Friday Expo: it was so cool to be one of the racers checking in! We even got a $25 voucher for being a Bronze level donor so I got me an ornament, half marathon shirt and my 13.1 sticker for my truck!!! We also got to see our names on the pace car. I also made some temporary tattoos to be reminded of all who supported me in this journey & God's Words of encouragement!
Friday Hereos Pasta dinner: as we were walking in, U of M cheerleaders were cheering & Workers were thanking the heroes. I got choked up! While waiting in line for the buffet, we saw people's tweets so Katy told me I needed to tweet something & made it on the big screen tvs. So did an earlier tweet so she thought that was cool. We heard two sisters speak on their experience on their children being St. Jude patients. One was Katy's age who had melanoma & the other was Perri's age & is fighting leukemia. Very inspiring again! I also learned that the federal government gives 4% of their cancer research budget of like $2 billion to childhood cancer; less than $190 million. Childhood cancer is the #1 cause of death in kids. Last year St. Jude spent $209 million on research alone! Everything they learn, they share. They ask "outsiders" to assist them in researching in hopes of finding a cure. That data was surprising & angered me, making me want to fight harder for these kids! That night it was hard to fall asleep with the activities of Beale St plus the nerves & excitement. Then poor Perri had a coughing fit about 3am that lasted over 20 minutes!
Race day: we were up at 5am thanks to the music/ speakers for the 5k that started at 7:00. The start line was outside of our room! I went to the Starbucks next door, not so much for coffee but mainly to see what the weather was! It was an absolutely perfect day to run... North wind and in the low 50s. I also ended up changing from shorts to tights after the 3 block walk to the Peabody. Smart decision!!! My legs never really got hot & I was glad to have my shirt & singlet on (I started out with long sleeve under the singlet but changed in the hotel).We went to the Heroes VIP lounge for a bite to eat and hand the girls over to Corey Beth. All I had was a banana there because my nerves couldn't stomach much more. Here's how the race went:
Start: so exciting & so nerve wracking! Emily Fletcher ended up coming back to start with me so I didn't have to wait & start alone :) We only ran together for about 2 minutes but that was all I needed to kick start my run. I am so grateful to her for that!! I also noticed that my iPod was at about 50% power & my gps watch was at about 75%. I wanted to freak out but then realized there was nothing I could do so no sense worrying about it now... Just focus on running. Note: a 2009 iPod Nano can play 3 hours of music on a 50% charge & still have plenty of time to spare! It also helped that I created a playlist that I didn't have to mess with & kept my pace exactly how I wanted it to be!
Mile 2: we came upon the "Mighty Missip" and boy was that wind brutal! This was the only time during the race that I felt cold. There was also the coolest Scottish men playing bagpipes (my picture came out blurry). I had an 11:40 pace for mile 1 due to the adrenaline & excitement but slowed down so I could keep running at mile 12.
5k mark: 43:15, not bad timing but definitely not a PR! I got to see my babies & give them kisses!! Perri said "You're doing good Momma!!" Katy said "you're the slowest runner ever!" Because I was the last of the crew that they saw (Kevin, Mary Mac Lax, Manry Martin, Sandy Long & Emily). That kind of bummed me out for 2 minutes then I decided not to focus on it & just keep running.
Mile 4-5 was through the St. Jude campus. I saw the welcome banner & got excited (this was what I was looking forward to all race!). Then I ran through it & burst into tears. People were thanking ME! One said "Heather you are my Hero" (my name was on my bib & I had my Hero singlet on). Then I saw a boy in a blanket, holding on to his IV stand saing "Thank you Heroes" and another in a wheel chair with the biggest smile & they became the faces of my run. There were nurses, doctors, families, support staff- the entire campus route was packed. I could barely breathe as I left but then at mile 5 my pace was 12:09, my best of the day besides the first, which is no coincidence!😃
Mile 5: there was an open port a potty so I ran in & peed as fast as I could, not caring about germs... Sweat kills those, right?!?
10k mark: according to my watch, I was at the exact same time as my 10k finishing time a few weeks ago at the Farm Bureau/ YMCA race. I was feeling good!
Mile 7: somebody was passing out free beer samples so of course I took one! It was only a shots worth but it may have been the best beer I've ever had!! I also saw a sign that said "Run like you were picked for the Hunger Games!" Then realized it was being held by a college friend, Kristi Krotzer!! So of course I gave her a quick hug 😃 I will list some more signs at the end because I can't recall where most of them were now!
Mile 8 was through the zoo. The course path was narrower & it smelled of animal poop big time so this was a little challenging at times. I did get to high five a person in a panda suit so I yelled "go AOII"!!!
15k mark: 2:08:44. Once I passed over that strip, I hit my "brick wall" and was seriously thinking of walking. This was also my worst mile at 13:56 😓 I threw away the water bottle I started with only to freak out to not have a water source for the next 4 miles, besides every mile's water station. An angel from Juice+ gave me a bottle a few minutes later so that calmed me. I then decided, let me get on Poplar & then I will walk. Once I got on Poplar & waved at a row of cars with people hanging out them cheering, ringing cow bells & holding signs I was at the Target house (where families can live while kids are undergoing treatment at St. Jude). There was the prettiest teenage girl with a bald head & mask on holding a "thank you Heroes for helping me fight cancer" sign. As I once again started to cry, I stepped up my pace.
Mile 10: I was excited when I realized I only had to do a 5k! I also threw away the water bottle because I knew I was well hydrated & didn't need to carry it with me. Sometime after this, I saw Blair Tower & had to take a picture of where Kevin & I first lived together! I also wasn't surprised to see the BP station boarded up; I don't think I ever went in there once because it was so shady!!
Mile 11.76, according to my watch, I got a pretty bad cramp in my calf & I said (out loud!), NO! I did stop for about 5 seconds to stretch it on the curb but kept going through the pain & doing a few weird steps to stretch it out as I went. It slowed my pace down 13 seconds but there was no way I was going to walk now!
Mile 12.5ish we split from the marathon & this started a downhill run to the finish. I looked at my watch & realized I could possibly make my goal of 3 hours so I gave every ounce of energy that I had a push my little legs as fast as they would go!!! I stopped my watch & Run Keeper app & both showed I made my goal (13.55 miles/3:00:39 for RK but my watch didn't save the data I later realized... dang it!!).
Finish: I was holding the medal someone thrust at me, the an older man said "ma'am, you just did a great thing! You should wear that medal with pride!" So he took it & put it around my neck 😊 The thing about the finish is it is in the infield of the Redbirds birds stadium. To get to everything else, you have to walk up 25 steps to the concourse. My legs were already hurting & I looked up this steps & the Jr.ROTC boy said to me "I can carry you if you'd like ma'am?" I laughed & said "I appreciate the gesture but I think I can make it slowly" then told the lady behind me "you can pass me I'd you'd like." She said "oh I won't be passing anyone anytime soon!" I was also in the food line with some guys who had me laughing the entire time & let me go ahead of them because "they were raised to let ladies always go first." That was also the best cold Krispie Creme donut I've ever had! I met the girls and we waited for Kevin to finish, which was just an hour & 18 minutes after me!!!!
Race signs that I remember:
Oh hell, you've come this far, you might as well finish! (Mile 11 or so) this was in a row of about 7 signs that were all on Jeeps but that's the only 1 I can remember!
Why do all the cute ones run?
Your feet hurt from kicking ass!
This is the worst parade ever
Way to go, random runner & You're doing great, random runner!
You can sleep in next Saturday & no more long runs
You trained for today longer than Kim Kardashian was married
All toenails go to Heaven & toenails are for sissies
That fuel belt makes your butt look good
Touch here for a power up (I touched it!!)
Run like Justin Timberlake is waiting for you at the finish line
The experience of being a St. Jude Hero is truly spiritual. I didn't even get "runner's amnesia" before I decided I'll be back next year, running as a Hero once again! That says something when you are hurting from your nose down & actually want to do it again! I just quickly realized that doing this wasn't really about me. I need to do all I can to find a cure for cancer. After we pigged out after the race in the Heroes lounge (I got to eat a Central BBQ sandwich!!!), I showered & the girls rubbed my legs & back, which felt heavenly! Kevin was going to go to Flying Saucer but it was too crowded so he went to the hotel bar instead where he saw half the Miami Heat team, including Dwayne Wade & Pat Riley!! Since the girls couldn't go to F.S. I said I'd stay in the room with them... & took an hour long nap instead. We went to dinner at Huey's but could eat it all, sadly 😣 We were all in bed by 9pm! What a fun, beautiful, painful, exhausting, exilirating & uplifting day!!
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