Omaha Half Marathon

Done, state #24.

I arrived in Omaha at 11 am and called the hotel for a shuttle pick up and was on my way to the hotel at 11:30.  I love it when hotels offer free airport pick up.  My friend , JB, was already in Omaha so I met up with her in the room.  We chatted for a few minutes and then headed to the expo to pick up my bib.  It was about a 10 minute walk and it was such a nice day outside.

The expo was in the parking lot of a stadium with only a few vendors.  I bought a long sleeve shirt and more Gu (salted caramel).

Race day came and we got ready.  I was excited but nervous at the same time.  It is a weird combination of feelings because I’ve been running half marathons for quite some time and I still feel that way.  It was dark and kind of chilly as we walked to the start line.  Ideally it was perfect running weather.  There was some kind of confusion at the start line but JB and I just followed the crowd and waited for the race to start.  Luckily I did not have to go to the bathroom because I had no idea where they were.

We were off a little after 7.  I had a good pace the first couple of miles.  Did I mention the weather was just perfect?  The course was not flat but I took it easy and did not mind them too much.  I tried not to look too much at my watch for my pace but just went with how I was feeling.  I took my first Gu around mile 3.  Surprisingly there were A LOT of water and Gatorade stations.  Plus, many of the tables had oranges which I enjoyed very much.

I was feeling really good and was pleased with the many volunteers along the course.  We ran through a park and I wondered how much longer till the turnaround point.   It was sunny but fortunately the course was shaded.

The 2:10 group caught up with me and I stayed with them for a few minutes till the turnaround point. I stopped to take another Gu and to drink more water.  All was going very well until for just one tiny second when the sun appeared and blinded me.  I did not see the girl in front of me and I tripped and fell.  It felt like I was in a slow motion movie and I remember every single move I made before landing on the floor.  I was shocked and laid there for a few seconds.  The runners that saw me asked if I was OK.  I got up to scan the damage.  No bleeding on my knees but they were scraped a little.  There was blood on my left hand and a small scrape on my right hand.  I was OK and was glad that it was not worse.

I ran and walked the remaining miles.  I fell but so what?  I guess it was bound to happen to me.  I ran next to a girl that had a good pace and she told me that she saw me fell.  I laughed because I wondered how many other people saw me.

I saw the finish line and was glad that the race was over.  I looked at my watch and was confused because it was only 12.81 miles.  Imagine my surprise when I saw people running into a stadium. I still had to run inside it?  So I did and it was pretty cool.  It reminded me of the Soldier Field 10 Miler.  Luckily the race was over shortly after exiting the stadium.

I looked at my watch and was pleased with my time.  I then walked over to the medical tent but was only given two bandages because they had nothing to clean the wound.

The course was blah but I was grateful it was mostly shaded and the weather was fantastic. The crowd was wonderful, there were plenty of water/Gatorade stations, and there were so many Gu stops that I grabbed one at every single one.

Next race is Rock ‘n’ Roll Providence Half Marathon.