Another 1/2 in the books

I'm so far behind in blogging, it's not funny.

Should I resolve to blog more?  We know how that goes.
But I resolve to blog more.

On May 22 I ran my 4th 1/2 marathon.
Guys.  It wasn't pretty.
I wasn't trained enough.
I wasn't prepared.
Mentally.
Physically.
And it was hot.  Hot for May.
So I didn't PR.  And that's disappointing.
But I did finish.
And it was a bucket list 1/2.

I've always wanted to run the Cellcom 1/2 marathon in Green Bay.
You finish the race by running the inside track of Lambeau Field.
Since I started running, I knew I'd run Cellcom one year.
"Run" is the key word...but....anyway.

So I signed up after having an AWESOME 1/2 last August.
But training for a spring race is hard.
Oliver was sick...a lot...remember that?
And I've been traveling a lot for work.
And mom guilt is rough.
Working mom guilt is ridiculous.
Traveling working mom guilt is off the charts.
When I'm home - I just want to be with those kiddos.  I don't want to leave for 2 hours to run.
So I missed a lot of weekday runs.
And some weekend runs.
And when I did run, it was 40* and snowing.

My "Good Morning" Race Day Text from 2 of my 3 biggest fans

I managed to talk my friend Sara into running my 4th 1/2 with me.  She was a pretty willing participate - bless her heart!

Random Story: when we checked into our hotel the night before, we couldn't go to our room right away because there was a "domestic dispute" being resolved by the police in the hallway.  Awkward...Point 1 for Cellcom.

The next morning the sun was shining and the temperature was climbing.  Eventually...I think we hit
77*.  Dang.  1 point, Cellcom. (we are at 2:0 in case you are counting).

Hiding the blisters...my feet suck

But seriously, I love race day!  The excitement!  The energy!  Cellcom really staggers the waves, so we started a good few minutes after the actual gun.

All smiles pre-race

Mile 1, 2, and 3 went well.  We had a good pace going.  Sometimes I'd ask Sara if we were "gaining" or "sustaining".  A few times we started going a little faster, but I didn't want to waste energy too quickly.  By mile 4 however, we started decreasing.  And by mile 5 we had added a good 30 seconds to our pace.  We also already had to slow through a water station.  Usually I try to make it until mile 6 or 7 before slowing through water stations.  Sara's knee was also really bothering her and she told me to go ahead.  I was still feeling a "OK" so I went ahead.

Around mile 5 the water stations also started giving out ice, which was a welcome addition to my hat.  I put on my music and just tried to focus on maintaining my pace.  However, without Sara's watch and without timing clocks at each mile marker, I didn't really know how I was doing.

The spectators were awesome too - many of the houses brought our hoses and sprinklers.  If you've ever run in heat, you know how welcome that cool water feels.  Seriously awesome.

And I just kept on trucking.  I started walking water stations and doing my best to maintain my pace.  I also recall at Mile 12 wanting Diet Coke like I've never wanted before.  Like I almost grabbed some man standing outside his house and begged him to get me a Diet Coke.  And where the hell was Lambeau Field?  It's a giant football stadium in the middle of a neighborhood...one would think you would see it towering over the little ranch houses.

Finally, I saw it.  Yay!!  The course had you run past the finish line, which I typically hate, because I feel like it's just a tease.  But it was actually inspiring...and then I ran down the little ramp and into the stadium.  I KNOW I got the DUMBEST smile on my face while running through the tunnel that all the Packer's run through before a Packer's game.  It was pretty dang cool.

I looked like a good running around inside Lambeau.  I slowed down a bit and tried to take it all in...I wish I would have taken a selfie while running.  I already knew my time was going to suck...so why not have an excuse?

Also - I think I expected the stadium to be filled...there were a few handfuls of spectators...not full.  Eh...a girl can pretend.

So.  I finished.  I crossed the finish line and some woman came running up to me and put one of those reflective sheets on me.  My God it was horrible - I couldn't get away from her and that horrible sheet fast enough.  I was hot and sweaty...which is a good thing after a hot run.  I wasn't cold with goosebumps.  I saw Sara as I was running out of Lambeau, so I knew she wasn't far behind me.

We found each other and complained about how horrible the run was and how horrible we did.
Truth be told, neither of us did THAT bad.  I was under 10 minutes slower than my best 1/2 marathon.  So not great, but it's not like I was 30 minutes slower.  And I KNOW I didn't train as hard.

We drank our beer and had a brat and started walking back toward our car.  We made the obligatory Lambeau leap.  And then the obligatory Starbucks stop.

The drive home was pretty terrible.  I was tired, sore, hot, nauseous....good times.

And...of course...in the parking lot...while drinking our beers and complaining about the run...we planned our next one...

I didn't have any money after the race to buy this shirt...Bummer...I even asked if they accepted Paypal!

But not until I run 19.5 miles in 2 weeks at Ragnar....