Houston Half-Marathon, Part I

The week before the half-marathon is when my anxiety and fears kicked into high gear. Every day that drew me closer to Sunday, I could feel my heart race a little faster, my stomach cramp a little tighter, and my nerves get closer to shot.

By Friday, I was a mess, an absolute mess. My calf was still tender, my bags were packed, and I was at the point of no return, facing an unknown abyss. Everyone was rooting for me and I had more support than I could have ever dreamed. Emails, phone calls, and text messages poured in. The ladies at work made me feel like a rock star surprising me with flowers and pink, sparkly goodies (my favorite!). And yes, that's a rhinestone-encrusted visor with pink fur and a crown on top...love it! They are the best!
All of the support started to get me pumped and suddenly I was excited about Sunday! After a great night's sleep, I woke up on Saturday, saw the suitcase on the floor and realized the half-marathon was TOMORROW! And then the wave of panic crept back in and wouldn't go away. Today was the day we would travel to Houston. This was it.

Fortunately, my friend Cas and I knew we were going to need a distraction on this oh-so-important day, so what's a girl to do? Book manicures of course! Saturday morning we headed to the spa, we chatted with the friendly girls helping us, we laughed, we talked about movies, and we forgot all about the half. It was just what I needed. Later I realized if I was going to end up face first on the pavement, at least my nails would look darn good!
The moment of truth finally did come. We packed up the car. We drove to Houston. We ate at the Olive Garden on the way in to the hotel. Well, I didn't eat at the Olive Garden but everyone else needed carbs so I obliged. I had to baby my stomach and take it easy (darn you, IBS!) so I pulled out my turkey sandwich and plain potato chips and had to endure stares from the waiter and others in the restaurant. It was a great sandwich.

As we left the restaurant, a street sign caught Cassie's eye:
She thought it was quite amusing there was a street in Houston called "Dacoma St." She said we were going to be in "Da coma" when this was all over. Haha, I laughed nervously. Very funny, Cas.

We arrived to the hotel and stood in a line full of buff, fit people also waiting to check in. The Hilton Americas was lovely and we had stayed here before so I felt comfortable with my surroundings. We threw our stuff in the room and headed down to the lobby to meet up with my family who had arrived earlier that afternoon. Seeing them started a whole time period I have dubbed the "24-hour emotional roller coaster." It began when I saw the look of joy and pride in my family's face and didn't end until the night the half was over (more on that later).

We visited for a while and then had to head across the street to pick up our packets so the time for goodbyes came. It would be the last time I would see their faces until this was all over, for better or worse. I cried at their last minute words of encouragement and the confidence they had in me. I love them so much.
Then it was off to packet pick-up. The convention center was packed. I looked at everyone and felt relief every time I saw someone overweight (like me) carrying around their goody bag and t-shirt. I didn't want to feel like everyone in this was going to be an uber-athlete and to my surprise, they weren't.

We headed into the check-in line and it was hard to forget why we were here (thank you, huge signs everywhere reminding me that tomorrow my two feet were supposed to carry me 13.1 miles):
We fell into line and looked calm while picking up our packets:
But this is what it really felt like:
We gathered our goodies and headed back to the hotel for some R&R and an early bedtime. As we headed out the door, we passed a large sign and the words "Run For A Reason" caught my eye. I stopped, looked at the list, saw the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on it, and immediately remembered why I was here.
I thought of Landon and how much I love him. I thought of how desperate I was to finish the half. I took a deep breath, stepped outside into the cold air and couldn't believe that what I had been working a year for would be here in just a few short hours...