I did it!

 

I finished. Holy Hell, I finished my first half-marathon-- and I feel like I could fly! I've been proud of myself before, but this is a new feeling. I feel proud, invincible, like a bad-ass, and SORE. Holy hell, I hurt everywhere. But it's a good soreness, like I just gave a huge ass-whooping to something/someone that deserved it. 

I completed the race in 2:48:07-- and that's with a 7 min 41 second "pee break." Most of that break was waiting in line, but still... if I deduct the wait time from my overall race time, it puts me at about a 12 minute mile. That's amazing for a first-time, still-round runner. 

The entire experience was amazing, from the moment I got to Detroit on Saturday until after the race on Sunday evening. I pull up to Greektown Casino and, hey!, complimentary valet parking! Score! I check into the hotel and I get two $10 vouchers for casino cash and a door tag, signifying that I'm a racer and BE QUIET around my room. Bad ass. I check in at the Expo which is crazy busy and realize that- hey- I signed up for the race 5 months and 30 lbs ago. I ordered a XXL women's shirt, which is too big, and I put myself in a 15 minute/mile group-- with walkers. Apparently I didn't have high hopes for myself...

The man and I watched Michigan almost lose at the casino sports bar, had dinner in Greektown (New Parthenon!), grabbed post-race treats at Astoria, and went to gamble a bit. After we were both up some $$, we watched the Tigers and retired early.

I was up at the crack of dawn, got dressed, had the in-room coffee pot brew me a cup of caffeine, and I was ready to go. With a good luck kiss from the man, I was out the door and to the People Mover in record time. There were only 5 other runners on the train that early in the morning, but I didn't care. My nerves were shot and I was ready to go. I get to the race drop off (smart move by the race coordinators, putting the start/finish right by a People Mover stop), and HOLY SHIT. There are lights, people, porta potties, and balloons everywhere. It was like an evening street fair without the Elephant Ears. I hid in the People Mover station for a bit, since it was about 34 degrees outside. More runners came off of the People Mover and stayed in the station too, trying to warm up and *do* warm ups. I finally decided to brave the cold and hit the porta potties before the race started. I got a few pictures by the start line and made my way to my wave, letter "N," as in "Not really running."

I warm up, even get on the ground to do some stretches, and look behind me. There's the lady I feared the most-- the lady with the "last chance to get through the tunnel" sign. If you don't pass her in the race, you're not crossing the border. That's it. Race over. A bus will escort you to the finish line for your finisher medal. New goal for the day-- finish the race, but finish it before that lady does! 

The music starts going, announcer is getting the crowd warmed up, you can't even see the start line from my wave start- and then the horns go off. The first wave, the hand cyclists- are off. Then, the hard-core runners. Every 2 minutes after that, another wave (another letter in the alphabet) is set off to run. Then it's my groups turn. I take off, making sure I stay slower than my normal pace- I have to keep it up for 13 miles and I know my adrenaline is going to push me faster. I keep it all in check and tune into my music and watch Detroit roll by.

First, it was a shady-type area of Detroit. OK, I can handle that. I dodge a few potholes and keep going. Then... the bridge. I see it coming up, then I start seeing US Customs agents lining the road. They're looking for liquids, making sure everyone is safe, all of that stuff. We run through a toll booth entrance, and BAM. We're on the bridge overlooking the Detroit River. Thankfully I stayed on the inside track for most of the bridge, because bridges freak me out a bit and I knew that would mess with my brain. We crossed into Canada, where the Customs agents were greeting us with high fives and cheers. Aww, I love Canada! 

Of course, the first thing you see beyond the toll booths in Canada is a BK. Oh, how I wanted a coffee... I kept jogging. I had to pee thanks to my pre-race water (I should've waited to drink it - I knocked it back at 7am, but didn't run until closer to 7:30. No chance to sweat it out.), so I waited for close to 8 minutes. Used the clean facility (nice work, again, by the volunteers), and ran along the Canadian shoreline. It was beautiful. The sun was up, things were starting to warm up, and the crowds were there in full force. It was awesome- the signs were encouraging and hilarious at the same time, people were cheering for you even though they didn't know who you were-- it was a great feeling. 

We keep weaving through Canada until we hit the tunnel. It's downhill, so people are coasting. The wave times kept people really well spaced out so the tunnel wasn't crowded at all. I loved the tunnel- it was muggy, sure, but people were cheering (Racers, not spectators), stopping to pose by the "Line of Demarcation" between the US and Canada, and it wasn't until coming out of the tunnel when fatigue started to hit. The hill coming out of the tunnel had to be the worst incline of the race. Not only was it steep, but it was 8 miles into the race-- so you're contending with lead legs, stale tunnel air, etc. It was rough. 

Customs officers were there to cheer us on- I've never seen so many officers giving out high fives and clapping before. We run under a banner that says "Welcome Back to the USA"- I run and jump up, hitting the banner (because the guy in front of me did it and it seemed like a good thing to do- my brain is broken at this point, so just roll with it.). We run towards Cobo, past Joe Louis Arena, and loop towards Corktown and Mexicantown. Text messages from my amazing friends and boyfriend start pouring in (I had the phone off in Canada- actually, I had it off when we started the race because apparently the Free Press parking lot/start line puts you in Canada per Verizon's cell towers-- or because 27,000 of us were trying to use our phones at the same time), telling me they're tracking me, my pace is good, they're proud of me... I keep going. 

Mile 10, I grab some Gatorade from a volunteer and I feel myself getting a little light headed. My thighs started to turn into Jell-O- it was the oddest feeling, thinking that my bones were going to become liquid. Literally, it felt like a wave of liquid took over for my thigh muscles. I shook it off, grabbed some water with my Gatorade, and kept going. 

FINALLY, I see the sign directing half-marathon runners to go one way and marathon runners to go the other way. I know this means I have about a mile left. I start kicking it in, knowing that the man is waiting for me at Mile 13. I see him, call out his name, smile/wave, and keep going. I sprint at the end, not letting the woman directly in front of me cross before me. I smile as I cross the finish line- and I start deep breathing so I don't hurl on someone. I get my finisher's medal (woo!) and a plastic bag for my food. Next, I get a foil body wrap to keep in the body heat. Then, I get ushered into a water/food line, manned by awesome volunteers. It was like trick-or-treating for healthy foods. Carrots, hummus, granola, chocolate milk...

Post Race Rewards!

I try to exit the food area to find my man. I get told by security that I need to go around the block. Finally, I meet up with the man and tell him that he has to hug me despite the sweat because I feel light headed and so proud I could cry. I get a good hug- with a promise of a better one after my shower. We get on the People Mover, go back to the hotel, and take the best shower of my life.

It was a very rewarding experience. I can't wait to do it again next year- maybe it will even be the full marathon (we'll see in May when I do my next half-marathon).