Several months ago I joined the Nolensville Running Club after months and months of stalking them because they were close to my house, little did I know what an impact this group of people would have in my life. Shortly after joining the group began talking about a race they were traveling to in Carmel Indiana. Several people were going to be trying to qualify for Boston, others were going to be trying for PR's in either the Full or half, some would be running a half or full for the first time and others were going to hang out with friends, have a good time and support their team mates. If you know me, you know when I join something I am all t in so it took me all of 10 seconds to let them know Alfred and I would be going along.
The Wednesday before the race we all met for our weekly running night and ate at Amico's (an Italian restaurant in Nolensville) so we could get in some extra carbo loading (seriously my favorite part of running :) and so those not making the trip could wish us all good luck! Friday morning Alfred and I left the house at 7AM headed to Louisville to meet my parents so we could drop off the boys before heading on to Carmel. The road trip was so much fun, even though the group wasn't in the same car and we were in various locations along the route we were all talking back and forth on facebook, detailing where the cops were, how many potty breaks each car was stopping for etc. When we all arrived in Carmel it was rainy and gross but our spirits couldn't be dampened we had an expo to attend,dinner to eat and a race to get ready for!! We all met up at the Expo, did a little shopping then headed to the hotel to get ready for our Team dinner at Buca De Beppo! Who knew there would be 3 Buca's in a 15 mile radius. As we all set out headed to the wrong one I realized something was wrong, called the restaurant sent out fb messages, Amy O started making calls and then we were once again headed in the right direction. At dinner I met 2 NRCers I'd never met before (I run on Wednesday's they run with the Saturday group) and we had a great time getting to know each other. Erin had the forethought to suggest we all write down the time we expected to finish so that we would know when to start looking for people at the finish line. Although this was a great idea it was scary because as Danielle said writing it down makes it real!! I wrote down 2:15 because my current PR was 2:20. Although I wanted 2:15 in every bone of my body and I felt trained for it I honestly thought there was no way I was going to get it but I put it on paper and decided I would give it my all!! After gorging ourselves on pasta, cake and home made strawberry cupcakes that Erin and John's old neighbor made we made our way back to the hotel. We were all giggles and nervous energy. We all had goals in mind, we had trained for this race, there was nothing more we could do except get a good nights rest and leave it all on the course the next day.
I woke up at 5:45. Alfred was already in the shower so I went ahead and read my devotion for the day so I which explained how seize the day wasn't written in the Bible anywhere but every day is a gift and we should treat it as such and give to God our full potential. I closed my book, got out of bed, put on my outfit, ate my honey stinger waffle, laced up my shoes, helped Alfred get his chip on his shoe, pulled my hair back and headed downstairs to meet the rest of the gang in the lobby. We caught a shuttle over to the start line, it was chilly, so we huddled together under a tent where I talked to Marie, a fellow NRCer who told me she was still doing the full even though she had a torn calf muscle! Talk about giving your full potential!! With about 3 minutes left until race time I set my watch for 3/1 intervals. My plan was to run the first 3 to 4 miles then use the intervals (my crutch). I could hear Lauren and Jen in my head telling me they ran all of Tom King and didn't need the crutch but I was worried so I set my watch for it! I headed to the start line and lined up with the 10 minute pace group. The Star Spangled Banner was sang, I kissed Alfred and told him I would cheer him across the finish line and we were off. I felt good!! I felt really good! I found myself running with the 4:10 marathon pacer. I wanted to get enough ahead that when I walked I would still be able to stay in the 10:15 average pace range, which I knew would get me my 2:15 finish. At mile 3 I passed my friend Steve, he said 'Hey I thought you were shooting for 2:15" I said "I am but I feel really good right now!!" The marathoners split from the half marathoners shortly after that and the half marathoners did a little bit of an out an back. Running on there way back I saw Erin and John and John cheered me on. Right after them I saw Julie right who was already on her way back and we cheered for each other. I turned and started on my way back and saw Steve again and we cheered, then I saw Alfred and gave him a high five and told him I was holding a 9:22 pace. I was so pumped to have seen my friends, my adrenaline was flowing, I looked at my watch and I was 5 miles in...what 5 miles, I surely needed to start walking but I felt great, I decided I I would start my intervals at mile 6. During mile 5 as I was winding through a neighborhood I thought of my devotion from earlier. This day was my gift. There are so many people who don't have this opportunity. I thought of my Uncle that passed away in a car accident in December. I thought of my Uncle who is awaiting a heart transplant. I have a gift! I decided then and there I was going to run as long as I could and if at some point I needed to walk then I was but if i didn't then I was using this day to it's full potential..today I was going to be amazing!! Yes there were times along the way that were tough, I've never ran more than 6 miles under a 10:00 pace...ever!! But here I was holding steady at a 9:22 pace. I talked to many people along the way, a 69 year old man who wanted to qualify for Boston in October, a boy who thought he had food poisoning and a father and daughter who were running their 4th half together. With 4 miles to go I was pretty sure I was going to do this!! I thought of my NRC running buddy Tommy because we often run 4 miles together on Wednesday nights. I am terrible with baseball teams and the cities they play in and since Tommy is a former professional baseball player he has to correct me often when we are talking about baseball so I tried to name all the teams I knew and the cities they played in. I'm sure I still got a lot of them wrong :)! I thought of Jen and Lauren and how we spend the 4 mile runs talking about work and our kids and our college days and what we're eating after the run! Before I knew it I was in the last half mile and I was still at a 9:22 pace!! I had ran through neighborhoods, on Greenways and now I was running through a beautiful street in downtown Carrmel Indiana and I could hear the people at the finish line. I looked at my Garmin and for the first time realized I was going to finish in under 2:05!! I picked up the pace and just as I rounded the corner at the finish line I heard Erin and John yelling "Go Rachel"... I picked up the pace even more...I could see them out of the corner of my eye, I saw the finish line straight ahead, my foot hit the line at 2:03:06!! Woo Hoo!! I did it!! I had a new PR and it felt amazing!! Luckily Joe and Lisa were at the finish line right after I crossed so I had them to lean on and catch my breath with. I couldn't have given much more on the course that day but I still had a lot more to give as a cheerleader!!
I went over and took my spot by Erin and John and Andrea, my new best friend since her and her children brought a blanket and snacks and we spent the next 3 hours cheering in the rest of our NRC family! We had 5 people qualify for Boston, so many PR's, 1st Time half marathoners and Full marathoners, people who ran their heart out injured. We laughed and cried and ate and cheered!! It was an awesome day that we were given! And in some way or another every single one of us lived up to our full potential!
