Kim and Alyssa (or...How I Ran Fast)

Today was the last "rehearsal" race before the big one in a little over 3 weeks. I don't think I'm supposed to say rehearsal.  It's sports after all.  Practice.  Yeah, practice.

I have to admit, I did not feel prepared for this one.  15k or 9.3 miles.  Yes, I'd run 9 miles before.  Yes, I'd even run 10 miles before - but I struggled with those distances and now it was gonna be around people. The nerves were different this time.  More about the run.  Less about the extras.

Lessons learned from the first rehearsal race:
I knew exactly when to leave my house,
where to park,
what to bring,
and what to do with my glasses if I brought them by accident.

Packing a bag made my life so much easier.
Even if all I had packed were ketchup packets and my book club book, the bag still would have been perfect.  It was like a safety net.

I arrived at the race site earlier than last time and had plenty of time to gear up.  It seemed like fewer people than last time.  Maybe it was more organized.  Or maybe I knew what I was doing.

I was second guessing my decision to wear shorts and a tee shirt.  It was supposed to be in the 60s but it felt chilly to me.

Time to line up.
The usual techno music pumped through the speakers.
This time I scoped out a pacer.  These Marathon-in-Training pacers are coaches who ideally run at a steady pace.  I've heard about these peeps, but have been a loner while running. Since I've had trouble with my GPS keeping true pace and I was tired of checking it so often, a pacer seemed like a good thing to try.

This time, no one near me heard the countdown or the horn go off.  We just started moving.
Oh, I guess we're going!!

First loop of three, I stayed pretty close to the scoped out pacers.  The down side is that it's crowded near the pacers.  The upside is, after the first mile, the one holding the pace sign turned around and said, WE JUST RAN OUR FIRST MILE!!!  And she high-fived a bunch of people near her.  OK.  This could be fun.  Running with a cheerleader.  Once in a while one of the two of them would drop back and cheer through the crowd.
"We got this!" She said to the girl next to me.
"OOOH, I love your shoes!" She said to me.
It was really fun to run near someone so excited.

Near the end of the first loop, the pacer shouted out, if you're running a 5k, now is the time to give it everything you've got!!!!
Everyone cheered.  Except me.
I had two more loops.  6 more miles!  Woo-hoo.  No. Not woo-hoo.

At the start of the second loop, there were only a few of us.
The pacer dropped back by me, "You're doing great. You feeling OK?"
"I'm good!" Thumbs up.
We introduced ourselves since we had quite a ways to go together.
Kim and Alyssa.
They took turns holding the pace sign and coming back and checking in.
They let everyone run their race and checked back once in a while - usually near the water stations.

As I neared the end of the second loop, I had doubts.
I had doubts about finishing this race.
I had doubts about how I was going to run 13 miles in May.
I was struggling.

That's when I heard, "Yeah, Joyce!!!"
It was my friend Kortney on the sideline!!!  I found out after the fact that she was at the last race.
"Hey Kort!!!"
It's amazing what someone shouting my name and clapping their hands in my general direction does for my will.
(lesson learned: every single run has a point where I have doubts about my abilities and every single run, I run right past them)

Crossing the end of loop two with Kim and Alyssa, was super fun.  Everyone knew them.  Everyone joked with them and clapped for them.  So in a way, by proxy, they clapped for me!

At the start of the third and final loop was a water station.  Alyssa dropped back by me.  "Have you had water?"
"Last stop I did."
"Keep taking water, it'll help your blood pump easier."
The ladies stopped at each water station briefly. Knowing that they were stopping gave me confidence to stop and sip a little as I needed and not have to splash it all over me.
I sipped and threw the cup into the trash box. They both looked at me.  I nodded.  Let's do this.  Last lap.

Right after we got going, I saw Kortney again.
"Good job, Joyce!"
Again, it just does wonders for my motivation.  Yes.

(Here I am with my pacers.  I really need to work on my face in case of surprise photos.)

And again, Kim and Alyssa checked in.
"You're doing great.  You feel OK? We're gonna keep checking to be sure you're with us."
"I'm here!"

Last loop.
I felt every step of this one.
I fell WAY back from the pacers.
I could see them off in the distance, but there was no way I would be able to finish with them.

I was on my own.  The countdown for myself began.
Two miles left.  Two miles!  You can do two miles.

Having done this loop a total of 5 times over the last couple of weeks, I knew exactly where the finish line was at all times.

One mile left.
Kim and Alyssa are no longer in sight.

Under the last bridge and I heard the echoes of music thumping and the announcer congratulating finishers.

That's when something amazing happened.

I looked up and saw Kim running toward me.
She came back for me.
Last third of a mile.
"You got this, we're so close."
"I got this."

She asked, "Is this your first 15k?"
"Yep, first one."

She started clapping and cheering.
"WE GOTTA PERSONAL RECORD RIGHT HERE!!"

"DISTANCE PR RIGHT HERE!!!"

"You ran such a good race today! You kept up a great pace!  You're doing so good!"

As we got closer to the finish line, Kim and Alyssa were on either side of me.
Kim continued to cheer and clap for me.
"DISTANCE PR! RIGHT HERE!! PERSONAL RECORD!!"
That's when the announcer heard her.
Close to the finish line, over the speakers, I hear, "She's finishing her first 15k today and she did it in under 2 hours!"
The crowd cheered so loud - I swear I heard the 'Rudy' theme in my head.

I finished with a huge smile on my face and over 15 minutes faster than I thought I would.

I thanked them at least 40 times.  They were the most ideal running coaches.

"We'll see you at the Cap City Half!!!!"

Checked my pace, it was faster than I've ever run.