Memorial Marathon

As expected, here I am blogging when I should be studying French. But the fact that I must make a 94 on the final in order to make an A in the class, despite the fact I have an 89 in there currently really just takes the motivation right out of me. MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR hello. Enough on that.

So. My parents and I woke up at 4:00AM last Sunday morning to get ready and head over to OKC for the race. They got a hotel in Nompton and I stayed with them for the night. We were all feelin' a wee bit groggy come time to head out. I ate my two bananas (green ones, mind you), some bites of a Cliff Bar, and we were off. If you've ever gone anywhere remotely foreign with the Anderson's, you know that this can be quite the ride. Mom goes crazy thinking we are lost, dad doesn't listen to directions, and I just try to explain that I have a GPS mapper on my phone and I can tell them exactly where we need to go. (It's true, isn't it Em?) But miraculously we arrived downtown without a hitch, avoiding all traffic and making it into a free parking lot just in time.

And then it begins.

Massive downpour, lightening and thunder, all while the temperature outside reads a mere 40 degrees... (keep in mind this is MAY 1st!) My little leggies were trembling, so we staked out in a parking garage with a bunch of other people to wait out the rain. The race start time was also delayed by 30 minutes until 7:00AM. Come 6:35 we heard an announcement for the runners to start heading to their corrals (based on ETA at finish line) and get ready for the start. Fast forward a few minutes, it's still raining, and the gun is fired. It takes me about 13 minutes to get to the starting line (and for my time to officially start) because of the 25,000 people running that day! I see my dad sitting on some ledge of a building waving and taking pictures, and it starts a great run!

Waiting in the garage with my mom's sign. I have never really been sure why I was dubbed "Pookie"

Waiting for the gun

Can you see me?

The first 6 miles were amazing. I had no aches or pains whatsoever. However, I did have to wait in a line for 6 minutes at a porta-potty... thanks water. Running does this to me. After this the race got a little harder. It was still continuously raining (and would be the entire time) and it was freezing and my calves were screaming nasty things at me! But all the water stations and gels and amazing volunteers who braved the cold and rain just to cheer the runners on really motivated me to keep going! I ended up finishing when I expected to, which I was proud due to the conditions. I didn't train as much as I should have, hence my not-so-great time. But now I know what to work on! As soon as I crossed the line the rain became heavier again and I was shivering from head to toe. This continued about 45 minutes until I got back to Nompton and took a quick hot shower. Don't know if I have ever been that cold in my life.

Unfortunately because of all the rain my parents and I didn't get to tour the Memorial like we hoped. But we are definitely going to next time we drive through. And I just want to say thank you so much to my parents for standing in the rain and cold cheering me on and supporting me! I was so happy to see them at the finishing line. If you ever have the chance to do this run specifically, do it. The number of people and the joy everyone has is just incredibly motivating and moving. Do it, do it, do it!

Taking pictures in the warmth of my dorm room!