Thursday, March 1, 2012

Stormie's Final Blog - Wow...26.2

JB, Alison, Mitzi and Lisa made the trip to Fort Worth on Friday afternoon. My mom and the boys headed down early Saturday morning. We got into Fort Worth around noon and I joined up with the girls and we headed to the Expo to get our race Bibs. We then decided it was a good idea to drive the route. Well, it was a terrible idea! We were nervous as we could see this route would be hilly. Then we headed out to eat dinner with our 23 family members! It was a long day and in retrospect, I wish that I would’ve gone down on Friday with the girls.  I didn’t have much time to relax or rest on Saturday as we were on the go the whole day and I feel like this might have affected my ability on race day. But who knows?

I woke up Sunday morning at 4:30 am with a feeling of excitement and nervousness. Thinking about it now, I actually still get butterflies! We had trained so hard and this was the day that we had worked so hard for. How would it go? Would we be ok? Did we train enough? I tend to overanalyze every detail and that day was no exception. I headed to meet up with the girls about 5:15 am at their hotel. We headed out to the shuttle about 6:00 (with cheers from our fans – JB’s awesome family!) and headed to the race site. As we headed for the start, we were looking for our family members and trying to find them in the sea of spectators. Then we saw a “Team Higgie” sign hovering over the crowd and we all smiled and headed that way. I get emotional thinking about that start. It was awesome to see our Fab 3 – Maria, Dawn and Anna. And we had just enough time before the start for a prayer. It was very emotional and we all grabbed hands and gave a squeeze and looked towards the start with tears in our eyes knowing that this would be an incredible journey. As the gun went off, all 5 of us hit the pavement running and it was an awesome feeling with all 5 of us together.

The first few miles flew by fast. I made wristbands for all of us that included our pace if we wanted to finish at a certain time and it also included a person or word that would help us get through the long miles. The first 5 miles were dedicated to each of us the Marathon Mamas. As we ran those first 5 miles, we thought about each other and ran for that person. About 3 miles in, we were surprised to see my family waiting at the corner for us. They had stopped to eat at a Braum’s and realized that the race was right outside, so as they enjoyed breakfast, they also got to cheer us on! One thing about Fort Worth streets is that they have these annoying bumpy reflectors in the roads that are yellow or white I guess so you can see if you’re on the correct side of the road. Well, JB was trying to avoid a parked car and hit a reflector with her shoe and fell to the ground hard. She scraped her knees and hands badly. I felt so bad for her, and she told us to run on and leave her... and we looked at her like she was crazy and said no way.  JB is one tough lady! She really is head strong and physically strong and she just worked it out and on we went.

I remember in these first few miles asking the girls, why do I feel tired? There was something missing and I couldn’t figure it out. But once I got in my groove it seemed to get better. Mile 8 we saw families again and were joined by Anna and then we had to tackle the giant 1mile hill. That was a big hill, but looking back, that hill was the least of our worries and we were so worried about that one! After this hill is the point where my left knee started to ache. This is the knee I wear a brace on as it tends to hurt often.

After we split from the half marathoners about 10 miles in, the field got much smaller. I remember at this point feeling tired again and realizing that I needed to plan my eating better. With Anna’s help, I tried to make sure I was eating more consistently. I remember struggling a lot around mile 14. Then we saw our families and I ran over and gave Ethan a big kiss and felt a little burst of energy. I tried to keep up with JB and Alison for most of the run and I did a much better job on this run than any of our longer runs in Wellington. To be honest from mile 14 (maybe even further back) I struggled. There were times when I couldn’t think clearly and times when I was being spoken to but couldn’t really acknowledge others. I’m not sure at what point Maria joined us, but she talked to me and was so upbeat but it must have been like talking to a wall for her. I even apologized ahead of time because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation. At mile 20, I barely remember Dawn joining us other than her just being there beside me. I remember thinking I wish I could see my boys, and at mile 23, there they were! Ethan had the biggest smile on his face and Brayden I think ran with us for a little bit? I think?

When I saw my family; I kind of gave up a bit at that point. Instead of them pushing me and giving me momentum to finish, it almost made me want to quit and be with them right then. But JB was not going to let that happen and thank God she was there for me! I think this was when I burst into tears and started crying. Then I remember mile 24 or so, some guys with a table set up and they were giving out beer and yes, I drank some beer!! And I do remember JB telling me “throw the beer down and let’s go”. JI then remember running out of the park and thinking maybe this is almost over…. Only to be met by another hill. In my head at that time, I thought, I am not running that hill, my knees hurt so badly and I’m tired and I’m walking. I think Dawn was talking to me and telling me not to walk, but I didn’t care. And then we got up the hill, I started running again, turn and another hill……I was walking that hill too. And JB was ahead of me and I remember her wind milling her arm at me and telling me let’s go! I didn’t care; I was walking to the top. Thankfully the end was near, Dawn told me, one more turn and we’re there. It was such a good feeling to see that finish line. I was in a zone and could not go any faster. JB literally grabbed my hand and pulled me and we all crossed the finish line together and it was over. I originally thought that maybe I would cry at the end, but I didn’t even have enough energy to do that. I was just happy to be done. There are some pictures that someone took of us at the end of the race where I’m smiling, but I really don’t remember it. I don’t think I fueled myself very well during the marathon and I think I should’ve played that smarter. But all in all we ran awesome and I’m so proud to have done this with these ladies. Alison and JB are the strongest women I know.

There is one way to decide if you’re really strong and that is to run a marathon.  You have to find a way to overcome your body telling you that there is no way it can go any further and beat those thoughts. You can physically be in great shape, but if you’re not mentally ready for that challenge, it will beat you. Having completed this marathon made me a little stronger and has shown me what true friends I have. No matter what, JB and Alison didn’t leave me and to be honest, they could’ve run a much faster time. But they didn’t. Looking back now, I feel selfish that I took a faster run away from them. I wish I would’ve got out of my head and just ran strong like those two. How frustrating they must have felt towards me! And I almost cried when I saw Lisa and Mitzi making their way down the finish line. Mitzi was jumping up and down and fist pumping and smiling and it was awesome! Those two ladies are amazing! They didn’t even train for the marathon and just did it. What an amazingly great weekend. Great friends, great family and an amazing will to just run. We all did this for Team Higgie and for my Ethan. I’m a very lucky girl. 
- Stormie

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