13.1 Miles...Who's Counting?

Uhhh, I am. And I'm positive that Lindsay was too! I spent the week leading up to the La Jolla Half in Las Vegas for a work event that I assumed was going to be SUPER tame (in-bed-at-10pm-tame)...how wrong I was. I don't think my head hit the pillow before 4:30am any night (yes, ME! "Narcoleptic Brooke" that falls asleep at the front row of comedy shows!)! Between drinking and dancing, I had such a fantastic time...with hell to pay on Sunday for the big race!

Here is a recap of our 13.1 mile half marathon that we completed (yes, COMPLETED) on Sunday!

4:58am: I realize I left my iPhone arm band at home in SF. Borderline tears start to form.
5:00am: Lindsay, Jon and Tammy (Jon's mom) pick me up at Mom's and we head down to the shuttle bus area. I get over the arm band and now realize that I have larger issues to face...such as 13.1 miles.

16-Second Video...it's DARK, Y'all!
5:30am-7:40am: Lindsay and I sit (freeze) our hinies off while waiting for the race to begin. The shuttle buses took us to the Del Mar Fairgrounds (13.1 miles away...are you seeing the pattern here?) and then we had to wait...and wait...and wait...for the race to begin.

23-Second Video
7:40am: And we're off! 6,000 runners hit the pavement.


Start line (obviously!)


Lindsay and me just before the race start (legs shaking uncontrollably with nerves not visible in photo)

7:40am-forever... Miles 1-8 were truly fantastic. I felt really strong and could breathe and speak easily at the same time (no small feat in my historical running experience). Lindsay and I ran together, then apart, then together, then apart. Here is a picture as we headed up the LARGE hill at mile 5 up Torrey Pines State Park. It was a gigantic hill that is exactly 1 mile long! I thought it would never end.

Torrey Pines...aka Public Enemy #1

Miles 9-10: Cursing my co-workers for the aforementioned week in Vegas. These 2 miles dragged on, and on, and on, and on. I was pretty sure I could walk faster than I was running during these two miles. I turned to my Wild 94.9 Mixes for inspiration and, as always, they (along with Missy Elliot and friends) pulled me through!
Finally, we made it to Mile 10. I paused here to grab a photo in front of the beautiful landscape and the view of La Jolla in the (not quite as far) distance. At this point, I'm realizing I might not have to hitchhike to the finish line after all...I can DO this!


Pausing to enjoy the view!

At the beginning of mile 10, we finally started to get a crowd of cheering fans...the encouraged us that, "it's just a 5K from here!", while I'm thinking in my head that a 5K is still a hell of a long way to go. Alas, we trudged on and Lindsay and I ran together for miles 10 and 11. At Mile 12, Lindsay's husband Jon pops up and is full of life and energy! I softly suggested that he may consider not talking very much to Lindsay at this particular moment as she wasn't exactly in her most chatty mood...she was definitely concentrating on just putting one foot in front of the other (we both were!). I ran on my own for the last mile as Lindsay and Jon finished up together.

Coming down the final hill into the cheering crowd and finally seeing that glorious finish line was like no other experience for me. It was breathtaking and I even got a little choked up, I must admit, as I realized that this physical exertion was finally over.

We saw my Mom, our friend Clayton, Jon's mom and Dave all waiting for us at the finish line and celebrated with beers on mom's porch after the race while enjoying the sun (hey, I live in SF now...blistering heat is a delicacy where I come from).

We had a fantastic weekend in San Diego and I am so proud of my MOM for walking 5 entire miles in the "La Jolla Stride" which was another component of the greater La Jolla activities. Mom, Jon, Tammy and Dave all took on the 5-mile stride like champs.

Congratulations to everyone for COMPLETION!


The Ladies at 2-for-1 Happy Hour on Sunday post-race