It's been almost a month since I ran the famed Eugene Half Marathon that I've had on my bucket list for some time now. It was the BEST and the WORST race I have ever run!
The best because I got to run it with my awesome husband (we are both Ducks!!). I got to run past some very cool and meaningful places (my old dorm, my son's fraternity, Autzen Stadium, etc.!)
The best because I got to finish on the historical Hayward Field, the same place Steve Prefontaine trained and where Ashton Eaton broke some records!
But, the very best part was running the race for our dear friend, Missy who is running her toughest race. Against cancer. It was my husband's idea to dedicate our race to Missy (she lives in Eugene and is a fellow Duck!)
I had heard of people doing "prayer bands" during long races and dedicating each mile to a certain prayer, petition or person. I loved the idea so, I took to the internet and googled the idea! One great suggestion I found was to grab some pace bands at the Race Expo (Usually the ClifBar booth has them). Well, with neither my husband or myself being competitive or fast, we had NO idea what a pace band was actually used for, but we were very happy to turn them into our prayer bands for sweet Missy!
Here's what they looked like. Each mile was a different prayer for our friend. Courage, Strength, Healing...13 prayers in all. I later told Missy that I was a little selfish with some of the prayers, particularly Strength, when I hit Mile 9 and a huge hill. She didn't mind one bit that I "double-dipped" that mile's prayer!
So, why was it the worst?
Well, for starters, I did not train as hard I had for my previous two halves. I think my longest run was somewhere around 8 miles. I remember asking one of my "running mentors" if he thought it'd be okay to skip the longer runs and he said, "It just depends on how sore you want to be!" And, boy was he right! I felt really good up to about Mile 7 and then my body started retaliating -- especially my knees! I have never had problems with my knees before, but this was an excruciating pain!
All I could think about was crossing the finish line at Hayward Field and prayed that my legs would carry me that far! I no longer cared about my goal time of 2:30 but, rather just about being physically able to finish the race, get my medal and my well deserved pancake!
(The race is sponsored by Krusteaz!)
In the end, I finished in 2:36:22 and my husband beat me by 3 minutes (who did not train at all, by the way!) I did not set a new PR, I had, however, just set a new record for the longest I'd ever run at one time and that felt pretty good! I was so happy to be done that I was on an emotional, adrenaline rush for the rest of the day! I had accomplished a very special goal and had run a very special race!
Yep, that's what I did!
