Luck Favors the Prepared... I'm a Two-Timer

On Friday night I picked up my last ever race packet that said on the outside: 32/F. Two days before my 33rd birthday and I was getting ready to run my second half-marathon. Oy. Being at the packet pick-up early was the most prepared thing about this race.

I decided to do the Hoosier Half sometime in December - I'm sure of it, because I registered on New Year's Eve, before the price went up. I was still being ridiculously lazy after the Grand Rapids Half-Marathon (October 21st), running a few miles, a few times a week, tops. I figured after the holidays, I would get things back together, get my running back on track, use the Hoosier Half as training for the upcoming 5/3 Riverbank 25k (in under 5 weeks, and 3+ miles longer than a half, if you're keeping track). However, between lingering hip pain that landed me in PT and delayed onset winter that made for a cold and snowy January and February, I found myself a nearly non-runner by March.

However cooler (??) heads prevailed and Kari insisted that "of course we're still doing it! We're going to Bloomington to celebrate your birthday!" Like me, Kari has only been running for a year as of this spring. Unlike me, Kari is a balls to the wall, crazy yoga chick who has her breath and lungs conquered. She joined a few running groups and kicked up the heat quickly - and slowed her pace to get me through my 8-miler in early March to prove I still had some distance in me. I leaned on my EcoTrek fitness crew for encouragement - especially since two of them were doing the race as well. I managed a 10-miler 2 weeks before the race, but never got in a longer run in due to the busy Easter weekend and never quite did as many hills as I wanted. Ugh... enough about my lack of training. No one wants to hear about that.

The weekend was AWESOME, race included. We got the beautiful spring weather we've been hoping for, and for once the only smart wool piece of running gear I had was my socks! Boyfriend Mike served as driver, ground support and Sherpa for the weekend, making the whole thing a lot less the stressful. I was able to introduce Mike and Kari to Bloomington and Indiana University, got to hit some of the old haunts and visit my friends Shawn and David from my post-grad school days.

The race was difficult, but other than a ski-slope hill at mile 9, the rolling hills mostly wore me down little by little, rather than killing me all at once! I made friends with a 70-year old guy, Casey who was running his 297th road race and works as a school crossing guard. :)  We chit-chatted through the last 5 miles and he was a big help during the last 3, which totally gassed me. I've never really made a running buddy during a race, so it was a great experience.

The best part of the entire race was the finish! Not the 1/4 mile hill at the end - yes it finished UP HILL - but seeing Mike, Kari, Brian and Kylie cheering me on and leading the sparse crowd in a loud rendition of "Happy Birthday." Thanks for waiting at the finish line.

I will never run a race this unprepared again. It took nearly 3 hours - but I did it, and was amply rewarded with a medal, a t-shirt and a wonderful weekend with friends.

In honor of my 13.1 miles or my 33rd birthday, please consider donating to my Marine Corps Marathon fundraising efforts for the Epilepsy Therapy Project