The alarm clock rang at 3:45am. I didn't sleep much the night before the run. Nerves, excitement and the anticipation of waking up before 4:00am caused a restless night. Joe took one for the team and offered to drive my dad and me to the event. (I'm sure Joe thought this would be a good idea after a few drinks one night and was regretting his offer the morning of the run!). There always seems to be traffic in LA, but surprisingly not many people were on the road the morning of the run. (I'm sure most sane people were tuckered out in their comfortable beds. Runners are not sane!). Joe dropped us off and my dad and I had an hour to kill before the 6:00am start. We found some clean restrooms inside a hotel (port-a-potties are the worst!) and made our way to the start corral. We scored with a place in the A corral. (I have no idea how this happened, but thanks!). The event drew nearly 15,000 participants, so it was incredible to start in the first group.
The 10 minutes before the race start felt like an eternity. I made sure my Garmin was picking up satellite connect several times, checked my play list, made sure my shoes were tied, thought about going to the bathroom and tried to visualize myself crossing the finish line under 2 hours. Finally, the gun went off and it was time to race!
Being in the A corral meant I was surrounded by fast runners. Yikes! I clocked my first mile around 8:30. (I needed to do 9:09 to come in at 1:59:59). I thought I am starting out to fast. I tried to slow my pace a bit, but running through the park was exciting. I loved the first 3 miles of the run. We ran through California Adventure and through Disneyland Park. The characters were out in full costume. I was having a blast. My dad was running ahead of me but waited outside the princess castle so we could run through it together. We ran past Space Mountain (my favorite ride) and memories of our evening at Disney with my sister flashed through my mind. My dad patted me on the back, spoke words of encouragement and fell back letting me race ahead. I came out of the park alone without my running partner (Team Daddy/Daughter!) and faced a hill around mile 4. Pig, my absolute favorite Dave Matthew Band song, blared through my iPod (I only run to this song in distance races. It's one of my weird running rituals) and I zoned out. Mile 5 was tough and negative thoughts started to flood my mind. (I took off too fast. I have a long way to go! I am tired. Can I do this?) As I was approaching mile 6 I saw port-a-potties and decided I better stop. (I stopped at mile 6 during both Chicago Marathons and during the Long Beach half, so my mind must associate mile 6 with a bathroom break.) I emerged from the gross port-a-potties full of germs and full of desire to make up the minute I just lost. After the break, my I refocused my mind of conquering the event. (I know distance running is mind over matter!). I repeated my affirmation (I am conquering the Disneyland Half under 2 hours and I feel ecstatic. I have never been stronger or faster. I've got this bitch!) and put one foot in front of another. Running into Angels stadium was incredible. There were tons of boy scouts standing outside the stadium cheering us on. The energy was fierce. Running through Angels stadium was incredible. I was on the jumbo-tron for a brief second (I felt famous). I knew I only had to run a 5k when I came out of Angeles Stadium. (It's all about breaking down the long distance into manageable distances I've run many times before). I checked my time, did some math in my head (surely this took a mile to figure out my time since math is not my strongest subject) and realized that I could make my goal. In fact, I could even slow down my pace and still reach my goal. The end of the race was kind of a blur. I remember pushing as hard as I could and picking up my pace. As I approached the finish line I made it my job to pass a man carrying a big yellow flag. I wanted to run fast and strong because I knew my husband was in the stands. I saw the clock and the 1 in the hour column and made one final push. Done! 1:55:41. I finished the race running a 7:30 minute mile. My fastest mile was my last mile. Incredible! (I need to start pushing myself earlier in the races. Note to self...more speed work!). I did it. I reached my goal and set a PR. It was magical when the race announcer started the countdown of those last few precious seconds for runners to cross the finish line under 2 hours. I already had a bottle of water in my hand, took my finishers photo and started stretching. My first real thought after finishing...I'm ready to sign up for next year. Maybe next year, I'll run for fun and stop to take pics along the way. But, something tells me I'll push for another PR. (I bet I'll cherish having a better time more than a picture with Minnie Mouse). I think it's safe to say I'm a runner and I'm a competitor.
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