The two days of racing somewhat blend together for us – perhaps we should have written some notes down after each day to help us out?  We are sure you wouldn’t appreciate a recap that says “It was fun!”  It would be the truth though! 🙂

New Year’s Day morning we headed out to the race course just the two of us as we are awesome and let Michael & Brent sleep in!  We might have done a slightly better job of eating breakfast before today’s race, but maybe just slightly. Haha.  When we got to Celebration Park we decided to sit in the car for as long as possible!  Ever since White Rock Mary Teal doesn’t like to be cold if she doesn’t have to be and Beth decided on an outfit warm enough for running not for hanging out waiting to run and no throw away items.

Teal’s friend Cynthia was running the half marathon relay this day and it was her text messages asking us where we were that finally got us out of the car!  We quickly found Cynthia and were able to chat some before the race started, and then found Heidi & Brian at Corral B!  Before we knew it we were starting the race!

Teal:  So if you think about how low my expectations were in terms of running for day 1 they were even lower for day 2. My foot (the bad one) was very tender and was even more tender on the outside because I ran on it for 13 miles the day before. I was thinking – “good lord, how much more can your poor little pinky toe take?” I had called Cynthia the day before and asked her what leg of the relay she was running because really my goal was to run the first leg with her to gauge pain, and then walk the second if need be. I had iced like crazy and stretched a ton the night before. My body felt much better than I had expected but still sore.

Beth:  Almost immediately after we got home from Day 1, I was on my way to Run On to get a new pair of shoes!  I refused to wear my tainted marathon shoes again and knew I had pain that wouldn’t be there had I already gotten a new pair of shoes.  So I was ready to go for Day 2’s race and really wanting to make sure I ran the whole thing again – no walking!

Teal:  Miles 1-3: I started in corral C with Cynthia, Beth and Heidi went out with Corral B and my running buddy from day 1, Brian, ran back with some other friends of ours. In my head I was like—“ boo, I really won’t make the second half because I will be alone.”  The first 3 miles were slow but not bad. Cynthia and I stayed together and I kind of just played with my angling on my foot to control any pain. My knee on the left was sore, but not too bad and was shockingly for once staying in place!

Beth:  I had my headphones with me today! Since I was so messed up with the mileage the day before I wanted to be sure and have periodic updates, but then sometimes I wouldn’t even fully listen to them.  🙂 Heidi and I got started together and our outfits matched just a whee bit this day!  We had some chatter going again, saw a lot of people out there again and were sure to cheer them on as well!  Seriously the seeing of other running friends out there was really the best part even though you are only passing them for a few seconds.

Teal: Mile 3-6: Brian caught up to us! YES! I knew I had 3 more to go with Cynthia and when he caught up to us I felt better about the rest of the race. If he was going to keep running I could keep running. I started to feel tired and not in the mood to run anymore (even though I never really was in the first place) and 3-6 were actually pretty draining. It was at the point that I was like- You need to change your attitude because you will be out here for 9ish more miles whether you like it or not. I started encouraging Cynthia (not that she really needed it- she was doing great) and cheering on others, and thanking spectators, and chatting with Brian!

Beth:  There was a sign out by the turnaround that said “Oh, Shut up, Princess! No one ever drowned in sweat!” that I absolutely loved and it got me excited because Teal, Heidi, Brian and I will all be out in Orlando next month for the Princess Half.  This race weekend seemed like a glimpse of the fun the four of us will have out at that race!  It was about this time we’d have our first opportunity to see Teal & Brian, and Heidi & I were both anxious to see how they were doing.  I just wanted to make sure Teal was ok and that she wasn’t in any horrible foot or knee pain.  When we saw them Teal was all smiles, so I felt confident that she was OK out there and was glad she and Brian were running together again!

Teal: 6.55-10: I left Cynthia here at the relay exchange and began the second loop with Brian. This stretch was not wonderful mind wise but we both basically said the pace was ok and manageable and that we weren’t going to walk. I told Brian that I was scared to lock up my knee and walking would basically mean I wouldn’t start again. We powered through and made the last loop for what we knew was just 3 miles left. We saw Beth and Heidi around here and knew at this point that they had to have been hauling! We cheered them on and just kept smiling to keep our moods up and not let the pain and annoyance of running so slow get to us!

Beth: After Heidi and I finished our first loop I knew we were on pace to make it under 2:10.  Before day 1 of New Year’s Double the DRC Half had been my slowest half, mainly because it was treated as a training, and I made up my mind right then and there that I wasn’t going to let day 2 be my slowest or next in line for slowest half.  At somewhere around mile 8 I was huuungry! So I got out one of my GU’s and fueled up which then resulted in me getting my second wind.  Just the push I need to guarantee that sub 2:10 time for the day!  One thing that has not been mentioned yet is the wind!  It was out there and I guess making up for it’s lack of an appearance on New Year’s Eve.  One of the main parts the wind really got to me was in mile 12 (or 6 if you were on the first loop) the ONLY thing that made up for it was the volunteer that was standing right about the mile 19th sign (I just mentioned far too many different numbers of miles).  That was my fourth time to pass her that day and I finally said to her “you are the best cheerleader! Thank you!”  Just as I said it a lady come out for another loop responded with “she really is!”  She pushed me through, then the man I passed right before the 13 mile marker pushed me through, and then I got that awesome runner’s high from sprinting once I rounded the last corner.  I also passed another guy in the small bit of course left after the last corner. 🙂

Teal: 10-13.1: I looked at Brian and was like “we eat 3 miles for breakfast” this is nothing. I am pretty sure I stole those words from our friend, Courtney. Three is nothing! We got around to 11.5, and I of course, grabbed some gummy bears again which made me super happy. The last 1.5 was fast. We talked ourselves up and just kept one foot in front of the other. We both crossed that finish line having fully run BOTH days! We high fived and that was that!

It’s really weird because both of us are in no way disappointed. We ran the 2 slowest half marathons ever, but were so happy at the end! This weekend was so much fun and was so empowering!  Despite being slower than we both are use to and a lot of pain for Teal,who saw what her body was capable of, didn’t walk at all, and kept a good attitude. We were both shocked that not much endurance was lost having only run 8 miles for Teal and 14.3 miles for Beth since White Rock.  Overall just proud of both of us and also feel super blessed that we were able to run with Brian & Heidi!

Results

Teal: 2:25:53

Beth: 2:06:41

After the race on New Year’s Eve we didn’t really get to stick around and watch some of our friends running the marathon finish, so we made sure we’d get to see them on this day!  We watched Ninja complete his 2nd marathon in 24 hours and in the top 15 of finishers which earned him some fancy champagne glasses!  We got to see Lesley J. out there with her Racing It Off ladies! Y’all looked awesome!

Overall it was an awesome racing weekend for us!  We had so much fun being at an awesome race amongst so many running friends!