.jpg)
.JPG)
I did it!! I racewalked 13.1 miles on Sunday in the VA Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon. I finished in 2 hours, 57 minutes, averaging about 13.5 minute miles, the fastest I have done this whole season. I went down on the team bus on Saturday morning, and the whole weekend was a blast. Saturday evening, Team in Training hosted a pasta dinner where we honored those who raised the most funds, listened to motivational speakers and recognized cancer survivors and honored teammates. The room was full of participants and guests from all over the country, about 500 or so, I believe. Together, we raised over a million dollars for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Our hotel was right on the beach, as you can see from the photo I took from our room. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and I know doing this event as my first race may spoil me for any future marathons and half marathons---it was just perfect.
After our pasta dinner, we had a team meeting and our coaches provided us with some last minute advice...1)don't do anything different on race day (eating habits, clothes, etc.), 2)try to get some sleep, 3)the first mile always sucks :), 4)make sure we wear our sexy bright green visors and 5)have fun. We listened carefully and then went our separate ways.
I interpreted their "don't do anything different" as advice they meant for us to apply to the night before the race too, but I decided to be daring and hope for the best. After the meeting, I went with Ronnie and my dad to their hotel where Katie, Kathy and my mom were. We sat outside on the deck listening to some live music and staring out at the Chesapeake Bay. I was starting to feel pretty pumped up for the race, and I figured a drink and some snacks wouldn't do me any harm--after all, I was in VA Beach, it was a beautiful night and I was getting ready to walk a 1/2 marathon!!! I needed to celebrate!!! So I ordered a "Pink Flamingo"...I can't remember what was in it...a banana liqueur, pineapple juice and a couple other things...anyway, it was deeeeelicious!!! I worried a little as I sipped on the red concoction since that was certainly not something that I ever, ever drank, but I figured "what the heck?!" :) Then someone ordered calamari, and I thought, "Well, it IS important for me to have a lot of calories, so I scarfed it down. Again, a little voice in my head said "You don't typically eat this before walking---be careful!" But again, it tasted sooooooo good that I couldn't imagine feeling any differently the following morning at 5 am. And luckily, I didn't!!!!!!!! So, the moral to this story is, do whatever you feel like doing as long as you're happy. :) Yah, I know, most coaches would not agree with that. But I can tell you that the next event I participate in, I will be looking for a Pink Flamingo and some calamari the night before because it worked for me!!!!!
So anyway, I went to bed around 11:30 or so and got up at 4:15 Sunday morning. Don't laugh, but I curled my hair because I knew there would be many photos taken during the race--I even put on some mascara...not that you can tell from these pictures!!!! But hey, if I hadn't put anything on, imagine how I would have looked!!!!! :) We met everyone in the lobby at 5:15 and headed over to the starting line with the rest of the 20,000 runners/walkers in the race. You'll notice that Team in Training participants wear purple singlets. This helped me bond with many people on the course---you see one and you know immediately that you have something in common, and when others see you wearing it, they cheer "Go Team!!" whether they know you or not. You never feel alone, and it's pretty incredible when you realize that every person sporting the purple singlet raised money for blood cancers in order to take part in the race.
Just after crossing the starting line (it took me about 35 minutes or so to get to it since I was in the last corral-they group people by their estimated finishing time---I overestimated mine :) ), I saw a purple singlet moving at a good pace and I decided to try and catch up. It turns out that she was actually on my walk team, but somehow we missed each other in the practices! I am so glad I found Liz because we walked the entire 13.1 miles together and we really helped keep each other at a good pace. When I stopped to stretch, I would run to catch up with her because I knew I would slow down without realizing it if I stayed on my own. There were bands every mile or so, as well as cheerleaders from different local schools. Residents were outside their homes hosing us down with cool water and blasting their stereos for motivation. The miles went by quickly and the crowd became less dense as the fastest people pulled ahead. By the way, the first person finished in 1 hour, 4 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's just crazy. :)
My mom, dad, brother Ronnie, sister-in-law Kathy and sister Katie were waiting for me at the 8 mile mark with a nice cold fruit punch Gatorade, which was good because I had finished my water bottle, and our coaches told us to stay away from the "Accelerade" they served on the course...apparently it tastes like crap and does wonders for your stomach. I felt so proud for them to see me actually walking in the 1/2 marathon--I mean, this was for real, it wasn't another practice!! I said a quick hi and sped right along. The last two miles of the race were right on the boardwalk by the beach and it was beautiful. I passed through several misting stations to cool off, and Liz and I kept testing our speed, picking people ahead of us to pass. The best was when we passed joggers..."yah, that's right---you're running and I'm walking and I'm PASSING you!!!!!!" One girl said that she could never walk that fast and Liz explained that we did indeed train hard for this!!!!
My family was right by the finish line, cheering us on. I started getting teary once the arch of balloons marking the finish came into view. I thought about George (my honored teammate--see posting below), I thought about my family, I thought about my own illness. Two years ago, this was impossible...I had recently gotten out of the hospital after my central line got infected and my fever reached 106.8. My ipod had been on shuffle throughout the race and oddly enough, it chose that time to play "Big" by Qkumba Zoo...I know, kind of an obscure song, but my cousin, Laurel and I happened to find it randomly many years ago when we were at Tower Records...the band has kind of a tribal/dance feel to it and this song is perfect for exercising because it's so fast and upbeat...you should really listen to it, but these are the lyrics so you can get a feel for it:
You're big! And strong!
You are big
And you shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream that will be spun
Don't listen to the hype about the UFOs
There's too many things nobody knows
They do their job and you do yours
Nobody does it better, we're the children of the stars
Hit it big with your heart
And big with your soul
Deep inside you're ready for the light
So move your body, dance your beat
Shake a dream alive, shake it
You are big
And you shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream that will be spun
Take some time to know yourself
You shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream
No need to apologize
There's no need to compromise
Sing your dream and sing it loud
It's real, it's yours, you should be proud
You are big
And you shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream that will be spun
Take some time to know yourself
You shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream
You're big! And strong!
You are big
And you shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream that will be spun
Take some time to know yourself
You shine like the sun
Feel it in your heart
The dream
You're big! And strong!
And let me tell you, that's how I felt---strong!!!! At the end of the race, I felt like I could do anything. I cried a little after walking under those balloons and hearing the cheers. I'm sure if my family had been able to come over and greet me then, I probably would have started sobbing--I just felt so emotional...in a good way though!! I felt for the new necklace my parents gave me the day before: a pretty silver circle that read "Julie" on the front and "You Never Walk Alone" on the back. Thanks to all of you, I never felt alone. I carried everyone in my heart, and I had my list of contributors in my hip pack. :)
As I walked past the finish, they handed me a cold, wet towel, a bottle of water, they removed my shoetag (this is what measures my official time), and FINALLY a nice lady placed the medal around my neck. It felt heavy which seemed appropriate to me...this was a big accomplishment, and I needed to actually feel the weight of what I had just done. I picked up the gear I had checked with UPS and headed to a port-a-potty to change into my bikini---now would be a good time to jump in the ocean!!!!!
But I realized I was also famished, so I opted instead to join my family for some lunch where I consumed more fried food at one sitting than I have ever done before...chicken fingers, my lucky calamari, french fries---and I threw in some crab dip for fun too. :) I also realized I was in pain...yah, I think adrenaline helped through the race, but after crossing the finish line, I noticed that my toes hurt, my hips, my back, my butt, my arms and even my neck!!! I didn't worry though because there seemed to be lots of gimps hanging around the finish line. :)
My family went home after lunch and I went to the beach. Unfortunately the red flags were out so I couldn't swim, but I enjoyed a relaxing nap on the sand. While I was laying there, I heard someone in front of me calling the name "Anthony". I remembered from the night before that one of the speakers had a 4 year old son named Anthony who had acute lymphocytic leukemia. He had been undergoing treatment since he was 20 months old. Before I left, I walked up and introduced myself to his mom and told her how much I enjoyed listening to her husband's speech and how wonderful it was to see little Anthony playing in the sand after hearing what he had been through. We talked for a half hour or more, and I made friends with Anthony by fetching him buckets of water from the ocean for his sand castle. Watching him really made me think about why raising the money is so important. Many years ago, he would not have had the chance to recover and live a normal life, but there he was, happy, healthy and looking forward to the end of his treatment in March 2008. As I'm writing this, I'm getting teary, picturing him playing on the beach, thinking of my honored teammate George, who lost his battle with leukemia, and remembering my own experience. Everyone has his/her own story, some tragic, some triumphant, and this past weekend we helped to honor them all. Thank you so much for helping me during my treatment and during my training---I can't wait to start again next year, but next time it's for a full marathon!!!!! Well, I also plan on doing VA Beach again as part of training---it's a really fun way to spend Labor Day Weekend...who will join me?!!!! I won't be fundraising for it, I just want to be a part of it again---for my fundraising, I'm going to concentrate on the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco...anyone up for that? (by the way, men participate too!) :)
Wow, I know this is a long posting, but it's kind of a farewell to my blog...or maybe, just a "see you next year"...it's been a lot of fun sharing my stories with everyone. I have one last one to make you jealous. Laura, Tiso, Ronnie, Kathy and Katie all treated me to a reflexology AND "heeling" pedicure treatment at the Red Door Salon. They gave me the gift last week and I called immediately to schedule an appointment. I went yesterday and it was amaaaazing!!!! I think that's a nice way to finish any race. :) By the way, reflexology is basically the idea that there are different pressure points in the feet (and hands, but I just did feet!) that can affect the way the whole body feels...it felt great to me!
Enjoy all the photos!! And thanks again for everything. This was a really special time for me and I was excited to share it with everyone.
