Sunday, November 17, 2013

nailed it.

what a weekend! friday night was fantastic. i can't tell you the last time i went somewhere fancy without feeling self conscious. oh wait, yes i can: never. and here i was with exposed arms and shoulders in a somewhat risky dress, and i felt great. my toes didn't feel so awesome in the high heels, but i think i managed to walk like i knew what i was doing. they did come off the SECOND we left.

now for the bad news: i ate like a pig. i didn't even try not to, i went into it knowing i was going to just have my way with the evening. want the list? ok.

12 cocktail shrimp. veggies and dip. hummus. one slice of pita bread. feta cheese. cheddar cheese. 4 cookies. 1 truffle. 1 glass of white wine. 1 prime rib slider. 3/4 of a brie and apple panini. right?

saturday morning we left for columbus. we ate at subway on the way down. i had a chicken salad, but i also got a bag of pop chips. they are only 13
carbs, so not too bad that way. i thought they might be helpful for the race today. our hotel was SO nice, and the race expo and packet pickup was so cool. they had a DJ and a lot of exhibitors. we got awesome tech hoodies, a hat, a drawstring bag and some other cool stuff. i bought a pair of super soft PJ pants with the race logo on them. we hung out in the room for a few hours while our two non-racing friends volunteered at the expo.

around 6 we headed to our friend's house about 15 minutes from the hotel. we couldn't get into the restaurant she'd picked for awhile, so we hung out. i passed on a beer, but by 8:00 i was ready to eat my own arm. she set out some chips and pretzels, and i went to town. finally we were seated in the restaurant around 8:30. the whole menu was pizza, some mediocre sounding salads and sandwiches. ugh. about the worst thing i could eat on my diet or late on the night before a race. but that didn't stop me from pounding a side salad and 3 huge slices of thai shrimp pizza. which sat in my stomach like a rock until today after the race. horrible. never again will i eat a huge meal the night before a race.

all night we had extreme race anxiety. the weather forecast was horrible, we had to wake up at 5:30am, we were doubting our abilities to meet the course time requirement. i was concerned about my feet and ankles. our non-race friends finally said, "WHY are you guys doing this if it's so horrible?" we were really being insufferable complainers and worriers. and right at the perfect moment, my BFF sent me this text:

"as you settle in for bed and start to freak out about tomorrow, i wanted to tell you that i will be thinking of you. i am so proud of your hard work, determination and victories! i know you are worried about your time/walking/your legs/being in pain. could you please do me a favor? take a small second as you stand in the coral...reflect on who you were in april, and what you thought/said you couldn't do, but wanted so badly to do. be proud of yourself and compliment yourself and hold your head high most of all, remember and cherish that moment of standing there and having a number across your chest. you are a success and you will be great."

can you believe that? it was as if she'd read my mind. which she can do, because she knows me so well. it completely calmed me down. and this morning as i stood in my corral among thousands of runners, freezing and getting rained on, i looked at that number and thought about how lucky i was to be there and of how hard i worked to deserve it. i thought about the picture of me in my office in april, 5 sizes bigger than i am today. i was still nervous, but it made me feel more confident in my ability to complete the race.

soon the horn sounded, and we were off. we purposely started out slowly so we wouldn't make the classic mistake of wearing ourselves out too soon. in the blink of an eye, the first mile marker was behind me, and i felt GREAT. i had a runner's high before the race was even over. i pushed myself a little harder, and kept running. up a hill, kept running. mile two, finished a little faster. still felt amazing.
kept running... even faster. two of us had pulled ahead of our third friend, and we could see on our runkeeper apps that the race would work out to be slightly longer than 3.10. so we decided to run hard until we hit 3.1, stop our apps, then turn around and go back for our friend. so my 5k time was 38:54, with an 11:14 third mile - by far the best i've ever done. and at 42:39, the three of us crossed the official finish line together, just how we'd started. and as if on cue, it began to rain harder. we collected our finisher's mugs of the most delicious hot chocolate and other goodies and made our way back to the hotel, telling each other how stupid we'd been to be so worried. other racers were still passing us, still heading for the finish line. for the first time ever, i was one of the people long finished with a race as others were still running. it felt good.

it felt GREAT.

i have always wondered if some people feel good while they run a 5k, or if it sucks about the same for everyone, just that some people are faster at it. but today it didn't suck. i felt like i could have gone another mile if necessary. i can even say i really enjoyed it. it went by quickly, and my body and mind felt incredible. part of that was the adrenaline of running with so many people down the middle of the street in downtown columbus with my friends. it does wonders for your spirit when you're passing people the whole time rather than being stuck at the back alone. i'm dying to run more huge races now.

i did drink my hot chocolate and dipped a marshmallow into the fondue. later i stuck my fingers in it and had a bit more. then we went to breakfast where i had a celebratory pumpkin pancake.

so. the weekend was a huge personal and emotional victory, but as far as food goes....i put more calories in than out. tomorrow is my tops weigh-in, and i only need 2 more weeks of loss to get a special award. so i'm pretty nervous about that, but i guess it will be what it will be. if i gain, i have to try to focus on what i gained this weekend in confidence and memories. remind me of this tomorrow night when i'm whining about how much i gained.

a terrible storm is blowing through, so i'm going to post this now before i lose power. hopefully you'll hear from me tomorrow... right now i'm wondering if i'll end up in oz.


















2 comments:

  1. AWESOME Amy! Congrats on your 5k PR! Sounds like you had a LOT of FUN too... I'm with Katelyn.... You're now MY new inspiration! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, mike! it was definitely one of the highlights of my whole life.

      Delete