Route 66 Race!!

Yesterday was a milestone event - Kristin's first (she would insert "and only") Half-Marathon! lol  Here's our lovely pic with her fam after finishing...

And now I'll jump back to the beginning!  We parked in the first available space we found, and it happened to be less than a block from the Finish Line, which was a God-send at the end of the race!!  We had to walk a rapid uphill mile to reach the Start Line, though, so that was not entirely ideal.  Our pre-race pics make me happy.  Her with the safety pin in her mouth getting ready to pin my number on + me once we reached Corral D at the Start line + our race day shoes (Brooks & HOKAs).

Woohoo, get excited!  Two seconds into the day and my hairspray had already failed its one job.  Super windy all day - definitely should've brought a headband (and sunglasses!).

I ❤ the energy of the Start Line on race day!

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Signs to cheer for us + a flute serenade lol

A house very early in the race path... they went all out to let us know we had a long way to go!

Just a flag that made me happy!

We were toward the back in the final corral, starting 20 minutes after the 8am start time.  Around Mile 3, this guy told us we needed to stay with him or ahead of him to not get escorted off the course... stressful!  Those neighborhoods in the beginning had several hills and it was a rough start!  We had police vehicles behind us and U-Hauls removing cones and reopening the roads, but in the end, they left us behind and never mentioned taking us out of the race (thankfully).  They were removing the mile markers and tearing down the water stops, but we were able to catch several of them, and by Mile 7, we met back up with the Full-Marathoners and had more people surrounding us and more race path support.

I took this pic bc it reflected how we felt around Mile 3 and 4 with all the hills! lol

Cheering fans always help... and so does Gatorade, water, and food!

Huzzah for Mile #7 - fav number and a spot where I felt more confident that they wouldn't kick us out. lol  (In the end, 28 people finished the Half behind us, one over an hour later, and our walking time was 4:01:56, which I know I've done in other races - they're just getting more serious about the timeline on this one, apparently.)

We caught a few of the Marathon Mile Markers too! ;-)

A tragedy of epic proportions. lol  Seeing all these discarded donuts was making me sad and making me want a donut.  I got my wish a couple miles down the road at a stop where someone was handing them out! =)

Yay, Route 66... granted, there's lots of hills, but it's a scenic course that goes through some pretty neighborhoods and memorable spots along Riverside, so I enjoy it!

Yay, BOK Center at Christmas!

Yay, Tulsa! lol  (And being very near the finish line at this point).

It made me very happy to spot the boys and Frankie there cheering for us - they were on his shoulders, which made them easier to find in the crowd!

A few official race pics (that I'm not paying for) just before and after the Finish Line - top right = me taking the above pic as Kristin waves at the boys, then it's us crossing the Finish Line - one with Nichol and one with just me and Kristin!

Me:  "Let's run it in when we see the Mile 13 marker and get a fun victory pic!!"

Kristin:  "You can totally do that, but I don't have it in me.  I may just crawl across the finish line."

Me:  "Well, that could be a fun pic too."

Nichol:  "And I may flip them off!" lol (She was mad about the lack of directional signage and water-stop support for us)

Our fans!!  (The boys were so proud of their mom, and Frankie picked her up when they got to us, but my hands were full with Finisher tent stuff, so I missed that photo op!) ❤

The Finish Line felt even sweeter since we weren't sure we would get there in the beginning!

This random guy, all excited:  "Your FIRST HALF!!  That's amazing!  How do you feel!?

Exhausted Kristin:  "Terrible!!"

This guy:  "Noooo, you feel awesome for finishing your first Half!"

Compromising Kristin: "It's awesome that it's over!" lol

Nichol = our new friend who walked most of the race with us... we helped each other with the map and kept each other going... she is also signed up for her first Full in April, and she's going to text me some training plan ideas! =)

Hooray for pizza and fruit and sitting down after finishing!

Whitaker fam!! ❤

Medal for Half Marathon #5!!

RACES 1-4:  The 2009 Route 66 (the one that started it all - just me, inspired by Biggest Loser), 2010 Route 66 (walked it with Malori and Jordan, medal pics with LB and lots of other LG friends), 2012 OKC Half (zero pics of me in the race that year, but I got one at Packet Pickup and one of Chet and Gary in their first Full), and finally, the 2019 OKC Half with Dad!  I legit jogged the first one and finished around 2 hours and 30 minutes.  I've walked the other four and feel proud of them as well!  I know that I need to train seriously and be able to do a walk/jog combo for the Full next April!! #maximumeffort

Instead of a useful t-shirt or cute runner's jacket, they gifted us a random puffy vest at this year's packet pickup!  Kristin and I both said we're unlikely to wear it, but at least her boys are enjoying it! lol ;-)

After the race, I grabbed a Chipotle kids' meal and went back to my lovely hotel room.  I paid for a late checkout and it was worth every penny to be able to rest/edit photos/watch a movie for a couple hours then shower and get ready for Friendsgiving dinner!!  (See next post).  My legs are very sore and my feet were in pain post-race, but they felt better (genuinely) once I put on my sparkly boots. lol #healingpowers ;-)

That's all for now...

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