Finished

I made it. I really completed that thing. 26.2 miles, 4 hours and 33 minutes. And while my thighs are feeling as sore as never before, I'm not especially tired or exhausted and I don't feel particular pain besides the soreness.

My friend Tracey and I drove down to San Luis Obispo on Saturday morning. My other friend flaked last minute which was a disappointment but as I've flaked on her plenty of times I couldn't be too angry with her. At least she wasn't the one with the car. Although I knew I was going to miss her "Motivational Dance" 

Lonnie, a huge and incredibly fluffy dog that Tracey rescued a few weeks earlier came with us and made himself comfortable on the backseat. We decided that he was going to be the mascot instead. And he did a pretty good job, although he passed on the dance but after all this excitement and the long trip he's ended up to be even more exhausted than I am now.

After we got my race package which took us quite long as everyone had to admire Lonnie and pet his fluffy fur what he acknowledged with a happy wagging of his fluffy tail and a smile, we got food and drove over to the hotel in Pismo Beach.

As if this beautiful view and the lovely weather combined with great food and company had not been enough, we spotted two whales who made their way along the coast. Such beautiful and majestic creatures and such a good omen for the next day. 

While I had felt very excited and a little nervous the night before, I suddenly got very calm. We had dinner with Tracey's friends and I went to bed shortly after. And I even managed to sleep deeply for four hours and one hour more until I got up at 3.30am, well rested and ready to run! Unfortunately, I couldn't find most of my team until right before the race started, I met a handful of them at the starting line to receive and distribute good luck hugs.

And off I went. And my good luck continued. My running app didn't work first and then it went just crazy and told me I was running 20km an hour! Well, I didn't really care. My playlist was spot on, the weather was perfect, and lots of people had gotten up so early to support the runners and I ran.  

At the first hill I noticed my training. I just kept running. Didn't slow down much. Just made it up that hill. The sun was already coming up behind the mountain to the left but it took a couple more miles until we actually saw here. Throwing her warm light all over the green hills all around us. The nature was beautiful. The air fresh but the wind had slowed down compared to the day before, to just a refreshing breeze that only seemed to get a little stronger when I ran downhill. Following our coach's instructions I kept drinking and eating the disgustingly sweet energy gels and blocks. I had my camel bak refilled a few times and learned that I'm not the only person who struggles with opening the lid :-). 

Those stops caused me to loose the 4.30 pacers and after my second porta potty break I was sure that the 4.45 had passed me, too. Nevertheless, I always had 4 hours 35 minutes finish time in my head. Even though my stupid pebble watch had given up by now and my GPS hadn't even bothered to work correctly at all and was way off. 

So I stopped bothering about the time and just enjoyed everything around me. The green, the young bulls on the hills, flowers everywhere, wine fields, and lots of runners. Everyone with a different strategy. A lot of them very fast. Some of the faster ones I should pass later. And mile after mile went by. And I ran and ran and ran. Like a Volkswagen. And somehow, every time I felt like I really should be somewhere else, my playlist came up with exactly the right song. Or my coach showed up to distract me by repeating that he had utter confidence in me and wasn't worried at all. And left. Not before he told me, that I had left all significant hills behind me. And I kept running. And again, every other time I thought I couldn't do this anymore, another song came up that was perfect for this right moment (like the Run, Run, Run song at a hill at mile 22, contributed by my ex-colleague Josh :-)).

At the point I took this picture I was so sick of the energy gels they handed out at the aid stations. I knew I had to keep eating but I was sure that I would puke if I had one more mouthful of that disgustingly sweet raspberry gel. And, while I was running up that hill, another coach joined me and gave me a motivational talk to get up that hill. "See that telegraph mast up there. Focus on it and just keep running. You almost made it, you're doing great!" I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or to himself... And before he left, he said: "That was the last significant hill..." I didn't mind as I was already dancing up that hill with somebody to Whitney Houston (that one added to my playlist by my cousin Felipe).

And then I did make it to mile 25 where Tracey waited with hugs and a sip of mimosa. And, after all that sweet and sticky stuff, salty peanuts! Yum. And off on the last 1.2 miles. Not without sharing the peanuts with another, thankful runner. And then, on the last half mile, my legs started cramping (!). I gave them a quick stretch and chose to ignore the nasty pain in my thighs and feet and ran a little faster. Up another hill. At mile 26. This time, four coaches where lined up the road and all of them cheered. And the last 0.2 miles where downhill and I even managed to sprint to the finish line. 

When I saw the time I couldn't believe it: 4 hours and 33 minutes! I had made it. Forget pebble, running apps, and GPS. Just follow your heart, enjoy your run, and you'll get to wherever you want at the exact time you want to be there.