Wednesday, September 28, 2011

And Now The One About How I Do Things I'm Not Trained To Do

I don't have a ton of boundaries. You may already have caught on to that.

Unless we're talking about public restrooms, porta pottys, or a situation that would call for me to touch someones feet or someone else to touch mine. In those cases I have all kinds of boundaries...and then some.

So on Sunday I headed to a race where I was going to run a 5k and my friends were going to walk a half marathon (one was running). I had planned on finishing my race, then heading back into the course and run/walk the rest of the way with my girls...you know, for fun and for support.

But when we got there it seemed that that plan was going to be harder than we thought, and the only way for me to be with my group for even a small part of the race was to change my registration to the half marathon. Let me tell you a statement that came from my mouth and a race coordinators mouth that (unknown to me) warranted a swift slap to the face...

"If you're able to run 6 or 7 miles at a time back home, then you can definitely do 13."

Not true, my friends. SO not the truth. 6 or 7 miles is NOT the same as 13, it's actually HALF. That statement combined with the fact that I am NOT a marathoner made for an interesting morning :).

Long story short - my walking friends started their race a while before the runners did, so I spent my first 7 miles running like a porta potty was chasing me, up and down a hilly course, trying to catch up to them.

Too much, too fast, too soon...why would I pace myself!? I finally did catch them at almost 7 miles, but was...well, a little more tired that I expected to be.

Let me share 3 highlights with you that happened along that course:

1. I publicly declared at 9 miles that I was going to be sick.

2. At 11 miles I admitted that I would've rather been in labor.

3. And then at 12 miles I thought not IF, but WHEN I pass out, at least there are emergency crews that are here to help.

Are you laughing with me yet?

Sooooo, apparently there is never a dull moment in my life even when I don't have all 6 kiddos with me. Heck, after 13 miles, taking all the kids to Target seems like a vacation...by the ocean...with massages and margaritas.

Alright maybe not exactly like that.

All in all, ironically enough, I'm glad I did it. You always learn some things about yourself when you're pushed to your limits, and I got to spend some time with some sweet, sweet girls.

And the laughs and funny stories are always worth the pain, right?? :)

8 comments:

Stacie@HobbitDoor said...

Hilarious! Love it. Proud of you for finishing despite your lack of insight in the beginning. ;0) Your's and Amanda's blog posts sound a bit similar in your responses to the event.

Thoughts for the day said...

Wow... I can't believe it with six children you actually did a marathon? Good for you now relax and take care of your aching muscles.

Anonymous said...

Laughed about the "rather be giving birth" part and then didn't know what to say to my little ones when they asked what was so funny. Way to go, girl! You're one tough cookie!

Jen said...

You go, girl! :)
My biggest question! When do you find time to train for the marathon? ;)
I am struggling to find the right time to workout. But then again, my hubby's schedule doesn't help :) He has been leaving for work at 5 and gets home at earliest at 6.
ANyhow! Good for you

Anonymous said...

Ha ha. So funny. Proud of you.

Corrina said...

Love this! When I ran my first half marathon, my longest run had been 5 or 6 miles...ever! It took forever and I was hurting, but I finished it :) It's amazing what we can accomplish when we put our mind to it!

Marisa said...

So proud of you! You stuck with it! Great job!

*Katy* said...

HOLY COW! 13 mile? You go, Kate! I couldn't do like 3 :)