i.did.it

Check this one off the bucket list....I ran a half marathon! I wish I would have chronicled my journey to get there because 6 months ago I never would have thought I'd actually do it. But I did and I'm so glad it's over! Before I ran it, I had fleeting thoughts of a full. But now that's it over, I can't imagine running another 13.1 miles on top of the 13.1 I had already run. Those people are nuts! I'm happy with the half, and who knows, maybe I'll do it again next year. I'd like to keep up with the running....it's done wonders for me. Sick to kind of say it, but I actually like it. It's my little break away from the chaos of daily life.

My friend J and I started running together about 5/6 months ago. When we first started, we struggled to do 30 minutes. I mean struggled. We were at about a 10:30 minute mile and once we hit 25 minutes, the excuses started. We generally pushed through to hit the 30 minute mark, but more often than not, we "convinced" ourselves that 28 minutes was close to 30 and we could go ahead and stop. I'm fairly athletic (in an average way), but running has never been my strong suit. Right about then, my friend "suggested" we sign up for a half marathon. She's done several over the past couple of years and thought I might be able to do it too. After the look of horror on my face subsided, I agreed. She had just had a baby 4 months prior to us starting to run and I thought, heck, if she can do it, I can do it. I mean, it had been over 3 years since I had a baby, and the excuses were not really valid any longer.

Over the next couple of weeks and months, that 30 minutes turned into 40 and then 50 minutes. That 10:30 mile became more of a 10 minute mile and we continually saw progress. I remember the morning I did 7 miles....a personal best for me. I think once about 10 years ago I ran 6+ miles at one time. But never more than that. That 7 was huge and it was one of the first times I actually thought I could do it.

That 7 miles became 8, then 9 and finally 10 (well officially 9.6) two weeks before the race (and I felt good after that long run). Our "short" runs were 5 miles (which I would NEVER have considered a short run before) and I was able to easily do those 3 times a week. About a month before the race, we were consistently doing sub-10 minute miles too. Heck, on flat surfaces, we were hitting 9 and 9:15 minute miles.

The morning of the race was nerve wracking. The most I had ever run was 9.6, so I still had over 3 miles to add to that to complete the 13.1. Everyone told me that if I could run 10, I could certainly do 13. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

Here we are the morning of the race:

The first 4 miles were good. Our first mile, a 9:15. We tried to slow it down a bit as to not burn ourselves out and had a 9:50 for mile 2, a 9:30ish for mile 3 and I can't remember mile 4. About 5 miles into it, my friend J wasn't doing well. She was a bit nauseated and was having knee problems and wanted to drop back. It happened so fast, I didn't have time to think. I had always planned on completing the race with her...no man left behind. But I knew she would be upset if I stopped with her....she wanted me to complete the race. So I left her at the 5 mile mark and kept going. I knew this was going to make the race that much more difficult. I got used to running with her, and runs without her were so painfully boring. I kind of come to count on her to keep me going and we have come to be great running partners. After the race I learned that she stopped for a few minutes but didn't want to let me down either and picked herself up and kept going. I'm so proud of her! I just wish we could have finished together.

I did well through about mile 8. Mile 9 was pretty rough (and hilly) and I was allowing thoughts of needing to stop enter my mind. I had kind of said all along that I didn't want to walk, no matter what. But this race was much more difficult than I had expected (especially since I felt so good during the 10 miles I had run 2 weeks prior). Right before 10, the family was waiting to cheer me on. I'm smiling in this photo, but at that point, I felt like hell. I'm glad they were there then, because I was starting to lose steam.

Mile 11, 12, and 13 were total bitches. I'm not going to lie. They were tough and I did everything I could to just keep one foot in front of the other. My legs were starting to get sore (and they had never done this in training) and it became harder and harder for me to keep going. But I did, and I finished (without walking, no less!). I only wish I was kissing the medal in this one :)

Official time, 2:07:17 for an average of 9:40(ish) minute miles. I'm so proud of that time. I *think* every mile was sub-10. Although I can't be 100% for those last few miles. I was pretty much delirious the last 30 minutes!

A little celebratory pic with the family :)

Definitely one of my biggest physical achievements!