13.1

This weekend was the half marathon. I trained for it for the last 3 months. I was ready. Excited even. I prepared all of my stuff on Friday night.  Pinned on my bib, attached the tracker to my laces, got out my rain gear. I was ready to go!!

And then on Saturday morning at 3 am, I woke up with stomach cramps.  Maybe it was nerves I thought as I tried to fall back asleep. Oh no. No, it wasn't.  I spent the next 2.5 hours sick in the bathroom. I thought maybe it was something I ate on Friday? Praying it wasn't the pasta I fed the kids Friday night -- luckily it wasn't.   By 6am the sickness had subsided. I was tired, angry, frustrated, but determined. I kept telling myself I trained for too long to not even try and run.  Was I crazy? In retrospect -- Yes!  But, I have wanted this, and worked for this for too long to just roll over.  So off I went to the metro. The ride in was not fun. The train was crowded, I was hot, and I was doing everything I could not to puke on the guy next to me.

The train pulled into the station. It was mass chaos. SO many people. Around 30,000 were in the race.  I had to find a space in the corner of the metro station to sit down for a minute. I was light headed.  My friends called trying to find me -- minutes later we met up. They both told me I didn't have to do it. I shouldn't do it. I said I'd start off walking. See how it went. The cold air felt good. I felt like I could breathe again.  We all went to our corral, and we waited.  While waiting in line I started to feel sick again. I think it was claustrophobia that set it off with my already weak stomach ... and I needed to sit down again. I told my friends to go on without me and I sat on the curb. I was contemplating what to do.  After a few minutes I felt okay and decided I was going to try. If I had to stop, then so be it. So, I stood up and got back in to the herd with the rest of the runners.

 The next thing I knew the race had started and off I went.  I walked more than I ran. That was definitely not the plan - but under these circumstances I was glad to even be there. At the 7.5 mile marker I saw Brody and Jeremy. I stopped and sat with them for a few minutes. Brody was so sweet - cheering me on "Run, Mommy, Run -- Go, Mommy, Go!" That gave me more strength than I could have asked for.


so happy to see my boys

taking a breather mid race

Those last 6 miles were brutal. I battled nausea, found myself crying at points, and just walked my little heart out. It was a much more emotional experience than I ever would have thought.  Last weekend I ran 12 miles without a thought of a tear, and this weekend it was a fight of a lifetime.  I thought a lot about Nanny. Prayed for her strength. And honestly I felt her with me -- I didn't do that race alone.  I finished in 3hr 15 min.  Clearly not what I had hoped for -- but, grateful that I was able to complete it.


Sunayna and I showing off our medals


Hanging with my biggest fan on the grass after the race.

We all took the metro home. I took a hot shower and climbed back in bed. I got sick again that night. But, luckily I'm feeling better today.  Finally able to keep down some food.

Last week I found myself thinking -- this would probably be my one and only half marathon. But, now I feel like I need to do another one. I want to do another one. And this time be at 100%.  So that is my plan. I'm not sure when -- but it's going to happen!

Thanks to all of you who have supported me along the way!