The catalyst for signing up for this run was Paul Greer telling me in December that he was going to do it. Always up for a good time, I decided to sign up as well. We poured out some of our Powerade for comrade Corey who was supposed to join us in OKC but for a non-descript “knee injury”.
I did not have any real extensive training for the race. I’ve always run for exercise, but in preparation for the half-marathon, I beefed up my runs to 5-6 miles on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and a 10-miler on either Saturday or Sunday, over the last six weeks. That was the extent of my training.
My day started at 4:45 AM. The following is a timeline of the morning’s events:
4:45 – Alarm set for 5:00, I wake up 15 minutes early, saving my wife from hearing the alarm go off. This will go unrecognized in the Husband of the Year awards. As an aside, I was not aware that the race started at 6:30 AM until late on Saturday afternoon. I had been operating under the assumption that the race began at 8:00 AM. This was a bit of a surprise.
4:55 – Dressed for the run, I head towards Manny and Julie’s kitchen to cook myself some oatmeal. I see that Manny has fallen asleep on the couch so I keep quiet and don't turn on any kitchen lights while I’m eating.
4:58 – Manny walks into the kitchen to get something to drink. I say “Hey man!” -just about giving him a heart attack. I don’t think he was expecting a weird dude to be eating oatmeal in the dark in his kitchen at 5AM. Fortunately Julie and Manny already know I’m a weirdo, so I don’t think we’ve broken any new ground here. Manny bids me adieu and goes back to bed.
5:15 – I finish getting ready and step outside. 55 degrees with a breeze. Nice. All week the forecast has called for cold temps and rain. I am thinking we got lucky and maybe bad weather won’t hit until after the race. We’ll come back to this.
5:35 – Since I had plenty of time before the race started, I stopped for coffee at 7-11 and made my way from Manny/Julie’s to downtown OKC. I realize about halfway down to the city that I have forgotten my race number and shoe timer. Have to go back, otherwise nobody will believe that I ran this thing.
5:50 – Try this again, heading towards downtown for the second time this morning. Uh-oh, it is raining. Hard. And it’s getting colder, the reading on my car now says 48 degrees. I can already tell…this is going to suck.
6:20 – I am stuck in standstill traffic, not even within three miles of the start-line. It is really pouring. I am thinking I already have my built-in excuse. Maybe I’ll just pull over at a hotel and go for a run on their treadmill and then go back to Julie/Manny’s and go back to sleep. Then I remember that Paul is already down there, and I can’t let him do this alone.
6:27 – Park the car, approximately one mile from the start line. I don’t know whether to keep my fleece on or leave it in the car. I decide to wear the fleece. We’ll get back to this later. I don't want to be too far behind the 6:30 start, so I run towards the race, not 100% sure where I’m going. A Good Samaritan points me in the right direction.
6:35 – Arrive at the start line, only to find out that they’ve delayed the start for 30 minutes because of the weather. Cool, now I get to stand in freezing rain for 25 minutes.
6:52 – Just hanging out.
6:55 – National Anthem, followed by “Beautiful Day” by U2 on the speakers. Poetic, since it’s one of the ugliest days I’ve ever seen.
7:00 – We’re running!
7:08 – Run my first mile in 7:50. Went through Bricktown, saw Manny’s Texadelphia. Feeling good. Unfortunately, the aforementioned coffee has caught up to my bladder, and I have to stop at a port-o-john. My goal has been to run at an 8-minute mile pace, and I’m concerned this will knock me off my pace. This will be funny later.
7:24 – Pass the 3 mile marker. That was surprisingly easy. It is raining, but I’m staying fairly dry. Maybe this won’t be too bad.
7:48 – Cruising. Still feeling good. The fleece is starting to retain a good amount of water and is getting heavy. When the 40 degree winds cut through the fleece, it feels like I’m getting stabbed with ice cycles. Still, I think if I take it off it will be way too cold. I spend the rest of the race debating to myself whether I should take the fleece off.
8:05 – Mile 8. Doubt sets in. I’m not going to finish, maybe instead go to the hospital with a nice case of hypothermia.
8:25 – Mile 10, Ipod is playing “Feelin’ Alright”. I feel miserable. And I can’t feel my hands. I throw the 8 minute mile pace thing out the window, and now I just hope that I can finish. I swear my fleece is so water-soaked that it now weighs 20 pounds.
8:35 – Mile 11, “Take Yo Time, Rodney” on the Ipod. I think I will. And stop calling me Rodney. I am actually running through a very nice part of OKC at this time. The houses remind me of the homes along Swiss Avenue in Dallas, old stately mansions, wide streets, big lawns. Under other circumstances, this could probably actually be enjoyable. You know, if I could feel my toes.
8:46 – FINISH LINE. Someone hands me a medal and takes my picture (I'll post this picture if I ever see it). I’m only thinking about getting to my car. I am a 20-minute walk from the parking lot. My feet hurt. My legs are dead. Can’t feel my fingers or toes. Amazingly, it is still raining. It has not quit raining since 5:45AM. How does this happen?
8:59 – I am stumbling to the car. Someone in front of Carl’s Jr hands me a free burger. I carry it in my hand for a couple blocks in an attempt to warm up my fingers. Doesn’t work. I throw the burger away. Thanks for nothing.
9:07 – I get to the car and see Jenn’s been calling me. Apparently Jenn/Julie/Quads just missed me at the finish line. I drive to meet them, and she has some dry clothes for me. I can’t stop shivering. We go to Texadelphia and set me down in a booth, Manny gives me his jacket, Julie gets me a Starbucks coffee.
9:25 - Still shivering.
9:30 - Finally after some queso and about halfway through the coffee, I start to regain some feeling in my fingers. The shivering subsides, and other than soreness from the run, I am more or less okay.
I don’t know that I’ll run another half-marathon. I think I can cross it off my list. It was a gorgeous day in OKC on Saturday, but I suppose that’s how it goes. I am glad I did it. Thanks for letting me share.
Charlie and I iced our knees down when we got back to Dallas.
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ReplyDeleteNIcely done Patrick!
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