I did it! I finished the Biggest Loser 15k!
I am so proud of myself because I was able to run the whole entire race without one single walk break. Even on my long runs at home I had to take walk breaks, so I was so happy that I was able to run the whole thing even through the water stations.
About three miles in, a guy ran up next to me. We didn’t speak the whole race, but we ran the whole thing together. If he sped up a little, I made sure that I sped up. If I sped up a little, he made sure to speed up too.
At the finish line I congratulated him on the race and he told me thanks for pacing him. I told him no, thank you for pacing me. Without that random stranger, I probably would have finished a lot slower than I did. So thank you dark-haired guy running next to me.
My official time was 1:44 which I was very happy with. I knew this wouldn’t be a fast race for me, and my average pace was around 11 minutes per mile. I was just so happy to finish without walking. It was a great experience. I loved it. It was tough, but such an accomplishment.
Backing up a bit….
We got to Rockford about 5 pm Friday night and went to the race expo.
The 15k bib pick-up line was super short, but the t-shirt line took quite a while. There was definitely a lot more people that ran the 5k race.
We got to meet Jeff and Francelina from Season 14 of The Biggest Loser.
They both looked amazing, and were very sweet and friendly. They ended up staying at the same hotel that we did.
Dan and Jackie Evens from Season 5 were also there.
We walked around a few booths at the expo and listened to some Q&A and Biggest Loser trivia questions, then we stopped at Noodles and Co. for dinner.
My favorite part was the cookie.
We meet up with my brother and sister-in-law at the hotel and hung out with them for a bit before going to bed.
We woke up around 5:15 am. I ate a maple nut Clif bar right away, and we left the hotel about 5:45 am. The hotel was about 15 minutes from the race so we arrived in plenty of time.
When we got to the race, we met up with my dad and stepmom to give them their bibs.
The 15k started at 7:10 am and off we went. I ended up wearing a different shirt then I planned because the weather was a bit chillier than I anticipated. I also couldn’t fit the Honey Stinger chews in my back pocket, so I used Sports beans instead.
It rained pretty much the whole entire 15k, and I loved it. I think it’s part of the reason I was able to run as well as I did. It was cool and refreshing. It didn’t downpour just a light steady rain for most of the race.
I started out good at about a 10 min/mile pace. I keep that up for about 4-5 miles or so before I had to slow down a bit.
There was four water/Gatorade stations on the course which was perfect. Had it been hot and sunny, I might have needed more water. I ate half of my Sports Beans at mile 4.5 at the water station.
I ran next to Francelina for about 1/2 a mile before she sped up (don’t worry, I caught up to her in the end). 
The miles surprisingly went by fast. Around mile 5, I got a little burst of energy, but by mile 7-8, my legs were feeling it. I wanted to walk so bad at mile 8, but I knew I had to keep going. I would have been so mad at myself if I had ran all 8 miles and then stopped with only 1.3 miles left to go.
Danny showed up with about 1/2 a mile left and paced me the rest of the race. I was dying, but I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. My running buddy crossed just after me.
I got my Biggest Loser medal and immediately ate two plums. It was the best food I ever tasted.
Crystal did awesome and finished a little after me. She met a lady on the course who will be running the same Disney half marathon in Florida as her in November. That’s random.
Danny did super duper extra awesome. He won second place in his age group. His time was 1:13. I think he did so awesome, but was a little disappointed because he missed first place by about 30 seconds. He still did great.
I think the race was well organized, had enough water station, enough bathrooms, a clearly marked course with some mile makers, and a lot of volunteers directing people where to go.
The person that I am most proud of is my dad.
My dad and stepmom did the 15k walk.
When I was younger, my dad fell off the roof putting up Christmas decorations and landed on his back. My brother and I were kids and didn’t realize how serious it was and just thought it was funny that Dad fell off the roof (sorry Dad, I still feel bad about that).
He didn’t end up going to the doctor for a long long time. Years, I think. He used to have terrible back pain and finally had to get back surgery because he had shattered discs in his back that had spread everywhere in his back.
What should have been a short surgery ended up taking 7-8 hours because there was so many disc fragments all around his back that had to be dug out. He still even has back pain to this day.
Somewhere along the way, a shattered disc piece hit a nerve and ended up killing a nerve in his foot. He walks with a slight limp because of the dead nerve. I don’t think it’s necessarily painful, it’s maybe more like dead weight. And I’m sure that his good leg has to compensate for the bad leg.
(Sorry, if I left anything out of the story, Dad. Feel free to comment below and tell us).
So, of course, he is physically unable to do any kind of high impact exercising like jumping, running, etc. He was the first one that signed up for the 15k walk. And I told myself that if my dad wants to walk a 15k than I can run a 15k.
This was his first official race. He has done walks before, but this is the first time he’s gotten a bib number, crossed a finish line, and got a medal.
I am so proud of you, Dad! You did awesome and are an inspiration to me!
Enough mushy stuff! You just better not fall asleep at my house tonight when we’re celebrating Danny and Paul’s birthday and watching the Blackhawks game!
I am so glad that we’re staying in tonight and ordering pizza. I don’t think my legs can even walk up the stairs. And Danny is mowing the lawn right now. Overachiever.
Have a great afternoon!!
