First Half Marathon

Well, these pictures are just all out of order! I ran in my first race ever last Saturday. Some people might decide to start with a 5K, but I went straight for the half marathon. I decided 6 weeks before the race that I really wanted to start exercising and I really wanted to go to Tennessee. I downloaded a 6 week training schedule online and just started running. My dad said he would do it with me. He's in much better shape than I am, so he really had to slow it down for me. First of all, 6 weeks of training is not enough (especially if you are not already exercising). Secondly, having bronchitis does not help! I'm just going to describe the pictures and then I'll write about the experience at the end. Ryan took this first picture at mile 12. Dad's feeling great. I'm ready to lay down in the grass.

Waving at Ryan.

Big Bear in the race. It was really hot so I have no idea how he was able to run in that costume.

Our D-Tags that kept us with our time.

In line at the port-a-potties before the race.

Steve McNair at Carson's baseball game (his son was on the other team).

Brooke came out to support us.

Nashville.

Finished!

Dad gave us these masks to wear on the airplane to keep from getting the Swine Flu. We didn't really wear them.








Dinner with friends. :) The boys were there too, but we didn't take a picture of them.

Theresa's shower.







Pearman boys at Carson's game.

Playing short.

Ok, now I'll start from the beginning. I flew home Monday, April 20th. I was pretty sick and had been for a week and a half. The last 30 minutes of the flight I thought my ears were going to explode. If I had been a child I would have been screaming my head off. Mom and Theresa picked me up from the airport and we went shopping and found a dress for Mom to wear to the rehearsal dinner and then we went to dinner at Carraba's (one of my favorites). Tuesday morning Mom went to the doctor with me and I still had bronchitis and I started an antibiotic and got a shot of steroids in my hip. The doctor said I had blood in my ears from the flight. I started feeling much better pretty soon after getting the shot. I couldn't believe that when I took my prescription to Walmart it was only $4! And they didn't even ask for my insurance card. Somehow I didn't know about that deal. The rest of the week was spent visiting with Nana and Grandaddy, getting well, playing games with my parents, Brad & Emily, and jogging with Dad. It was wonderful! Ryan arrived in Nashville Thursday night and went to dinner with some of his buddies. Friday morning my parents and I left for Nashville and registered for the race. We ate pasta with my aunt and uncle and then tried to go to bed early (about 10:30). We woke up at 4:30 Am to get ready for the run. Ryan was so nice to get up with us and drive us to the starting place so that we didn't have to try to park and take a shuttle. He stuck around until the race was beginning and took pictures and then he left to go to Brooke's soccer game. Before the race started I was feeling anxious. I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into! My dad had some cough drops, kleenex, and my inhaler in his pocket for me. When the race started I was actually sucking on a cough drop. When I decided to sign up for the 1/2 marathon, I wasn't really worried at all about my time, I just wanted to finish. Two days before the run dad and I went jogging and he announced that our goal time was to average 12 minute miles. So, there you go. That was our goal. We got in our assigned corral (like a bunch of cattle) and waited for our turn to start the race. The entire time I was worried that I was going to have to go to the bathroom because the antibiotic had messed up my stomach. I was also feeling a tad claustrophobic being in a line of 30,000 people. The girl beside me was blowing her nose into her hand and then wiping it on her shorts. Gross. I mean, you can be athletic and still be a lady. And it wasn't like the race had even started. The actual race began at 7:00, but our group did not start until almost 7:50. The first mile went pretty fast. The second one came pretty slow...probably because of the hill that seemed to stretch forever. A lot of runners were having a hard time because of the heat. Well, since I trained in Miami I was used to the heat. What I was not used to were the hills! Wow they can really slow a girl down. When I got to the first water station I didn't know that the white cups were water and the yellow cups were Cytomax (energy drink). I accidentally grabbed Cytomax and did not like it. I don't like to have anything with a taste when I'm running. I pretty much tasted it for the rest of the race. When we crossed the 5K mark I was feeling good. When we passed the 10K mark I thought to myself, "wait, this isn't even halfway?!" They had bands playing all along the course, but honestly I only enjoyed 2 of them. The others were just kind of playing their guitar and talking into the microphone when I went past them. Around mile 8 we were running uphill and a band was playing "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" and that song moved my feet up that hill. Although I kind of wanted to stick around and enjoy the rest of the song. When Dad agreed to run in the race with me I imagined we would have almost 3 hours of great father/daughter talks. Ha! Our conversations consisted of Dad talking and me nodding. I couldn't talk/breathe/run at the same time. I wouldn't say I actually ran. We jogged the majority of the time, walked fast to catch my breath, and only really took off running if I could tell we were going downhill. Dad was like my servant during the race. He ran ahead of me at every water station and got me a drink. Then he would act like he was teaching me to walk and he would hold the water out to me and be jogging backwards so that I would have to pick up my pace to catch the water. He also threw water over my head to cool me off. He carried a washcloth and handed it to me to wipe my sweat. He was a great running buddy! There were tons of people cheering on the sides of the road and giving out fruit slices and drinks. I slipped on an orange peel (kind of like in a cartoon). There were some guys sitting in their front yard giving out free beer. Can you even imagine that people drank beer while running a long distance on a hot day? There were also people spraying their water hoses so that we could run through them if we wanted to cool off. After Brooke's soccer game Ryan was waiting for us at mile 12 to take some action shots. Then he ran to the finish line to take more pictures. He was very supportive. :) When we got to the finish line Dad and I held hands up in the air and crossed together (even though the records show that I crossed 3 people in front of him). 13.1 miles. Our official time was 2:45:16, which means we kept our pace of 12 min miles. After it was over I realized that I could not feel one of my toes. When I took off my sock and started moving it it was really throbbing and hurting. Well, not to gross you out, but a couple of hours later the toenail was lifted up and there was a big blister on my toe that extended under the nail. It still has not fallen off, but I'm pretty sure it will. After the race we went to lunch with my parents and aunt and then we went to Carson's baseball game. We went to a big dinner that night with Will and Jenny and I ate so much food! I was starving from all the running. Just to give you a preview of how busy our time at home was, this was our Sunday schedule: went to early church, went to Target to get a birthday present for Cutler, I went to Theresa's shower, had Jeremy and Cutler's birthday party, packed for Jackson, had dinner with lots of friends, drove 2 hours to Jackson and visited with my parents and Nana. Busy, but perfect! I just realized today that we could be moving back to Tennessee for good 2 years from now! That doesn't sound that far away. We got back to Miami on Tuesday and that night Ryan came home from the library with a package. He ordered me a trophy! :) It has my name and the Country Music Marathon and the date. He was proud and wanted me to have a trophy. Here's the funny part...he couldn't decide between 2 of them, so he ordered me 2! I now have a tall trophy and a short trophy (for the same event). As I said before, very supportive! :)
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=45789&BIB=29297&S=230&PWD= This is the link if you want to see more pictures that were taken at the race.