A complete and total success!
I survived Pittsburgh! I DID IT! I Finished a HALF MARATHON! Thirteen point one MILES!
Friday Night on our way to Grammy and Pa's. This is really happening! Unbelievable. The trip went pretty fast, except for a brief stint after we stopped just after mid way where I whined and complained more than my children. Mom and Laura told me to go to sleep.
The coffee I had picked up at the rest stop helped my grumpy, overly anxious attitude.
Saturday morning Mom dropped us off at Aunt Sue's house. We had breakfast with Kelly and Eric before heading for Pittsburgh. We had previously decided to spend most of Saturday in Pittsburgh. Have lots of time to check out the expo, relax and hang out.
And then we were on our way! The ride down was a blast! We laughed so much.
It got a little hairy when we got to Pittsburgh. Some roads were closed for the Kids Marathon going on. We weren't sure where to park. We found a garage and thanks to Eric's expert level backing and parking skills a parking place. I am so glad he was driving, I would have been a wreck. City driver, I am not!
We walked a few blocks to the expo and quickly collected our bibs and shirts.
We wandered around checking out venders. Eric purchased a few things. The sheer number of people was completely overwhelming. Not to mention the reality of it all was beginning to set in. We joked about just heading home now that we had our shirts. We were good. We didn't really need to do the whole race thing.
We headed to hotel where Laura's fiance, Rich was staying as he just happened to be in Pittsburgh for work this week. Crazy, right? From there we called another cousin Stephanie to meet up for some eats. Stephanie and her boyfriend, Eli and Uncle Ron were going to be biking at the Marathon and cheering us on. Over dinner, Rich decided on the spot to join them. Stephanie quickly made arrangements to have Uncle Ron bring a spare bike for him. After dinner we headed to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a couple helmets. Too bad the coupons they gave us in our swag bags weren't good until the next day! :P
Sunday morning Kelly and I were up at three am. Seems crazy early but we were so anxious and wanted plenty of time to be ready. She and I went down to the lobby for coffee, finding that the hotel shut off the elevators at night. Seriously, who does that?? We had to take the stairs. We grumbled,
don't they know we're runners. We need to save our legs for the race! We got our coffee, it was pretty much terrible and munched on bagels we bought at Panera back in our room.
Getting Ready...
The Shirts say, "It's a Snyder thing. You wouldn't understand. Snyder Cousins Running Club." On the back it said "#BeatTheSweep", which was our very real goal! If you don't know the sweep is a vehicle that will pick up runners who fall behind as the roads begin to re open. All of us (except for probably Laura) had this very real fear of getting picked up. Kelly and Eric were running injured. I am just that slow! :P
Getting to the race proved shockingly easy. We parked by Heinz Stadium and walked. I was so worried about getting back into Pittsburgh for the race. We all had visions of just sitting in traffic and being wicked late.
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| The Snyder Cousins Running Club |
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| Pre Race Selfie ;) |
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| Sisters! | |
We bid Eric and Kelly farewell as they headed off to get to corral B, Laura should have gone with them but graciously stayed back in D with me. So I wouldn't have to wait alone for the race to start. I am so grateful that she did!
Again the sheer number of people was overwhelming. From our position in corral D we could not even see the Start Line. Eric told us it was 7 blocks away! All that stretched before us was a sea of runners.
Finally more than 30 minutes after the first runners started we began moving toward the start line...
A girl behind us commented, "This is happening." My thoughts exactly. We exchanged smiles and laughed nervously. How did we get here?! We were about to run 13.1 miles! It was so surreal.
And then we were off! The crowd was amazing! Hearing the cheers. The music! We crossed the start to "
Gangnum Style". Really? Seriously-- the words I remember hearing as we crossed the mat were... "Heeeey sexy lady!"
My brief time running with my sister was fantastic, I wish I was strong enough to keep up with her. She was itching to take off, we high-fived, said good luck and she began weaving through the crowd. I ran on feeling invincible and so pumped.
A bit later I spotted Steph, Eli and Uncle Ron in the crowd. They were looking behind me,
completely out of character for me-- I shouted "
Steph!" To my shock she heard me and immediately began waving and screaming my name. Laura actually told me later she heard me too from wherever she was, not too far ahead at point I guess.
About to cross the first bridge-
The first half of the race was spectacular. I felt good, I felt strong. I felt like I was running at a decent pace. I saw Steph and Eli and Uncle Ron a few times. It gave me such a boost to see people I knew and loved in the crowd and hear them yelling my name and cheering me on. After the race I learned mom, dad and the kids saw us too at one spot. I didn't see them and Laura didn't either. But they said it was around mile 4 and I distinctly remember it because they said it was around a turn and the Rocky song was playing. I remember feeling awesome at that turn. Dad told me he was impressed by how strong I looked and that I was running right along.
Crossing the 10K check point, still feeling pretty great, I thought--
YES! I can DO this,
almost half way there! I got a txt from mom. I txt her back saying I felt pretty decent. I got one from Laura saying "Crap water after Gatorade. Mile 8". On the drive down Eric told us
if you drink water after Gatorade in the race you will die; you should stick to one or the other. I laughed out loud when I got her txt. Gave me a little boost, made me feel like she was there beside me. Even though she was two miles ahead of me.
It got a little rough after that. I got really hungry and wished I had a snack. Then I remembered Eric had given me a pack of Gatorade chews. After debating for probably quarter to half a mile on whether or not I should eat them, I did. Happily munching away. They helped.
I got so many comments on my shirt. I loved it. So many people were like-- Yes!-- That's awesome! -- I love your shirt! -- That's my goal too! My sister didn't get nearly as many, she was clearly running with the wrong crowd for the #BeatTheSweep joke. They are much more serious up at her pace. haha! Seriously, though I love the feeling of camaraderie with fellow runners. I have never experienced anything like it. It is sensational.
Mile 10 I was so tired yet so determined. It was so hard to run. To pick up my feet. I walked
A LOT. But just 3.1 left. I can do this! I am going to finish! And am no where near getting picked up by that darn sweep.
Around that time I got a txt from Laura saying, "Done!" I was both elated for her and mad I still had so far to go!
My favorite spectator was a short, roundish black woman who yelled my
name as I passed, threw her arms in the air and started dancing,
chanting "Go Amy! Go Amy!"
I kept waiting for that final hill. I was so scared, I heard it was so bad. The last mile was mostly uphill, I heard. However, although it was long and no, I did not run all of it. It had nothing on some of the hills from the Springtime 10K in Jamesville. Now, those suckers were brutal.
The other thing I noticed is that the volunteers loved to
LIE to you. They always lead you to believe you were just a bit further along than you really were. But I remember hitting that final last down hill, knowing the finish was just ahead. I starting running again. Getting a little emotional that I was almost there. I couldn't see the finish until I was literally almost across it. Coming down that final stretch I got panicky that I wouldn't make it, that I would not be able to keep running....how much farther was it?!?!
I heard a shout from behind me,
"YEAH Beat the SWEEP!!! We've been chasing you the whole way!" Not gonna lie that was
totally awesome. I beamed from ear to ear.
And then there it was! The FINISH! I DID IT!
Reunited with my speedy sister...
The other medal, was given to us by Stephanie, because we're awesome. I think Hannah was wearing mine at this point.
Now we just had to wait for our FULL Marathoners!
Steph and Eli went and picked up some pizzas for us all from somewhere. At the moment it felt like the best food I have EVER eaten.
Mom and Uncle Ron kept us posted on Kelly and Eric's progress through the live tracking app that was working on and off.
I sent them a txt, spurring them on.
They were getting so close! We wanted to see them cross the finish so bad! But there were just so many people. Steph told us of another jumbo screen near by, we immediately set off for it. We got there just in the nick of time to see them cross the finish on that big screen. IT WAS AWESOME! We screamed and cheered and jumped up and down. It was even better than crossing the finish myself seeing them cross, still running and smiling!
Kelly and Eric are rockstars! My heros! I am SO PROUD of them!
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| #CrushedTheSweep!! |
Overall it was amazing experience. I am still grappling with being disappointed in my time. I didn't beat my goal. But I finished, I enjoyed it immensely.
I was called out on omitting my time so I am adding it now:
Official Chip time 2:52:54, my initial goal was sub 2:30 which I later increased to 2:45. But HEY! It was my
first one. I started running less than a year ago. I am told its pretty amazing. So I am going to stop complaining, stop being embarrassed and be
PROUD!
After I got home Sunday night I realized a fellow blogger had written about me on her blog and posted on FB and twitter. I was blown away by her support and faith in me.
Kelly at Iamrunningthis.com. Thank you Kelly. It meant so much to me.
We are all hoping to go back and run Pittsburgh again next year. My goals for next year--
- RUN the WHOLE 13.1
- Be able to start in Corral C (at least)
- Beat my first half marathon time
I am so thankful for Mom and Dad, my kids, Rich, Steph, Uncle Ron and Eli, who all came out and cheered and waited around for hours while we ran.
Thanks again you guys it was indeed... #AWESOME
