Thirteen Point One

Wow~the city was alive yesterday at the early hour of 6am.  From music blasting over speakers to thousands of people gathered in Centennial Olympic park and the streets, one couldn't help but feel the buzz of energy in the air.  Kyle and I made our way to our corral very early in order to not be rushed before the big run.  Kyle made a friend~a nice fella from Mississippi~ while I was too distracted by all that was going on around me to talk much.  It was nice and cool~ in the 50s.  The sky was cloudy creating perfect running conditions for the next few hours.

In just a short wait, volunteers were removing the gates that separated each corral, and we were moving forward.  It took more 11 minutes of walking up the street in a huge mass of people before the starting line was even visible to me.  Then we were off!  First through Georgia State's downtown campus than quickly to the King Center.  As people were congregated in the yard of a church, we breezed by feeling kind of bad that we were skipping church to run.  We passed through several old Atlanta neighborhoods while visiting fun spots like Little 5 Points and the Highlands.  Somewhere in there we had to pause to take some Tylenol to prevent painful joints down the road.  I was motivated to get to mile 9 where we'd enter Piedmont Park and see our friends at a beverage post.  We took a short break to greet Seth & Anna while hydrating, and then headed back to the track while Anna cheered, "pregnant runner!"  At this point, the miles just started flying by (even though I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a steady 13 minute mile kind of girl).  We arrived at Tech Square where two years ago I sustained an mild injury in my left knee making the last 2+ miles extremely frustrating.  Talk about a mental hurdle to overcome.  It wasn't until we passed the 11 mile marker on Techwood Drive that it sunk in that I could complete the race without walking.  With each step Kyle and I would comment that this was the farthest distance I had ever run in my life.  There was an awesome band playing at Marietta Street across from Engineers Bookstore; with the momentum their music gave us, we were aware that we were on our way back to Centennial.  By sheer excitement my body propelled me faster than I normally run, and Kyle encouraged me.  We weaved in between folks to get to that happy sight~ the finish line.  There were tons of people along the streets watching and cheering as we arrived back where we started; it was as energizing as the sight of all the runners we waited to race with earlier in the morning.  Kyle and I crossed the finish line together, and he gave me a victory smooch before we received our medals.  It was all so miraculous.

My second half-marathon medal~I definitely feel like I earned this one.

Back in March 2009~Kyle rests my medal on me and snaps a shot while I snooze.  Kyle gave this picture the title "Lil Champ".

 Perhaps I romanticize it a bit, but it really was a wonderful experience.  In all truth I do get grumpy when I run, and I complained for the first 3-4 miles about how Kyle's baby was sitting on my bladder making me uncomfortable.  Okay, so it's my baby, too.  But when I reflect on the experience, I'm so grateful for several things.  First that Kyle, who is naturally athletic, is kind and patient enough to run slowly with me for nearly three hours.  I know he'd get a better work out and have bigger accomplishments if he left me in the dust, but he makes our time together running a priority and never (as in never ever) complains about how slow I go.  Second, I am grateful that the training works.  All I have to do is run 3 or 4 times a week, and I can complete a half-marathon.  Ridiculous.  Third, moleskin.  I had never heard of this before a couple of weeks ago, but it's basically like the adhesive fabric from a band-aid.  It comes in large rectangles; I cut out what I need, wrap it around my toes, and prevent blisters.  Simple, but it makes a world of difference.

Thanks to Kristy for this picture of Kyle and me getting close to the finish line.

Our Results~ only beaten by 9283 other people. Haha.

 The fourth thing I'm grateful for deserves its own paragraph.  I cannot fathom how perfectly the human body was created.  I know I've furrowed more than a few women's brows when I've revealed the kind of running I do while pregnant.  In truth, many believe pregnancy to be either a frail season or an excuse to eat endlessly (which, don't get me wrong, I do).  I've talked about it with my physician and nurses (all women), and they have been nothing but encouraging about training for and participating in a half-marathon***.  I thank God that I didn't have to give up jogging (which I love) the moment I became pregnant.  I thank God that at 19 weeks~ half way through my pregnancy~ I can say that I'm at the fittest I've ever been in my life.  That's something I never expected to be true.  It's something I'm very proud of.  I know I'm starting to reach some of my limits and am planning to switch out some running with more walking and perhaps even swimming (provided I find pregnancy swimwear that doesn't make me cringe or frighten my neighbors).  Having an active lifestyle during pregnancy helps me face the delivery with more confidence and gives me hope for being in good shape once I'm a full-time mom.  I'm not sure what my post-delivery body will be like, but I shouldn't sell myself short or set low standards.  After all, I just ran 13.1 miles 19 weeks pregnant!

The fifth greatest reason to be thankful for this experience is hands down the food!  I've delayed on sharing what Kyle and I did the rest of the day, but it was a whole lot of eating in between naps.  After coming home, we virtually attended church (they have a live stream of the service online), took showers, and headed to our victory lunch at the Flying Biscuit.  Of course we wore our race shirts so folks would know why were were cleaning our overflowing plates.

Kyle rocked the High Flyer~a peach pancake, eggs, sausage, biscuit, and grits.

I couldn't resist their strawberry pecan french toast and breakfast sausage.

For dinner Kyle blended some delicious smoothies~complete with yogurt, banana, blueberries, and strawberries.

It was a great weekend, and I loved all the time Kyle and I got to spend together.  Perhaps it's early to commit myself to it, but I'm really hoping to do the half-marathon again next year.  It should be more than do-able since I'm not planning on toting around a mango-sized little man inside me next March.  For now, I'll focus on shopping for the perfect running stroller...

***It should be noted that I was only encouraged to train for a half-marathon by my doctor because I had been running a lot before becoming pregnant.  Women shouldn't start an arduous exercise regime while pregnant without consulting their doctors.  Also, it's super important that pregnant women don't overheat. Most of my training was done in winter months or cooler parts of the day~ any time I began to feel warm, I took breaks and hydrated.  I wanted to convey to you that it wasn't without careful thought, prayer, actions, and professional consultation that I undertook this half-marathon.