Bonnie ran an AWESOME 1/2 Marathon
Hello friends...I couldn't find my previous thread so here I am again! I wanted to report back to you about my 1/2 marathon that I ran yesterday January 15, 2012 at 9 1/2 months post op!
Let me just say that I had a glorious Houston Marathon weekend. It started with working at the Expo all day Friday, then a trip downtown to stay the night in a downtown hotel before race morning. A pre race pasta dinner with my running friends. It was so much fun to finally be a part of it again.
Was up as late Saturday night at 11pm and my alarm was set for 4:45. We wanted to leave for the starting area by 5:45. I was with my daughter who ran the full marathon. It was cool, in the low 40's so I did dress in just over the knee length running rights wearing my Zensah knee compression sleeve underneath. We set out and met up with friends before the start of the race.
In the starting corral, I was of course wearing my special shirt, no jacket as I knew I would warm up fast. While we were waiting for the start I got so many questions and comments and congratulations from well wishers around me. People said it was awesome that I was out here once again! There were 24,000 people in the race doing the 1/2 and full marathon.
The gun finally went off at 7:00 a.m., I was smiling from ear to ear because I was one there in the sea of humanity once again. The first mile was up hill and I ran it in a 10:58 pace. A little faster than I wanted to be but you get so excited it is hard not to get caught up in it. The second mile was all down hill which I worried about before hand as I don't like running down hill with a TKR and it is not good for even good knees...too much stress. It was so crowded I didn't want to just start walking and get run over, so I just slowed my pace and took short little steps until I was down the hill.
The miles came and went, I was running the entire way but would walk through each water stop that was first at the 2 mile mark then every 1.5 miles after that. Just before the 5 mile mark a woman who ran up from behind me caught my attention and said, "You had a total knee replacement!" I said yes, and she high fived me and said, "You give me such hope, I had to have 1/2 of my meniscus removed and I thought that soon my running days were over! These sort of comments happened all along the way.
Since I was under trained for this 1/2 marathon, only running my longest distance of 7 miles nearly a month before, I didn't know what I'd feel like after 7 miles came and went. Before I knew it I was at 9 miles and still feeling great, and made the turn for the 1/2 marathoners to head back towards downtown while the full marathoners continued on straight ahead. The bands were playing, the crowds were cheering, I had my eyes well with tears several times as I was just so very, very happy. I remember looking at the mile 10 mile marker, the time on my watch was 2 hours 7 minutes. Pre surgery and pre bad knee I could run 10 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes, so yes I was slower, I expected to be, but I thought I was doing great just the same. Mile 11 and 12 came and I was thinking, oh my goodness, this is going to be over soon, I didn't want it to end. On the road to my left was the very fastest marathoners coming into the finish with sub 3 hour times. I had never seen this part of the marathon before because I was always still out there on the course running it myself, but this time only doing the 1/2 marathon I could see the awesome fast runners coming in.
Pretty soon I was entering downtown Houston and the streets were packed with spectators as was the entire course, 250,000 of them! At mile 13 I made a left turn to run the .1 remaining to the finish line. It was so awesome!!! I felt great, the euphoria was there! My husband who had just returned from a very long business trip the night before did not make it to the marathon yesterday for the first time in 16 years, but he saw me twice on TV and saw me finish and High Five the girl next to me!
I met my goals 9.5 months after a RTKR...to make it to the staring line, to finish, to do it in less than 3 hours, and to beat the time of the 35 year old girl that works with me at the store! I did it all!
I can honestly say that my knee is fine. I am not sore, I am not swollen. The bottom of my feet were achy tired from pounding all the concrete. I expected to feel worse, but I don't, I am fine.
At the end of the afternoon as I was saying goodbye to my friends, a couple came up to me, that I did not know. They asked me about my shirt, they asked if I had a knee replacement and when. They saw the medal around my neck and asked about my run. They were so kind and so congratulating to me with the woman then saying..."I so needed to talk to you today, I am so glad that I saw you." She goes on the say, "My mom needs a knee replacement so bad! She is afraid to have surgery, she is afraid that she will never recover, she is afraid she will never be active again and will always be in pain." She asked who my surgeon was, which hospital and told me that she could not wait to call her Mom and tell her about me. Her Mom is 60, I told her that I was 59 but would be 60 in 2 months. She thanked me many times again, congratulated me, and we said good bye. This is just what I was hoping that would happen, that I could inspire someone else, to have hope, with the girl at 5 miles, anyone who saw me but didn't say, and the girl at the end talking about her Mom. Giving hope to those who are afraid that yes, they can get their life back!
As the stats came in this is how I fared:
Finish time 2:48:26 average pace 12.51 per mile
Females aged 55-59 I was #115 out of 212 (I am oldest in my age group too)
Overall I beat 1662 people across the finish line!
Still smiling today, but back to the real world, house cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping! Race photographs will be published in several days and I will post.
So I hope that anyone reading this will one day take a chance on doing what you love to do once again. Go slow, test the waters, take a chance and get your life back!
Half Marathoner after RTKR!
United States
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