DreamBig 2015 - #38 Michigan

STATE #38 - Dearborn, Michigan
Martian Invasion Half Marathon
Finishers: 1,437

April 17, 2015
My flight wasn't supposed to be until 10pm but I am milking every last drop of my Delta status and was able to get on a 10:30am standby flight up to Detroit for the race. It was a very eventful flight before the door even closer to include a cop pulling several people off the flight, a missing bag that had to be found before we could leave and an old lady announcing to the plane that the man next to her was too obese and she needed a new seat (she ended up next to me). We landed in Detroit around 1:10pm, I grabbed a rental car from Hertz and made a mad dash for downtown Detroit and passed the World's Largest Tire on the highway en route. I'm not exactly a baseball fanatic but I think baseball stadiums are really cool and it's fun to see how each stadium measures up to Busch Stadium (spoiler: none of them do...duh).

World's Largest Tire - Used to be a Ferris Wheel (yes, I did some research)

I didn't want to pay $30 to park so I somehow found a spot off the beaten path and just parked for free. If it wasn't 2PM in the day light I would have never parked here. I wandered around the park, took some pictures and bought a late pass for $10 and went into the game. I forgot the Tigers had won the World Series and it is always fun experiencing the environment the year after a championship. The food was pretty basic so I opted not to get anything and checked out their version of the Chop House and then made myself at home in a seat in the upper decks directly behind home plate which made for some awesome pictures.

Outside Comerica

Outside Comerica

$10 Ticket + Free Parking = WIN

Comerica Park - Home of the Detroit Tigers

I didn't want to get stuck in after game traffic or rush hour since it was a day game, so I left after the 7th inning and thankfully got back to my car just in time to avoid a ticket. Ha, I forgot to mention my rental car is literally the size of a toaster. It is like driving a go-kart on the highway and I rent them all the time because they are so funny. From the game, I head over to Dearborn to pick up my race packet. The expo was fairly small but I picked up a couple headbands and my race gear. They were really getting into the theme and had blow up aliens tied to trees all around the Dearborn area.

My new whip - I could touch the back window from the drivers seat

I had done enough walking for the day, so I decided to grab some water, snacks and McDonald's and head to the hotel. Okay, McDonald's sounds like a weird pre-race meal but I have had some odd luck in the past with eating it before a race and it's cheap and I was hungry. I was staying at the Sheraton by the airport and settled in to watch one too many episodes of Modern Family before ordering dinner #2.

While I was laying around, Gregg (my roomie) texted me a picture of the cutest puppy with the comment "meet your new roommate!" WE GOT A PUPPY!!!!! It's a double doodle - half golden doodle and half labradoodle and I was so bummed I wasn't home to play with her! But great motivation to run fast. After the shock, I went and grabbed some Italian food and then forced myself to bed early.

BEST TEXT EVER!!!!

April 18, 2015
The race didn't start until 8:45am, but I woke up around 6am to start getting mentally ready. The thing that was worrying me about this race is that I was recovered from the flu. Ya..... so I got struck with the flu bug on Monday and had not done the best job getting myself back to 100%. I didn't want to miss this race completely so I made a promise to just listen to my body and not overdo it. If I had to walk, I had to walk - no questions asked.

Good Morning Detroit!

The morning was gorgeous and cool and had a pretty sunrise. The marathon started at 7:15am and the 10K and 5K around 8am so I knew parking would be a little wild and I needed a good get away route after the race. I went and got some oatmeal from McDonald's (gosh..I'm like their top customer evidently) and got a great parking spot and just jammed out in the car for a while. I walked the few blocks over to the race start to check out potential post race picture spots and found a few nice aliens who looked promising. Once I had my game plan set, I went back to the car to drop my jacket and pack my nutrition chews and music. I got very hyped up listening to "I Lived" by OneRepublic.

Half Marathon Ready to Go!

I was over to the race start early enough to watch the first few 5K finishers and most of them were kids just crushin' it. Once it was my turn to run, I head over to the start line and got in line between the 2:00 and 2:10 pacer. The gun went off and off we went! I was pretty excited and cruising well for the first 3 miles well ahead of the 2 hour pace marker. Once we turned onto the 8 mile out and back stretch the doubt started to creep in my head. I was starting to struggle and the temperatures were rising. I had a package of energy chews so I opened those around Mile 4 and started to eat one every half mile or so. Already by Mile 5 I knew this race was going to be a battle of will power to finish. The course was hilly, despite the race website description, and there was no shade to be found. I was still ahead of the 2 hour pacer but they would be coming up on me soon. The 6.5 mile turnaround felt like it was light years away but I finally made it and soon got paced by the 2 hour pacer as well.

Running is about 10% physical and 90% mental. It sounds crazy but I swear it is true. I quickly could see other runners were facing the same struggle as me with the unexpected heat and the hills and I just kept thinking "one foot in front of the other". I got to Mile 7 and was on an uphill so I waited a few minutes until I made my Snapchat video in which I requested some serious prayers. My feet just continued to shuffle along and it was almost laughably sad. I knew I was stronger than this but I also knew I was coming off an illness and I needed to listen to my body and not get upset about the struggle. I continued to pray to my cheer squad (I'll explain this in a different post) and every now and then out of nowhere a huge gust of wind would come and cool us all down.

Aliens were holding all of the Mile signs...I gave some of them high fives

There was a water stop around Mile 9.7 and this is where I admit that I am not Superwoman. I decided to walk through the water stop and then continued to walk for a bit until I got to Mile 10. I don't know why it is so hard for me to admit that I walked - not sure if I'm embarrassed or just thought that it would never be me. But out of my 38 races, this is only my second race I have ever walked. The elements just weren't in my favor and I just needed to run MY own race and finish - the goal is always just to finish. I can't PR all 50 states. Ha - I am still convincing myself it was okay to walk evidently. So I walked until Mile 10 and then picked it up again. I got to a girl who looked like she did CrossFit and remembered hearing her talk about how much she was struggling a while back. I talked with her for a bit and gave her a little encouragement that it wasn't just her that was struggling and then let her go do her crazy interval Crossfit things. At around Mile 10.5 the course broke off onto a trail which thankfully made for some much needed shade. There was a short but steep hill I refused to let conquer me, so I powered up the hill and then needed walk break #2. I would only allow myself to walk for a maximum of one song and then I would start to run again. Mile 11 wound through some campus and then back onto the trail. Finally Mile 12 came and I knew I would finish. No joke - until this point I was worried I may end up having to come back to Michigan.

I could tell we were getting close as the number of aliens tied to trees were increasing. I was able to settle into a nice cadence and tackled those last few rolling hills and turned the corner to the finish. I don't really remember finishing. All I remember thinking was "Puppy, Puppy, Puppy" as I got to the last leg. I crossed the line and was surprised my time wasn't as bad as I felt - somewhere around 2:15ish -- I was thinking it could easily be 2:30 or 2:40 with how horrible I was feeling.

Official Race Pic - 38 states down, 12 more to go! #DREAM BIG

Snapchat Race completion announcement - see my new headband?

38!

I grabbed my new medal, my finish line goodies and went off to find my alien for our finisher photo. A cute family took my picture and asked about the number and then talked to me for a while about my time in Detroit and wanted to know about my next races, etc. Strangers are so sweet. I got back to the hotel, showered, and was on the shuttle to the airport less than an hour after crossing the finish line. I had a really good conversation with the Hertz shuttle driver about the effects of the Boston Marathon bombing and the strength of the running community and told him about my goal. He told me to call him when I was on Oprah.

Here are some more pictures from the race I "borrowed" off the website:

 

I call this picture - "Ya, I finished - now give me my medal so I can go meet the Puppy"

I got home and back to the house by 5:30 and met the newest addition to the household - Miss Tupelo Honey! She is the sweetest little doubledoodle in the world and this was the best ending to an otherwise tough day.

Oh hey Baby Girl! 

Don't tell her dad I let her on the couch....just for the picture!!!

38 states down, 12 more to go!
#DREAMBIG