Hey!! It's time for a little recap of the Gulf Coast Half Marathon I ran on March 1 in Gulf Shores, Alabama! I hit a BIG PR that day finishing with a time of 2:14:50! I had run a half marathon the week before also in Gulf Shores at the Sea Turtle half with a PR of 2:18:19 so that's two weekends in a row to have a personal record. That is highly unusual for this mother runner!
My oldest daughter had a soccer game in Hurley, Mississippi at one o'clock the Saturday before the race. I had everything packed in the truck so my girls and I could leave straight for the beach after the game. Packet pick up ended at Lulu's restaurant at 5 o'clock. I stopped to get the girls something to eat after the game and we headed for Gulf Shores. My son stayed with my mother and my husband had to work so they were going to drive down late that night. The girls and I made it to Lulu's just in time to pick up my packet and we had our picture made before heading to my mother-in-law's beach house where we would be staying.
We made it to the beach house and the girls changed their clothes and we headed to Tacky Jack's to eat. We stayed on Fort Morgan Road, which is about 20 minutes from the town of Gulf Shores. There are a couple of small restaurants on this road with Tacky Jack's being one of them.
I ate a shrimp po boy and french fries for my pre race dinner lol! I usually eat whatever I want the night before a race. I don't follow carb loading rules, but I did drink about 100 ounces of half Gatorade and half water. This is the most I've ever drank the day before a race, but I did so well at Sea Turtle, I thought, why not drink a little extra and see what happens? Since I have a heart valve problem called Mitral Valve Prolapse, my cardiologist told me to always drink half Gatorade and half water the day before a big race. It will keep me hydrated the next day and keep my heart from getting out of rhythm. He also said it would keep me from getting so tired. I don't think I was drinking enough before some of my half marathons in the past. Since I added more fluids the day before Sea Turtle and Gulf Coast, I could tell a difference dramatically. I just did not get tired at either race like I usually do. So the girls and I ate and went back to the beach house for showers and headed to bed around 9 or 9:30. My husband and son got there around 1 AM.
I woke up at 5 AM on race day and ate my usual banana and peanut butter and jelly sandwich before heading back to Lulu's to start the race. I wanted to run 2 extra miles to get in a 15 mile training run, but my stomach is always so upset right before a race, I just didn't have time to run the 2 extra miles. As it turned out, it was a good thing I skipped the 2 miles! I saw my buddy Shana, whom I met in Memphis at the St. Jude Half Marathon in December and we saw each other at the Sea Turtle race. I saw my friend Tammie that I had connected with via Facebook and my Sole Sister Katie page! I also saw Katherine who has a Facebook page and I recently found out she lives right up the road from me!
Shana and I chatted until the gun went off. I started the race pretty fast like I did at Sea Turtle. I ran half a mile and it was time to go over the BRIDGE. This is the bridge that you have to go over as you get closer to Gulf Shores beach. I call it the Lulu's bridge. I managed to run all the way up and not walk and hit the one mile mark on the bridge at 9:51. I was like, okay, that's pretty fast for me and I figured I would settle down after heading down the bridge and back onto the road. Well, I didn't really slow down for the next 3 miles. This race was flat and I was feeling good. I finished mile 2 at 10:14 and 3 and 4 at 10:18. I remember thinking, "you better slow down or you'll be tired at the end," but then I thought what if I DON'T slow down?? Miles 5-7 flew by as we ran around Gulf State Park and it felt like we were running down hill! I started worrying we would eventually have to turn around, but this was not an out and back course so I was very, very, thankful. Miles 5-7 I finished in the 10:20 range and mile 8 was my slowest mile at 10:53 because I walked while I was eating my Blueberry Muffin Larabar (I don't use gels). During mile 9, I remember feeling really good and started picking up my pace. There was a lady who had been running in front of me off and on walking and running. She would walk and I would pass her and then she would run and pass me. This had been going on almost the whole entire race! I passed her at mile 10 and dropped her and I was so happy to not see her running by me any more! I'm sure the same thing has happened to y'all at a race!! I finished mile 9 at 10:10 and mile 10 was 10:25. I knew I was going to have a big PR after 10 miles! I saw my sweet family at close to the 12th mile and I crossed the street and kissed all of them. My girls had made signs that said "I love you, Momma." After I saw my family, I really started to hustle. I finished mile 12 at 10:12 and then it was time to go back over the Lulu's bridge. It was so hard! My legs were getting tired and they burned like crazy, but I did not walk! In fact, I was passing people! I am so thankful for all of the hill training I had done at the lake at this point! I flew down the bridge with only a little over a half mile to go! I made a few more turns back into Lulu's and I could see the clock! It was on 2 hours and 14 minutes with the seconds ticking by! I started sprinting to the finish line and I could see my friend, Shana, cheering for me!! My official time was 2:14:50, almost a 4 minute difference from my PR the week before!! I could not believe it!
I was so excited, I burst into tears! I could see my family waiting for me after I got my medal and water. I finished mile 13 at 9:29 and the last .16 at 8:25 pace.
I cannot tell you in words how good I felt at that moment. I'm so glad I have these pictures to see how I felt! A picture is worth a thousand words. All of the really hard moments in my running journey led to this accomplishment. I had suffered knee injury after a really great time after my very first half marathon in November 2013. I had to take off a month at the beginning of 2014 and basically lost every bit of fitness I had worked so hard to gain all year in 2013. I learned I had melanoma skin cancer in February of last year, during the time I was out from running due to my knee injury. I could not even run to help with the pain I was experiencing with this diagnosis. I was so worried that this would end my life. After that came back all clear (praise the Lord), I really tried to get my running back on track and what used to be easy, was now difficult. An 11 minute mile was a struggle and I remember running my first 5k of the year in March last year and how hard it was. It's been a long road back to get to the place I am today in my running journey. My message to you is please do not give up!! You will have some really bad runs and some really bad races. It would be easy to walk away, but don't take the easy road. I was so exhausted after the St. Jude Half Marathon in December and dizzy that I had to go to the hospital to have a CT Scan of my head. I'm not even kidding, I felt so bad that I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. Do not judge yourself and what you are capable of off of one or two bad races. The reason I have improved so much is because I just kept trying. I may be a lot of things, but I am not a quitter. I have pushed myself on every single run, especially after Mississippi Blues in Jackson. I went from a runner who didn't care about time, to a runner who started setting goals. I started caring again, therefore, I started working really hard. I was also matched with my running buddy, Sophia, on February 7. My running has also greatly improved because of her. I feel like my miles have taken on a whole new meaning. I have to work hard for her and for myself! So keep getting out there and keep trying! You will get better and better I can promise you that! Glory to God Almighty and His Son for this sweet victory and precious moment!
I will never forget this race and I am so thankful to my husband who supports me and is proud of me and for my children. I work really hard for them and I could not do this without them. I hope to set a good example for them! Thank you for reading and following my journey. God bless you all!
