3:19

3:19.... these numbers have never sounded so good coming out of my mouth.  This past Sunday, 05.06.12, I ran the OC Marathon.  I was hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  In order to qualify for my age/gender, I would need to run it in 3:35.
 
For some reason, since having Berkley, I have become a much faster runner.  It just kind of happened.  It is because of this that Brad encouraged me to "sign up and qualify".

After signing up, I decided to actually "work" at my speed (instead of letting it happen on its own) and so I incorporated speed work into my runs (once a week).  I also started running longer runs on my "short run days".  So a typical week for me was running 50 miles.

I was pretty proud of myself for "upping the ante" and becoming more serious about the sport.  I actually grew more in love with it.  As race day approached I figured my chances of qualifying were 50/50.  It depended how I felt that morning (heavy legs?  well rested? etc).  But also running a 3:35 meant that I had to run an 8:12 min mile.  That was a hard pace to keep for 26.2 long miles!  One thing I had going for me though is my stubbornness.  Once I get something in my head, I will do EVERYTHING in my power to achieve it..... especially since I had told people that I hoped to qualify.

This brings me to race day.  I woke up feeling good.  Here I am ready to head out the door:

Did you notice the tattoo on my left forearm?  That is a pacer tattoo.  It tells me what time I need to be at (or under) at each mile.  I can glance down to see if I'm on time or not.

The race started at 5:30 so I planned to leave at 4:30am.  It started right down the street but I needed time to meet my friend Allyson, stretch, get water, and relieve some nerves.

Ally and I waiting in the Marriott that was at the start line:

The race started about 20 minutes late - which I hate because all those nerves ready get to me!  We finally sang the National Anthem, the gun went off, and we were off!   And guess what!?  I felt GREAT!

Ally and I split at mile 5.  I was a bit ahead of her, but not by much.

I kept looking down at my watch and instead of running 8:12 min miles, I was doing 7:38's!  I was a bit worried that I would hit a wall and crash later on, but I kept my pace because I was feeling comfortable.

At mile 11 I was surprised to see Brad!  I thought he would be at the finish line but never assumed he would meet me on the course.  At that point he jumped in and ran a half mile with me.  I told him, "I GOT THIS!  I'm not going home without Boston!"  He loves that quote by the way:)

So I chugged, and I chugged, and I chugged some more.  I think part of me ran so fast just to get done quicker.  I ran with mostly guys.  Towards the end, I seldom saw women.  And spectators would yell things like, "You go girl!  You're kicking the guys' butts!  Girl power!"   This made me wonder, "Am I one of the top women since they are acting excited to see a girl?"

The last 2 miles killed me.  I was exhausted and over it.  I wanted.to.be.done.NOW.  I couldn't help but think that if the race had started on time, I WOULD be done by now with a nice cold bottle of water in my hand.

At the very end, we rounded a corner and we had .2 miles to go... this is when the crowd thickened and the cheering started to get loud.  This is when I lifted my chin and gave it everything I had and sprinted it in.  I wanted to be sure to leave everything I had on the course - and that I did.  Here is my time:

3:19..... oh 3:19, how I love you!  Brad called me "3:19: for the rest of the day.... and I happily answered to it:)  He then asked me, "if you knew you were going to easily make 3:35, why didn't you slow down an take it easy at the end?"  I said, "when I realized that 3:35 was in the bag, I needed a new goal.  I wanted to see how much I could beat that time by."  This is my competitive nature.  I was (and still am) on cloud 9.  Before this race, my PR (personal record) was 3:43.  How the heck did I beat it by 24 whole minutes!?  Usually, people beat it by a few minutes, but 24!?   I still can't believe it.

I ended up winning 2nd place (out of 122) in my division (women ages 30-34)!
I was the 14th (out of 710) woman overall.
I was the 91st (out of 1,856) person.
So crazy!

I met up with my friend Shannon at the end.  She ran the half marathon, but a few of us are talking her into doing a full soon:)

One last picture before driving out of the parking lot to head home.  Brad had to tear me away.  I wanted to stay and take it all in all.day.long.

So the question remains... Boston, are you ready for me!? See you in April, baby!