The ING Experience

To say that I'm not a runner would be an understatement. To say I HATE to run would be more accurate. It is a function that my body uses in sports (as in softball, etc...) and when being chased. Otherwise, i do not run.

Jeff, however, is quite an established runner. He seems to enjoy himself. Every weekend, he goes running either with a couple of friends or even by himself. He's so disciplined (gag). It relieves stress for him and makes him feel good about himself. Now, i'll admit that when i do work out, i do feel better about myself. But that is the ONLY redemption i get from feeling like i'm killing myself.

So why did i participate in the ING? To bond with Jeff. (i know, double gag). It was my sacrificial way of doing something that he enjoys. Admittedly so, i'll say that maybe jumping into a half marathon with no training is perhaps not the best way to bond with your runner of a husband, as he found it very annoying to wait on me for almost an hour and a half after he had finished. But hey, its something we did together. On to the day of the dreaded ING.

4:30am- alarm goes off. i'm feeling a little worried. we get ready. jeff looks like a pro runner with all of his appropriate gear while i put on my (very) old new balance shoes, a pair of jogging capris and a tee-shirt with an old sweatshirt over it. we grab some breakfast which grosses me out because who wants to eat that early? i have a peice of peanut butter toast and stick to my regular of chocolate milk. i figure why mess with something if it works every other morning of the year...
5am-leave to go pick up Shlaine (my aunt) who i drug into this mess
5:20am-get to susan's house. she's volunteered to drive to the marta station in her expedition for us. thanks susan!
6am-get to the marta station. hit the bathrooms before getting on the train. not sure when we'll get another chance to pee.
6:15-make it up to the platform and find Jason and Liz (along with other friends) who are ready to run :-) take a few quick pics. get on the train
6:20-start putting our bibs on. jeff realizes he left his cell phone in the bathroom. geez. off to a great start.
6:45-get off the train and start walking to the race. its a 2 block walk. i'm already tired. and i need to pee. again. blast that choclate milk. meet up with Ken and julie, matt and daphne and find our place in line. i still need to pee and theres no portapotties around. find a bush. be grateful its dark. rejoin the group.
7am-and they're off. and we all wait to find a place to jump in.
7:10am-the last time i saw jeff before the finish line. i watch as his cute butt runs ahead of me and fades into the distance. my group (shlaine, myself and susan) are jogging. people around us are complaining of us being in the way and going so slow. we are all feeling proud that we're jogging.
time eludes me now. i will write in terms of mileage. at some point we hit mile 2 and i could have sworn it should have been at least mile 3. its a water station. i think its cool that people are rooting for us and handing out drinks so i take a gatorade and a water. i'll live to regret this.
mile 3- we're feeling good. enjoing the company.
mile 4-meet a nice girl named jenna from new york who now lives here. her sisters came in from NY to do the race w/ her but ran off and left her. we invite her to join our group.
mile 5- shlaine's hip starts hurting. she's not a big complainer but she starts lagging behind. i stay with her.
mile 6-we've hit an alltime slow pace. i fear the "sag waggon" (that picks you up if you're too slow) will catch us and force us to comply by getting on the bus. we stop for a quick water/gatorade break and sit for a moment to let shlaines hip rest. she feels better. then we start moving. nope, still hurting.
mile 7-we find shlaine a medic to come get her. i leave her my cell so she can find jeff when they get her to the finish line. he's already done by now. i start my run to find susan and jenn who we lost a while back. there are portapotties. i feel the need to stop, but am compelled to run on. people are cheering like i'm doing something great (i'm surrounded by walkers so i guess my slow jog looked impressive). i continue on.
mile 8.5-catch up with jenna and susan. tell them what happened with shlaine. tell them i need a potty asap. they assure me one will be available at the next mile marker. we notice that the marathon route and half marathon route are parallel at this point as we share a road with people who are running and are on mile 15 or so. we are embarassed but continue on.
mile 9-no portapotties in sight. panic sets in. the entire next mile i will pray that my bladder does not fail me.
mile 10-water break and PORTAPOTTIES! heaven in the form of a stinky pee pot. thank god. no time to stretch... must pee.
post bathroom break-i step out of the potty and think i'll not be running anymore. i can barely walk. i'm feeling stiff. i've been told if you can do 10 miles your adrenaline will take you to 13. i'm wondering where the adrenaline is...
mile 11-stll wondering where the adrenaline is. meet a nice man who is there with his wife who is an established runner. he thinks its great that we're starting "young"... he's in his 70's? out of need to at least beat the 70 year old, we politely try to speed up.
mile 12-OMG! one more mile. there are a few people still cheering on the participants. i'm grateful for their willingness to stick around to see us through. its encouraging.
the last bend-i'm told we should run b/c it looks cooler to cross the finish line while running. so we do. i feel something in my right leg pop. i'm in pain. i smile and push on.
we cross something that looks like the finish. i ask if i can stop running now. no. thats not the finish. OMG... where is the blasted finish?!
FINALLY- we cross the finish. 3hours 33 minutes. embarassing. but done.
susan and i say goodbye to sweet jenna. we collect our medals. we get bottles of water. our sausage fingers are so swollen and cold that susan cannot open her water, despite her great thirst. i open hers first. my hand hurts so badly from hers that i barely get mine open. we collect our silver things that are supposed to keep us warm. we look like baked potatos. but then, so does everyone else. so we fit in.
we are in a crowd and see food ahead. we are getting very stiff but find food to be reason enough to press on. collect banana's, snack bars, apples, etc...
look for jeff, brett and shlaine. finally find them. try to figure out how to get home (back to marta). shlaine can barely walk. i'm not much better. that last "pop" at the end did me in. we start up hill, jeff has to carry shlaine. i'm jealous that she doesnt have to walk for a bit.
finally get to marta. very quiet on the way back to our station. we're all dying.
get back to our station, look for jeff's phone. a bus driver has it. i can come back tomorrow and get it. lovely. at least its been found.
groan as we walk to the car. stop at zaxby's for food. ahhh...food.
get home and lift my legs out of the car. need help getting inside. need help getting in the bed. if i'm gonna die, i'd like it to be in my bed. think about rhyan. fall asleep.
jeff comes in and asks (whilst on my deathbed) if i'd like to do the peachtree. NO. he signs us up anyways.
finally wake up and go get rhyan. wonder how i'll take care of her tomorrow when jeff is not there to help. i can barely move. thinking i'll have to o.d. on advil to function.

Grateful that its all over. Feeling it necessary to participate again just so i can finish with dignity... like, maybe under 3 hours? We'll see...