Cap City Half Marathon

I ran the Cap City Half Marathon this morning in Columbus. Everything about the day was perfect. My alarm went off at 6am and although I had worked the night before and didn't get to bed until after 1:30am, I felt pretty rested. I wasn't nervous either, actually I was excited for the race. I got dressed, ate a breakfast of a banana, a bowl of Life cereal, and half a cup of coffee. Then Matt and I woke up the kids and got them ready. We left the house by 7am. There was a lot of traffic downtown but Matt was able to drop me off pretty close to the start by 7:30 and I had plenty of time to find my corral before the race started at 8:00. The weather conditions couldn't have been better. It was a warm 70 degrees with a cool breeze. I should have worn sunscreen because I did get a little pink. I started out with a few goals, mainly to just cross the finish line, also to run the whole thing without walking, and I thought it would be awesome to break my last 13.1 finish time for a new personal best (although I really didn't think I would accomplish that one). The first 2 miles were very frustrating because the street was so overcrowded with runners that I couldn't run as fast as I wanted and we kept bumping into each other. A few times I almost tripped. I was able to speed up on miles 3 and 4 when I caught up to the 2:20 pacers. I was concerned that I was starting out too fast and at risk for hitting the wall much too soon. My last half finish time was 2:28 so I never anticipated finishing under 2:20. I stayed behind the 2:20 pacers for about a half mile before I decided to pass them. I ran and ran and just enjoyed people watching and was energized by the awesome crowds of people cheering for us. Over an hour passed and I thought that the 2:20 pacers were way behind me and I was thrilled to think I might finish before them. I started to get tired and my mind started trying to convince me to walk just a little bit (this was on mile 9). Just as I was about to slow down even more, some people in the crowd yelled, "Way to go 2:20 pacers! Lookin strong!" I looked over my shoulder and they were right behind me! After thinking that I was going to beat them for several miles, I definitely didn't want them to pass me now. That was the perfect motivation for me, exactly when I needed it most. I picked up my pace and made sure not to slow down again. There was a long gradual incline before we crested the final hill and at last the finish line was in sight. Knowing that the 2:20 pacers were still behind me, I began to get emotional. I started to cry and my throat felt like it was swelling. I began to struggle to take deep breaths and felt like I was going to choke. I've never experienced an asthma attack, but this is what I would imagine it feeling like. I tried to remain calm even though I felt like I couldn't breath. I was so happy to cross the finish line. I knew that I had just achieved a new personal best, but I didn't know my official finish time. I was able to calm down and my throat got better. I knew that Matt and the kids were somewhere in the crowd and I was so thankful for them and all their support.

Photo taken by another runner just before the start

Matthew took these photos for me of my sweet children.

I was looking forward to seeing them at the finish line.

This is the gold medal that Gavin drew for me.  He said that I was going to win.  All the finishers received a medal and when Gavin saw me wearing it, his eyes lit up and he said, "Mommy! You won!"

I was thankful to have my cell phone on me so I could communicate with Matt via text message.  I  knew that my family was in the very back of this huge crowd near the carousel in Columbus Commons.  There were 14,000 runners plus all the friends and family that came to cheer for their runner.  That's a lot of people!

Finally reunited with my family!

Gavin is showing off my medal.

Found a comfy spot to relax in the sun before walking back to the parking garage.  What a beautiful day!
At this point, I still didn't know my official finish time, but Matthew got a text message from Kathy, a fellow PT at OSU,  who had spotted me on the course near the Ohio Stadium.  She said, "Gena looked awesome!!!!  2:15!! Wow!!!"  I was shocked when Matt told me that and I didn't entirely believe it until I got an email from Cap City on the ride home with my official finish time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 1 second.