Monday, February 7, 2011

Surf City Half Marathon Finisher!!

I finished 13.1 miles. A H A L F M A R A T H O N. Whoo hoo! I think I can officially say I am a runner. It was a totally amazing experience. Besides my first triathlon at Avia Wildflower, this was the hardest race I've done, yet the most emotional and meaningful race. Here I am before the race.
Recap:
Saturday night, after traffic, getting into hotel, eating dinner, then getting a shuttle ride to Disneyland, it was about 7:00 pm! We spend a few hours there, went on several rides, and the boys got to see Mickey. We got to sleep at 11:00 pm.


Sunday, we woke up at 4:30 am. I had oatmeal and bread for breakfast. We let the boys sleep, and put them in the car while they were sleeping. Left the hotel by 5:30 am, got to the race at 5:45 am. There were already SO many people there. We had to park at least 1.5 miles away from the start. I so wished I had my bike with us, because I had to walk to the start to get my packet from Sheila. We got to meet in person which was so nice! And my shirt fit perfectly. The parking lot was filling up so fast due to all the traffic and people piling in. So we parked instead of Davey dropping me off. Davey and the boys stayed in the car so the boys could keep sleeping.

Once I got my packet and shirt I went into the hotel across the street and used the bathroom, put on my shirt, knee braces, and timing tag. I stretched a little and wanted to wait for Davey to come to me so I didn't have to walk back to the car and back again before the race, but he was taking so long. He had to get the boys dressed, then give them some food, and pack the stroller. I got anxious and decided to walk to him. Bad idea. My hip started hurting right away. I was getting so nervous that it was going to bother me the whole run. It was quickly 7:30 and I hadn't even gotten to Davey yet, and I needed to stretch more. Finally we met up. I was stressing out because my wave was suppose to start at 8:09 am. We got back at 8:05 ish, and I found my group. I stretched my hip a lot. It started to fell better but still hurt. I was glad Davey and the boys could be with me until we started.

Soon we were off. I was excited and anxious and proud all at the same time. My playlist was awesome. Thank you all that gave me a song.Above I am pretending to run, as you can see there are so many people you could barley walk!
Above, finally running!


Mile 1-
I knew I was more than warm, but I didn't feel like it. I felt tired already. Familiar feeling for mile 1. My hip surprisingly didn't bother me at all while running.
Mile 2-
Feeling better and loved how everyone cheered when we hit the 2 mile marker. Had a comfortable pace, and ran beside a lady that had my same pace for a few miles.
Mile 3-
Walked for less than a minuet here while I drank some vita lyte (?not sure what it was?) Than took off again. Very happy with my 3 mile time 40:46.
Mile 4-
Up a nice steep hill. Ran part of it, then walked the rest. At the top there were Porta Potty's, with lines. These lines weren't as bad as some I saw around mile 2, so I stopped. Took about 5-7 minuets. After I was done, I got some crazy burst of energy and ran FAST (way faster than I normally run) to try to catch up to some of the people I was running with. I felt
I N C R E D I A B L E at this point.
Mile 5-
Was good, still feeling good. Trying to keep a steady pace.
Mile 6-
I kept looking for the 6 mile marker, but it never came. I was getting nervous that I was behind! Then came the 7 mile marker!
Mile 7-
I was so happy I was past half way. I texted Davey a photo of the mile marker and he said, "All down hill now!". He text me during the race how proud him and the boys were. It was amazing. I teared up here, and a few other times during the race. Just the thought that I was doing a half marathon made me teary.
I think it was mile 7 & 8 I got hit with what I call "Runners tummy" instead of "Runners Trots". Oh it hurt so bad. Thank God I had Tums.
Mile 8-
Still feeling good. Still running mostly. Walking sometimes when I got water, or if I felt I needed to walk for a minuet I'd tell myself to run to a certain point than walk. I hit mile 8 at 1:55 according to timing. But minus 6-7 mins for potty it was about 1:48. Very happy with that!

Mile 9-
Started to feel tired, but kept running as often as my body could.
Mile 10-
Happy to pass mile 10 since that is the furthest I have ever ran. At about 10.5 miles, I felt like I got hit with a truck. Everything hurt. My legs were cramping. I had to stop and stretch a few times from here to the finish. At this point I was running slower than I could walk because my legs hurt SO bad.
Mile 11-
I walked most of this mile. When I tried to run my hips, my knees, my thighs, all screamed with pain. I sped walked as fast I could.
Mile 12-
So glad this race was almost over! I wanted to be done and be with Shane on his 3rd birthday and get to Disneyland quick! I text Davey I was almost done and he said he was on the left side of the finish line. I started running slow, saving it to go all out at the finish.
Mile 13-
Sprinted across the finish line with my arms in the air! I wasn't trying to be dramatic, I was SO proud, and happy and amazed that I FINISHED. Davey got it on camera.After I got my medal Davey called out to me and I met him at the fence. He gave me a kiss through the fence and I started balling. I was so emotional. I am so thankful that the LORD helped me to do this. The He gave me the strength and determination and desire. He gave me legs to run on. He was there with me the whole time.

After the race I got some serious attack of the Runners Tummy. By now the boys and Davey were starving and wanted me to walk around the Expo to get free food. I had to walk very briskly to the restroom at the hotel though. Twice. Poor guys. My stomach hurt so bad I could barley walk. I went back and got them food. By the time we got to the car I knew I had already walked around 4 miles this morning just to and from the car, then 13.1 than at leas another 2 after the race. That's about 19 miles!

Once we got in the car, I told Davey I was seriously reconsidering the 1/2 Ironman and the full marathon. I was in so much pain and so tired I couldn't imagine doing any more! We talked about how it's hard on them too be out there so early with nothing to do for 3+ hours. Next time I need a better plan for them. A few minuets later I said, "Well, we know I'm probably going to do both anyways." Davey said, "Yeah, I know." Hehe :)
We headed to Disneyland. I iced my knees in the car, and we got Subway (Yum) for lunch. We spent the next 6 hours walking around Disneyland. My legs were killing me! Pain pain pain. My stomach hurt again too very much. At one point had to leave a line for a ride to run to the bathroom. It was all worth it though because the boys really enjoyed Disneyland and so did we.
We walked back to the shuttle around 8:30 pm. Finally left Anaheim at 9:00 pm. We were all so exhausted. Davey was tired and he was driving and I was stressing the whole time he was going to fall asleep. But praise GOD we made it home safe at 11:00 pm. When I got out of the car...... OH MY WORD. My legs were so stiff and tight and in pain. I was limping and could hardly walk inside. Today my legs hurt just as bad. Right behind my knees the tendons feel so tight. I can't barley stretch them either because they won't go straight! It's crazy. My whole body is in PAIN. But it was all worth it.
Thank you Jesus.

So with no intentions of walking, cleaning, or doing anything except sitting or laying, I'm signing off with this thought. You CAN DO ANYTHING YOU DREAM OF.

Love, The Curvy Housewife



Half Marathon
Runner Details Race Results
Bib: 18226
Name: Adrienne Osuna
Gender: F
Age: 25
Hometown: Lancaster, CA
Overall: 11883 out of 13256
Women: 7244 out of 8357
F 25-29: 1163 out of 1267
Age/Grade: 34.82% Place: 12230
Finish: 3:09:04 Pace: 14:26
Tag Time: 3:09:04
Gun Time: 3:47:22
Split Times
3 Mi: 40:46 Pace: 13:36
8.2 Mi: 1:55:05 Pace: 14:03

15 comments:

Bridgette said...

Congratulations! You are such an inspiration.

Adrienne said...

Awe thank you!

SeattleRunnerGirl said...

Nicely done, Adrienne! What a wonderful accomplishment. Be sure to do at least a tiny bit of walking and stretching today and tomorrow - otherwise the stiffness will be UNBEARABLE!

Weightless said...

I'm so proud of you, and happy for you! GREAT job! I kept checking the live race results for you online yesterday, ha ha. I was there in spirit cheering you on. Ibuprofen today, it will be your best friend. Go to yoga tomorrow, if you can, get a good stretch in.

Adrienne said...

Thanks Valorie!!
LOL Sara! You totally were. And I thought of you while running! :)

Teamarcia said...

What a great finish line pic! Congrats! I was admiring the bling and considering doing that race next year...until I read your account of the hills. I'm a total hillophobe.

Adrienne said...

Thank you! There is only one hill.. don't be scared! you should do it!

L.B. said...

Great job! Looks like the last few miles got you but that's what happened to me in my first half-marathon. btw this is runnerluis from twitter. Didn't know you had a blog. New follower here too now :)

Christi said...

Congratulations on a great race! You finished and then you went walking through Disneyland. Amazing!

Adrienne said...

Oh HI Luis! Thank you!
Thank you Christi! :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Amazing time and look at you at the finish! I totally forgot to do that happy, waiving thingy.... And I totally missed that hill too. I think it was too close to the start for me to notice... Again Congratulations and I am waiting for those half-ironman recaps soon! :-)

Adrienne said...

Thank you! It wasn't a hard hill, you probably just flew up it! :)

blondevue... said...

Adrienne, this is so neat! Just to see you have gotten this far! Glad that your family is supportive of it. Disney land with the kids sounds like fun, although I'm not sure I could have done that after all that! What a good Mom!
Have a great day!

Sheila said...

Great race report. Sorry you're so sore. Try some warm Epsom salt baths. Those really seem to help with recovery for sore muscles in my experience. Glad we got to meet and that the shirt fits! You rock!

Adrienne said...

Thank you Sheila!! I'm so glad we got to meet too! I tool an Epsom bath last night and I will again. It does help. :) Thanks for the comment!
Thank you Tori! Love you!