The Team Ortho Half Marathon Report!

Hi everyone, I just got up from a really long nap! I ran in the Team Ortho Half Marathon this morning and it totally wiped me out! Let me just say right now that I have had better races.

Saturday morning I headed off to the race expo to pick up my bib and race packet . I arrived there at 10:15 AM and it was already packed!

This is what this years t-shirt looks like....I really love the color:)

This was my one purchase of the day. I was checking out all of the expo retail shops and found this shirt! I couldn't resist! It had my name written all over it! I have many comments on my last post with people telling me that I am in several of the Team Ortho's Face Book Page. There were four photographers volunteering taking pictures of the packet pickup/expo. I had a woman photographer following me throughout my stay. She told me that I should check out the web page for several pictures that she took of me:) There is a picture of me that is very similar to the one above.

I did not sleep well last night and I kept waking up every hour on the hour:( My alarm went off at 4 AM....I was not in the mood to get up! I was still so tired and I had to force myself to move my butt! After my shower I felt a little better. I drove into Minneapolis with hopes of scoring a cheap parking spot close to the Depot/race start and finish. I scored! I drove into a little parking lot very close to a Caribou Coffee and 1 block from the Depot! I was elated to find out that my parking for the morning would only be $1.50:)

Just look at my bib number...7587! There are two sevens in it and seven just happens to be my favorite number! Does this mean that I have a double lucky bib? Well, if you read my first paragraph, you already know the answer to this question.

I stopped off at the Depot where I used the Biffs and then people watched for a bit.

This picture is of my new friend Brenda:) We met in the parking lot and ended up talking about 30 minutes. Brenda ran in the full marathon and told me what to expect for the half.

This picture was taken about 20 minutes to the start.

Here I am in line...I went back in forth between the 1:50 and 1:55 pacers. Part of me thought it would be better to go with Scott the 1:55 pacer but he was doing the full and would leave me at mile 9. Mike led the 1:50 group. I really wanted to stay with him for the entire race and hoped for the best:)

This is a picture of all of the runners in front of me. Both the half and full marathoners started together. We shuffled up to the start and we were off. The first two miles went fine and I felt okay. I had no problem staying with Mike and the rest of the group. Mile three rolled along and I started to feel nauseous! Crap and what the hell! No! Do not feel sick! Just keep going and breath....just breath. It was getting warm and there were just way too many people for there to be any airflow. I stopped at all of the water stops and drank every drop. Mile four I was still with Mike and we were on schedule. I struggled with feeling like getting sick and having a slight headache.

It was at mile four and a half where I knew that I would absolutely need a bathroom break. OMG, my GI system was doing a darn good number on me! I was hoping for a Biffy sighting ASAP! I really can't tell you where I spotted the Biffs but I had to stand in line! There were two other guys in line:( I don't even want to think about the minutes that ticked away with this first stop. It was so damn hot in that Biff and I honestly felt like passing out. Once I got back outside I felt a little better. I continued on....I lost my pacer:( I pretty much knew that I was on my own now and that just sucked!

I really tried to stay positive and kept on thinking...just enjoy the run...don't worry about your time. Yea, that wasn't working. It was a tough run for me and I knew it was going to be a battle just getting to the finish.

I actually started to take my first fuel gel at mile three and it was gone before mile four. I am thinking that I lost my second gel during my bathroom break. I was messing with my Spibelt and forgot to zip it shut! When I noticed this I was so bummed because I knew that I would never make it without my second pack. I continued on...down the hills and up the hills. This course was harder for me than the Lake Minnetonka half. I would like to do it again minus all of my issues. I continued to grab water at every station. Sometimes I grabbed two cups and just inhaled them. I was dehydrated and needed fuel. After I hit mile eight I knew that I need to use the Biffs again. My next Biffy stop I didn't have to wait in line but I just watched the minutes tick by. For the past few weeks I have been dealing with GI issues and it is an on again off again thing. It was so frustrating and it was hard to keep a good attitude. When I finally made it to the turn around I knew that I had a little more than three miles. The thing that sucked was that the last portion of the run was uphill! Yes, my favorite! Just keep moving...quick little steps! Some nice man yelled, "Go Julie, you are almost done...just around the corner!" I forgot that my name was on my bib:) Just hearing someone yell my name and cheer for me was a huge energy booster! I attempted to run faster and I know that I wasn't sprinting in...I really wanted to be but it just wasn't going to happen for this race. After I crossed the finish line I pulled over to the side for a few minutes...I was spent! I must of looked like it because a woman wanted to know if I needed medical attention. Really? Do I look that bad? After about ten minutes I continued down the line and picked up my finishers medal! God, I love bling:)

Well, I finished!

I went on the web page to find my official running stats and they looked like this.......

Officail finish time 2:00:15

I placed 1003 out of 3355 runners.

I placed 465 out of 2196 female runners.

I placed 58 out of 292 for my age group.

I did not PR today but I finished! My 1:50 PR race will have to come another day:)

I stayed around to watch the marathoners finish! I cheered for all of the runners until I saw my blogger friend Average A come down the shoot! She did awesome!

Average A is adorable and so nice! I was so glad that I stayed and had the chance to meet her:) Congrats on your first marathon!

Well, that is all I have for now. I am so far behind blogging and I will do my best to catch up! Happy running, biking, swimming and lifting:) Cheers to you all! I will link in giveaways as soon as I get a chance:)

Shannon is hosting a $15 Starbucks giveaway!

Rad Runner is hosting a Vegan Cookies giveaway!

Kovas is hosting a Heart Smart Diabetes Kitchen Cookbook giveaway!

Molly is hosting a Drymax socks giveaway!

Amanda is hosting a yummy chocolate and a $80 CSN giftcard giveaway!