13.1

I've been meaning to write about our first Half for a while but then Arrested Development came back to NetFlix and somehow all my spare time disappeared.

Being 5 11" I sometimes have conversations with strangers that go like this:

Stange man  "Basket ball?"

Me  ...looking over my shoulder confused...

Strange man  "Volley ball?"

Me ... stink eye...  "Emma. My name is, Emma."

Yes, I'm tall. Very tall. I get it. However, height does not guarantee fined tuned motor skills, sharp hand eye coordination or a competitive nature. And when is it ever okay to blurt out possible pass-times to people you don't know. If I see a small person I would never say, "horse jockey?" This is not okay people. 

For the record I am not a natural athlete! My height gives me a bad back, sore knees and the wicked ability to reach things that are high up. It also makes me a total klutz and very easy to spot in a crowd. 

Perhaps the reason why I like running so much is because I can do it. I don't have to be MVP to run and I don't even have to be super fast to totally enjoy it.

With a lot of mental and physical training and multiple injuries, Matt and I arrived on race day. I was super excited but also extremely nervous that I wouldn't be able to finish. I hadn't run at all in the 2 weeks prior to the race and couldn't put my full body weight on my right foot. Plantar fasciitis is a real beast! I had come so far and was determined to finish. I told Matt to be prepared to go all Sam Wise on my Frodo butt and carry me, if need be. He agreed. 

The runners met together before the race in a parking lot where I heard conversations like this,

"Yeah I ran a Half last weekend, I hope my legs don't cramp up too bad today."

"I'm running the 50K tomorrow. Are you?"

I got scared.

New goal. Don't die and don't be last.

Before shot

Matt and I started off strong and even though I was trying to save energy, we still ran our fastest at the beginning. I'm really not good at controlling my speed. Another thing... It. Was. Hot. As soon as we started running I missed my tree-covered-shade-providing Eugene. We were running directly under the sun for 13.1 miles. No shade and no cool breeze. I went through all my water and drank at ever water station, sometimes we would just dump the water on ourselves to cool off. 

My foot held up and didn't bother me one bit. My knee however, was a different story. I was limping at mile 7 and thought my knee was ripped off at mile 10. I've had IT band issues ever since my first 8 mile run and I just sort of ran through it. Some days are good and some days are not. I was really hoping that the stars would align on my first race but they didn't. This was the worst running day ever. It was still an awesome experience and no matter my time I knew it would be a personal record.

To make matters worse I had to stop and lie down TWICE. I have this really cool heart condition- Superventricular Tachycardia. Everyone gets really scared when I tell them that but it's really just a nuisance and doesn't affect my health. Basically my heart races out of control and I need to lie down or I pass out. I blame the heat for making me do this twice. Once my heart slows back down I need to walk for a little bit before running.

With all the things that slowed me down I started to get pretty discouraged. Matt being the best running partner ever started telling me how awesome I was and that what we were doing was incredible. I started to believe him and kept going.

Our friends Nick and Sydney Jordan came to cheer us on with their daughter, Evelyn. Seeing them gave us a boost of energy and Matt didn't have to carry me to the finish. They're also a fabulous paparazzi.

Mile 11 and wanting a new knee!

Pretend energy for the camera

 

 Can you see us? More importantly can you see that I'm ahead of Matt? They called out our names as we crossed the finish and made you feel like an olympian. I would have felt cooler had they gotten my name right. Good job Matthew and Emily...

This picture is photographic evidence that Matt is a better person than me. After we finished and I was bummed at my performance Matt asked me why I had run. I told him that I wanted to prove to my self that I could do it and I asked him why he had done it. He said, "I wanted to run with you."

Not a selfish bone in that mans body.

This picture is photographic evidence that my legs take up more than 80% percent of my body and that I am the most awkward human being alive. 

My first medal 

 I know this picture makes it look like be both have some serious back sweat but I promise we had just dumped water all over us after someone gave us a water bottle. I Promise.

We did it! Thanks for wanting to run with me.