This race meant a lot to me.
Not only was it the 1 year anniversary of my first marathon, but it would also be the first half-marathon, for my friend and co-worker, Martha.
I was not even planning on running this race, since I will doing the LA Marathon, in just over 1 month. However, after Martha decided that she wanted to do a half, I quickly agreed to run with her, and be by her side each step of the way.
Martha’s Story:
Martha is currently maintaining a 45 pound weight loss.
She lost the weight by following Weight Watchers, and slowly beginning exercising.
Before:
At the time when she started Weight Watchers, she was taking medication daily for fibromyalgia. She was constantly experiencing pain, and was not at all active.
She knew she had to make a change for her health. She started tracking what she ate, and walking every day.
After:
She stayed consistent with her healthy eating and activity, and the weight continued to come off. She rarely takes medication anymore, and her health has vastly improved, because of her healthy lifestyle.
I am so proud of her!
Martha starts running
Last year, after I finished my marathon, Martha wanted to try running.
1 week after the marathon, we went on our first 3 mile run, after work.
She was so excited to complete those 3 miles! We did our 3 mile loop a few times, then we slowly started upping the mileage.
I encouraged her to register for a 10K, and at that time, 6 miles seemed intimidating. She did not think she could run that much, but, we registered for The Bunny Run 10K, and slowly added the miles on, in training.
She took 1st place in her age division, at The Bunny Run!
She continued running, and rocked The Mission Inn 10K, back in November.
She started increasing her mileage, and I told her she could definitely work up to a Half.
She continued to think that was too hard of a goal to attain, and doubted herself, but finally, she realized she could do it, and we signed up for Surf City!
I was honored to run the race with her.
We headed out to the expo, in the rain, on Saturday, and worried about the next day’s weather.
We carb loaded at BJ's, and headed back to get to sleep early.
We woke up to clear skies on Sunday (thank goodness!) and headed out to the start line.
We followed the crowds to our packed corral, and prepared for take off!
This year there was a wave start for the half. It went pretty smoothly, and soon enough, we were running!
The first few miles flew by. We maintained a pretty steady 11:30 pace. We stayed on track with our walking breaks and continued to feel strong.
The weather could have not been more perfect! The skies were clear and there is nothing better than running right alongside the ocean.
Around mile 10, she started losing a bit of steam. She stopped to stretch, and we slowed down a bit, for the last few miles.
Even feeling tired, she still finished strong!
We crossed at 2:39:47. An awesome time, for her first half-marathon!
After the race, we met up with her family. Her kids followed us along the course, on bikes. It was very encouraging to hear them cheer us on, along the way.
I am so proud of my friend!
There were many Mondays, were we would talk about our weekend, and I would tell her about how much I had run, the previous Sunday. She would remark that she could never imagine running that much, or say she could never do that, and now, she did it!
After Martha and her family left, I waited around to see some of my other Lopers, finish the race.
I was super excited to catch L.B. coming in!
He rocked this race. His training paid off, and he came in right on pace, at 4:42:26.
His story inspires the hell out of me. He wore this sign on his back, throughout the marathon.
He tells his story, much better than I ever could, so to find out how this guy…:
…ended up a Marathoner, click here.
I took my token surf board picture, and made the long trek back to my car.
I must have walked about 2 miles back to my car. I should have turned my Garmin back on, to see how far I went, because it felt like forever.
When I finally arrived, my alarm would not disarm, it would not do anything, in fact. I looked at my clicker, and saw the lights flashing, so I knew my alarm was working, but….yup, I had done it again. My battery was dead.
For the millionth time, I left my lights on that morning, and killed my car battery. I do this way too often.
Unfortunately, this time, my keys were in my car (I only carry my alarm clicker, when I run), so I could not open it, to ask someone for a jump. Oh, my wallet and cell phone were also in the car. What a winner.
I stood there pathetically for a bit, cold, tired and hungry.
Someone took pity on me, and let me use their phone. I called the hubby and he got AAA over there, to save my pathetic self.
Pathetic Self: Hi, I’m Angie. I have a Masters degree, but I can not remember to turn my lights off.
Hollerrrr for AAA. I only waited about 20 minutes. They quickly popped my door open, and charged my battery.
Besides my random act of stupidity, it was an awesome day.
Martha & L.B.’s stories definitely motivate me. I love the power of the human spirit to accomplish anything through hard work and determination. Neither of them are power athletes, with trainers and dieticians. They took control over their health on their own, and pushed themselves to accomplish an unthinkable feat.
I am proud to call them both my friends, and to support them in this prolific day.
Congrats to them, and all the other Surf City runners!
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