Crim 2011. My Story and Thanks~

Team HARLESS!

STRETCHING before

The mile walk to the race.

Like clock work mom and dad are at the house at exactly 6:15. As I finish brushing my teeth I head downstairs to greet them. I have my nerves in check and feel like we have everything ready to leave. Right on Time. Team Harless now ready to take that drive into Flint for one of the biggest races in Michigan, The Flint CRIM.

10 Miles. The famous "Bradly Hills" and August humidity.

All smiles..Before

Amazing crowds, course entertainment, and a perfect day!

Meeting Friends at The Crim!

Heading to our Corrals

This race is a favorite of both Andy and mine. It is located in the city Andy works at so there is location emotion attached to it for him!

GOALS

"The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible.  That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit. "

Andy- To finish in 90 minutes. 9 minute miles.
Setbacks. This race is both hilly and long. Both distance and elevation effects Andy's Achilles rupture just 10 months ago.
Less than a week ago he also injured his foot on the Dreadmill.
Anita-To run my pace, I will have to run at the Detroit Free Press 1/2 marathon to qualify for NYC.

******

Andy is soaking WET with SWEAT..I went the whole race without puking...it is a possibility now!

I have gone through my list of items I use for a race. Chomps- Check, Ipod-Check, Garmin-Check, Gum-Check, Camera-Check, and gloss Check. I have all the equipment, I have gone to the bathroom and  I am just looking at the clock now, 7:45. Mom and Dad walk us towards the mass of runners all corralled and roped off like cattle. It is now setting in. Wanting peace, I request our family prayer. We gather together holding hands in the grass and Andy leads us in a prayer that I feel God is giving us his ultimate tool:Strength and Stamina. I know that if He is not in this then I do not stand a chance.
I walk Andy to his corral and stay with him a few minutes till I know I have to move up towards mine. Kissing him goodbye and wishing him a great finish I make my way through the tightly woven crowd. "Excuse Me, Sorry, Pardon Me." I politely say as I slide in and around people. Being that I am only 5'1 I feel like I am cutting through a forest. I feel so small and have to look up and around to see where I am.
When I arrive in between the 7 and 8 minute section there is a significant difference in people. For one I am a minority, being a female and for two, this section of the corral is not as dense. I look around and know I am with the serious runners by the $300  timing devices on their wrists.
I have less than 5 minutes till the start, my left leg is shaking uncontrollably. I look around shyly hoping no one notices. How embarrassing. I cannot even control my limps. I feel so inadequate next to these runners. I listen to their training programs and their goals and feel my leg just quiver more.
The National Anthem finishes and the elites take off. As we are moving towards the starting mat I lift my head from my Garmin to notice everyone is in the same positions, heads down hovering over our watches preparing to hit the START button. And as we do you hear every ones "Beep" and I am off.

To keep my pace Andy set my Garmin watch to beep at me if I ran slower than  a 7:30 pace. My son said it would be more effective if it could send a shock through you to jolt you into moving faster. At this pace I thought I would be getting a lot of "beebs" so I did not like the idea of being electrified into running faster technology!
There is so much anticipation on running day. I know all the pain that is going to be required of me at this pace, I just question when it is going to rear its ugly face and to what degree. There is so much head work that is involved. Having a strong mind is equally as important to having a strong body.
What mile will I feel my chest heaving? When will I feel the heaviness of my legs? How will my stamina endure under the heat and hills? But its the Mind. When will I question my ability? This is my biggest fear. Battlefield of the Mind. If your head is not in the game you body WILL follow suit. You have to Believe in your ability, you have to Trust in your training, You have to see Victory.

Running through mile 1,2,and 3 were pretty routine. Getting into your pace. controlling your breathing and just sinking into your rhythm. It takes for me about this long to get comfortable in my myself.
Mile 4,5, and 6 consisted of hills. They are more than just the infamous "Bradly Hills", which consist of 3 hills back to back then one enormous rolling hill to just pound you down. From this point there are also several rollers and long inclines mixed with turns. The course is challenging but not foreign. As I am desperately trying to maintain my breathing and catch my breath, I hear the nagging, "BEEP, BEEP." I look down at the Garmin to read the words "Speed Up." EHHH...!
Mile 7 Everythings in working order. This is where I am feeling my best. The majority of the hills are now nothing but a memory on the  bottom of my sole. I am wanting this feeling to never end. I am in some shade and my body is methodically working like it is being operated by batteries. I am trying to remember to enjoy and have fun. I encourage the 30 Plus runners. These are the runners who have ran more than 30 years the CRIM. They really appreciate the cheers. I notice those struggling and send them a good word. I have less than 21 minutes to go. Why can't this feeling last till the end?
Mile 8 and 9. Some things are just to good to be true. And just that quick that euphoria is over. Slammed shut. As I feel myself draining I think about the tools I have to help me. I pop another Chomp in my mouth and look for the water station. I search for a powerful song to revive me on my ipod and begin another prayer.
Mile 10. Time to bring it in. I think to myself I have made it this far. I have ran with a lot of the same people through out most of the race. There is one particular girl who keeps passing me, dropping behind me then speeding up to catch me. She looks like she is having a difficult time pacing herself but her pride will not let me pass her. But in her strength she is weak. She is choosing the wrong times to pass me. Like up hills. She isnt being very strategic and it is hurting her stamina. As we are coming into 9 I as passing her again, I look to my left and cheer her on " You are doing great, come on you can do this." She didnt even look my way. She was tapped out. And so I moved forward. I have 7 minutes. I replay my power song from a couple miles back and realize I want to hear the crowd. Taking my ear buds off I soak up the energy of the crowd. I move to the right because that is where the family should be. Finish strong, Anita.Listen for the family. I turn left onto Saginaw from Court st and see the FINISH BANNER. I know it is still to early for me to push hard so I force myself to not look at that banner rather focus on my watch not beeping on me. "Steady Girl", "Run Smart." I see the bricks, they are my invitation to GOOOO! In my zone I kick my legs into gear, I buckle down and Go. I am so focused I hear this man right next me me scream at me "COME ONNNN>!!!" It scares me so bad I actually jump like I have been electified by that device my son was talking about. At this same time I hear my family screaming at me but I am so startled I start sprinting like a cheetah and actually pass him but as I am running by him I turn around and yell back, "GOOO" And HE does passing me by a split second. How fun. I finish with a huge grin on my face. This guy fist pumps me and we go our separate ways. What a finish.
OH, and the girl..She found me as I was walking away and said," Great Run, I wish I would have just paced with you. Thanks for the encouragement."~~ 
Barely catching my breath all I can think of is ANDY. I grab my medal and sneak through the gates and run to where I thought I heard my family. I struggle to find them because the crowd is so thick and being vertically challenged makes it hard to see through the crowd. But I find them. Smiling and relieved I hug them and wait for Andy. Tick Tock..The clock is really pinching to his deadline. Any minute. Where is he? Dear God please let him be ok." Then Austin says, "Mom, There's dad, Look. There he is!" I cheer him on only to rush pass my family to break back through the crowds and jump the fence to welcome him to the finish.
When I find him he looks sick, but he has finished in his goal. He looks like death but he is truly a warrior. I do not know any person with the strength and tenacity of my husband. I actually feel convicted because you can tell he ran harder than me. I am so proud of him.
We both achieved our Goals! Thank you Jesus!! In My weakness YOU give me STRENGTH~

There is nothing better than TIM HORTONS at the Finish Line!!

CRIM RUNDOWN:
2005-1:31:32
2006-1:22:06
2007-1:35:23
2008-1:24:24
2009-1:18:06
2010-1:18:36
2011-1:13:18

Isn't she Cute...MY Niece! Came out to be a encouragment! Love that girl!!

Red Robins Post dinner Burger!!YUM!

Dessert!!!

A personal note~ I just want to say thanks to all the encouraging words and cheer. It means so much to feel the love and encouragement. I know each person that has said kind words to me and I hold them dearly. As I have heard your words I have imprinted them in my heart and thoughts. You have taken the time to write them, you have taken my passion and not judged me, rather believed in me. Through your kindness I am reminded to always play this forward because I know how much it speaks to me I want to be that person to someone else. Sincere thanks.
Anita

SIX Seconds..

Austin, was such a trooper, He had to get up at 5:30 am to come out and watch me run!

Six Seconds..

What if I had ran down that hill just a little bit faster?
What if I was closer to the front when I crossed the starting mat? (So I did not have to weave in and out through all those people.)
What is if I had drank more water?
Did I pace myself to closely? Was I afraid that my well would dry up to soon hence holding the horses back?
Am I capable of running SIX Seconds faster?

Getting on the bus

I feel like I gave it my all. I think most of us runners know when we give a run a good race. We analyze it while we are running as well as when we are finished. Each person is like a moving target. We see them pick them off, listen to their breathing, watch how they run, and even pick up a brief conversation once in a while. I enjoy to give that someone struggling a little motivation, shouting, "You are doing great, good pace." or "Come on guys, lets get up this hill." I find that when I motivate someone else it is rewarding to me as well.

We took a bus to shuttle us to the city of Dexter. And we ran from there to Ann Arbor. Today was HOT. about 80 degrees by 9:30 am. The course was beautiful, that is why I enjoy running this race..THE ONLY REASON!
You run next to the Huron River almost the whole way in. There was so much greenery. The course is on a two lane road with park like scenery. Large oak trees blocking out the heat of the sun and shrubs and grasses painted on rolling hills. You did everything to stay out of the blazing sun. As soon as the sun touched your skin you could feel your energy evaporate. It was vampire like. You did almost anything to avoid being in the sun because it sucked the life out of you.

SOOO happy to see my family@ mile 7

And off again..

I saw my boys at mile 7, almost right at the half way mark. I was still feeling pretty good. I got all choked up when I saw Austin jumping up and down shouting " GOOO Mama, Go !!He was easy to pick out because he was wearing MY new DXD2 Race shirt in bright yellow! The three of them were full of smiles and encouragment. This moment was like getting a little "Top Off". Little Alec hugging me and Andy with that proud look is my favorite.

By mile 9 I was starting my math session. This is when I know I want to be done. This moment is when I start calculating how much farther in minutes. What time will I finish in? Will I make my PR? And can my legs not just make it 4 more miles rather 32 minutes at this pace? In this Heat, and with that last finishing hill.

I got a little scared at mile 10. I started to get dizzy. I was looking at alot of runners that were now walking. I was running on an incline with spotted shade. People were struggling.I had already passed so many. I started thinking maybe I should stop and walk a bit. I thought I was gonna puke, and my skin was all tingly. My Garmin kept beeping at me because Andy had set it at a speed alert. When I ran slower than a 7:45 pace it beeped "SPEED UP"! I wanted to shut it off all together but I had no energy to even do that.  I knew this was not good.

Soo I do what most of us do when we are in trouble...Pray Harder.
Dear Lord, please strengthen my legs. Give me power and stamina to finish this race the way you know I can. Please push me from behind or pull me from the front. Remove this illness from my body and hydrate me to the finish. Put power in my strides, Please Lord, Please.

Through my Faith in Christ I asked. 1 Peter 1:8 " Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,"

 I had taken chews and my juice plus but he was providing me ultimately with more than what I could put in my hands or in my mouth.

Up UP Up! .4 miles all uphill. That is the finish. Full throttle blazing heat. The crowd was hooting and hollering. This was the largest crowd as of yet. My name was on my bib so it was even more personal listening to the cheering. "Great Job Anita, almost there" I saw a tunnel of blue balloons and fixed my eyes forward and up I went. HOW horribly deceiving! I made it through the balloons and that was NOT the finish. The mats were still another 400 feet UPHILL! What a cruel thing to do.

Andy..Thanks for getting there and supporting me

I know where I fell apart. My SIX Seconds.....This last incline I was running 8:20s...and I could not get my legs to go any faster. I could not catch my breath and I was just happy to still be moving forward. You gotta be Ok with Your Best. I knew this was my Best. This hill was not going to kill me, stop me, or defeat me. Yes, it may have slowed me down but I was going to Conquer it with all I had in me..Because I knew He had supplied me to do so.

SIX SECONDS
I really worked hard. I gave my all. I have peace. And besides Overall I did BETTER than I did divisionally from last year!

2010 DXA2                                  2011 DXA2

Chip Time;1:40;41                         Chip time- 1:40;47
Overall Place-377/2414               Overall place-316/3133
Gender Place-64/1107                 Gender Place-43/1457
Division Place-15/201                  Division Place-10/243
Pace-7:41                                     Pace-7:42

SIX Seconds. How does this play out? Contentment. We can not beat ourselves up so badly that we lose the joy of the overall victories in life. So what SIX SECONDS. Divisionally I did better. Temperature wise it was about 7 degrees cooler last year. Ultimately.. Lets not get Stuck on Stupid. I FINISHED! Let the little things stay little. Why do we let the little things absorb the overall picture.  By being disappointed I am taking the Glory back from God. I am so thankful to him for all I am able to do. And content with the little heartaches.
Don't Major on the Minors..

Boys waiting for me to finish..

Anita