I have walked several races (Rock n' Roll Las Vegas 1/2 marathon, Catch the Rabbit 1/2 marathon, ET Full moon midnight 1/2 marathon, Mardi Gras 10K, Susan G. Komen 3-Day 60 mile walk), but this is the first event where I actually RAN the entire thing!
So, I got up yesterday morning and I didn't shower even though Scott said I should. I ate a bowl of oatmeal made with Lite Silk Soymilk and a banana. I put on my compression pants, running socks, my Adidas Supernovas, sports bra and my bright green shirt that we had made from the Vegas 1/2 marathons. Of course, that shirt is an XL and I am a Small to medium now, so it was kinda bagging:
But since it was a St. Paddy's run, we were encouraged to wear green and I wanted to wear it since it has my name on it and everything, so off we went. Scott very generously went along since I asked him to please take pictures of me at the finish. We went to the Hacienda hotel/casino in Boulder City almost the whole way to the dam - Arizona, that is. I couldn't believe the crazy parking and how many people were there, it was really nuts, I didn't think I was going to get a spot. I finally found something, we walked through the casino for one last bathroom break and I decided to tie a knot in the back of my shirt to tighten it up so it wasn't flapping in the breeze. I put on my iPod and got my Garmin set to record my pace and distance, I got my sunglasses and gave Scott my phone (that was a toughie - I had really wanted to carry it!) and I was ready to go:
a couple of pics just outside the Hacienda:
I've already posted these on Facebook and I received tons of comments, people saying how great I looked - that I looked STRONG and LEAN and SKINNY! WOO WOO! I just think that I look HAPPY, which might be just as much an accomplishment for me as being all of those other things.
Since I gave Scott my phone and camera, I couldn't get any pics of the actual race, so I started walking down to the trailhead. He was going to hang out at the casino for about 1/2 hour and then come down. I had told him that if I run my fastest 5k ever, I will be done in 35 minutes. I have been running 11 - 11.5 minute miles on my neighborhood runs and my fastest one ever was 35 minutes. I figured being on gravel and being in a crowd with a bunch of people that my time might be as long as 45 minutes, so I told him no shorter than 35 and probably no longer than 45. The info about the race had said it was about 1/2 mile to the start and OMG, it was down a trail that was made of dirt and down a cliff, yikes! I had said to someone behind me "just what I need is to break my leg five minutes before the race", lol. So I got down to the start about one minute before the 1/2 marathon was about to start. They started at the tunnel at the trailhead. This course is neat as you run along what used to be a train track that was built to take supplies to the dam. They actually blasted tunnels through the rock for the tracks, to get supplies through. The tracks are long gone, but the tunnels are there and it's kind neat to run through them - you get cooled down and some shade.
These are some pics of the tunnels from last year when I did the Catch the Rabbit race - it was on this same trail, just so you can get an idea of what the tunnels look like:
So, the 1/2 marathon started and then they lined us up. I got in the back of the pack, since that is where I am used to started and besides I figured that I was a slow runner and I would be in the back of the pack. So off we went, they had bagpipers standing on the top of the first tunnel where we started, I started my Garmin and I was on my way. I was happy that I had started in the back, as it wasn't too crowded but I did take off around tons of walkers. I kept thinking that was me before and to look how far I had come. It was sunny and warm but not too horribly hot and I kept passing people and looking at my Garmin and thinking that my pace was too fast and that I needed to slow down. I was afraid I was going to not have any energy left for the end but I was feeling good and I kept on going. There was a water station at about .75 and I slowed down and drank a water and then before I knew it, I was at the 1.5 mile mark, and the turn around.
So I remember thinking that I was halfway done and I needed to slow down, but my feet wanted to keep going, so off we went. I did stop at the water again and I passed lots of people, but I was doing great. I saw the sign for one mile to go and I thought wow, I only have about ten minutes left, and ran a bit more, turned the corner, and there was the finish line. I actually got choked up just for a split second but then I got really happy because I knew that I was going to do it! I started looking around for Scott and I didn't see him, and I was smiling really big as I ran the last 1/4 mile and before I knew it, I was done! The announcer said, good run ladies and someone handed me a medal. My MEDAL! YAY! The medal is one of my main motivations. I LOVE GETTING MEDALS! I felt like I earned this one so much more than other races where I walked and got a finisher's medal - I RAN for this one - I was so happy. I looked around for Scott and didn't see him anywhere and I stopped my Garmin and it said 32:34 - wow! That put me at a 10:33 mile??? I had beat my fastest 5k by 2.5 minutes! YAY! and that was just my Garmin, not my official time.
So, I finally hear Scott and he says, "sweetie, you finished too fast, I saw you coming around the corner toward the finish line and I wasn't even down there yet" then he said, "look up and look at all of these people that you beat!" I looked up and there were a bunch of people finishing behind me - I'm not worried about racing against any of them, I just wanted to race with myself - but I felt validated as a runner. So I asked him to take my picture at the finish line:
and just like that, it was over...I had to go and pick up my Bountiful Basket so I had to take off...
So we went and got the basket and went home and I wore my medal for the entire day:
even when we went out for my victory dinner at Red Robin....
I was eager to see my official time and rank and when I got home and checked the website...
Out of 54 finishers in my age group, I finished at # 11 !!!!!!!!
11 ANYA SANKO LAS VEGAS NV 39 F 33:56 32:22 10:25
NO WAY!!!!! That 32:22 is my chip time for the race and the 10:25 is my mile pace....Little did I know, apparently that would be in the top 20ish% :)I finished 191 overall out of 421, putting me well into the top half (top 45% actually) overall!
That means there were over 200 people that came in behind me. I really have no idea how this occurred.
What I do know, is I did it, I finished and I did good and I am happy.
YAY!
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