The Human Race

At the starting line... This was where the concert was after the race.
Another shot of the starting line...
This is the paramount theater. When I was a kid my mom and dad took us kids to watch gone with the wind there...It was cool see it again!

Bullets because I just have too much to say...

• Time: 1:03:56. I was disappointed a tad with that time but not really. It's my first race EVER. I ran for over an hour without stopping. Three months ago, I had never run a full mile in my life. Yesterday, I ran 6.


• There were just under 14,000 runners yesterday! 14,000!!! And I was one of them.


• Hills. I hate the dang things. I almost DIED. There were so many. And i'm not talking lil ol west texas hills. I'm talking big ol hill country hills that keep going up and up and up. At one point i turned a corner and there were three hills staring me down. I actually exclaimed outloud, "Are you kidding me?!"


• I walked about ten steps overall. I had to. I seriously HURT - like goosebumps all over my whole body hurting. And the heat. The heat, man!


• The mob of running red was so cool. It stretched FOREVER. I kept having this fear that I would look behind me and see no one. Obviously that never happened. I never saw the beginning of the race either though. The amount of red tee shirts was just amazing.


• I've never worn a jersey for any thing. Yesterday i did! : )


• Lance Armstrong, Matthew mccon-what's his name, the olympic swimmers, former ut football players, and some serious hard core runners were there.


• I was going to start at the nine minute mile pace sign. However, just watching those runners stretch was intimidating. I moved back to the ten minute milers.


• I didn't know the course at all. Missing a turn wasn't a possibility due to the aforementioned red mob, but I had no clue how far I had gone or how far I had to go. I saw only one mile marker sign - 5k. And that was about the point I also saw the three hills. Quitting was highly considered at that moment. But i didn't.


• At one point, I saw the Capitol in the distant horizon. The capitol was where the race ended. Again, i exclaimed outloud, "Thank God!"


• There were cooling stations around the race. They were like showers, not mists. I ADORED them. I was soaking wet by the end of the race. I don't know if it was more water or sweat, but I was drenched. I know I looked sooo good.


• There's just something about crossing a finish line. I'd never done it. I've never run ANYTHING. Not one race in high school. Not one fun run. Not one charity walk. Nothing. When I crossed that finish line, everything hurt. I really thought I was going to fall over and die. But then about five minutes after that (and after chugging some water and eating free yogurt and granola), I felt like I could do anything! It was just cool to be an actual participant in something.


• My nike plus thing has been lying to me. It's been telling me i've been running farther and faster than I really am. Yesterday it told me I had run 7.1 miles, not 6.2. I think I can fix it...but the thing is, I haven't actually been training as well as I thought. I am way bummed by that fact. So yesterday was really the first time I'd ever run that distance.


• My dad ran almost the same race in 58 minutes. I think I'm gonna beat him in March when I run the Capital 10K, which was the race he ran. :)


• I hate hills. Did I say that already?


• There was a sign that said, "runners only." I was a runner. It was silly how cool I felt when i read that sign.

It was a great experience. It was cool to go off on this adventure alone. To run in such a cool event. To reach a goal. To fight through pain and keep going. To run. I'd do it again tomorrow if I could. It was just a really great day.

Next? There's a 5k in san angelo, a 1ok in mason, and 10k in abilene.... I think the races will keep me motivated. I'm going to run in whatever I can afford and find the time to do...

What can I say? I'm smitten...