corner and you could just hear the screams.  We were in the home stretch. I got so emotional in this moment and chocked up I could hardly breathe. You couldn’t see the finish line but it was near.  I kept pushing.  I saw my mom quickly and knew I was almost there.  I kicked it into high gear and heard someone say “that’s an A!” (I have no idea what that meant, if it was towards me but I used it as fuel – A for effort to finish strong!” I sprinted as fast my little legs could go around the corner and to the finish.  I saw no one, I heard nothing, I just had one thing in mind – cross.that.finish.line.

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And I did.

 

Out of 1472 runners, I finished 796.

 

Despite a 2 hour 20 minute goal, here’s how I finished:

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I was ecstatic.  Goal achieved.

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I’ll share any official race photos as they become available.  All of today’s photos were taken by my cheerleaders parents. 🙂


40 thoughts on “The Outcome”

  2. Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

    Ahhhhh! You get an A alright…for AWESOME…and AMAZING…and AHHHHH-I’MSOPROUDOFYOU! <- Yep, that's ONE word! 😉

    It was totally the VH1! Haha! I'm so glad you listened to your body, respected it, and finished strong!! You EARNED that 796, girl! EARNNNNNNNED IT! 😀

  7. Amanda @ Diary of a Semi-Health Nut

    Oh goodness you are too awesome!! I don’t even have a pace goal so I’m almost bummed I saw your time because the competitive side of me wants to beat it! But I’ve been doing 12 min/mile pace for my long runs, so I think you will beat me. 😉

    So happy you not only made it, you did great!! 🙂

    1. admin Post author

      Don’t get competitive for this one! I had to battle my competitive side, even against myself while running but it was more about running for me and listening to my body while I ran. Because I did that, I think that’s why I was able to finish and finish strong. That’s all you can ask of yourself – listen.

  8. Luis

    Great pace! I get that pain on my left side of the hip every time I push myself too much, but sometimes you just can’t help it right?

    I’m new to your blog and I hope I get to keep reading more of these running posts!

    Congrats on the finish by the way.

    1. admin Post author

      Welcome!! And thanks! My left hip has been bothering me through the last few weeks of training but I’ve been getting adjustments from my chiro which helped a LOT. I think all the work I’ve been doing is why it didn’t bother me more or earlier and allowed for a quicker recovery.

  9. Calee

    WAYYYY TO GO!!!! 🙂 I’m so glad that you were able to finish your race. Great work! You inspired me to do my run today. Plantar fasciitis be damned.

  10. nanc

    Congrats, Katie…I’m friends with your mama…and she is an incredible cheerleader in so many ways. I love seeing your smile in that picture. Your blog is awesome. I hope to pick up some of your healthy tips. xo nanc

  12. B

    Congrats Sissy! I bet it was emotional! Just watching the Baltimore marathon go past my house made me emotional and want to run their half when my back finally gets back to normal. Great job!

  15. Precious

    I think you did awesome!!! Glad you kept pushing yourself!
    I know whenever I do my first half my only goal will be to FINISH!
    Good job 🙂

    1. admin Post author

      It can be your only goal and then you can celebrate MORE if the finish is even greater!

  17. Lori

    Great finish! I ended up finishing faster with my first half than I intended. It feels great. Did you take any energy food like goo or clif shots? That really helps me when I am doing long runs.

    1. admin Post author

      I did clif shot blocks. Next time I want to try some other options that might make me feel better and are less likely to upset my tummy. I don’t think these ones did but sometimes I felt wishy-washy about them but ran out of training time to try something else so since they didn’t immediately make me sick, they were the winners. haha

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