Well, I DID IT! On June 1, 2014, I completed my first half marathon. And I have to say, it was AH-MAZING! I never imagined it would be that fun/rewarding, but it was honestly awesome. The weather was perfect -- about 60 and overcast and NO WIND. Which meant you never got too hot because the sun wasn't shining and you weren't running against any crazy winds! The course was very flat which also helped tremendously.
I took a selfie of our outfits the night before we ran (of course I had to test it out!) Those socks were incredibly comfortable.
And when we picked up our race packets, they had a fitness boutique with lots of booths and people selling all things running-related. They also had this big table set up where people could make motivational signs for their runners. Jacob, made this one for me. :)
Of course we had to get a few pre-race pics. I ran it with Jaemie and I couldn't imagine doing it with ANYone else!
I ended up running with my phone in my hand because I didn't want to check it at the gear station (then I wouldn't be able to take any pre/post race pics!) So, I think this was around mile 8 or so. I wanted to get a better picture of the course but this was about all I could muster.
At mile 10, I started getting extremely fatigued and aching everywhere (including my knee which bothered me a lot toward the end of my training). I brought along one of those gel shots and took it along with some water which started to help right around mile 11. Those last few miles were KILLER. You just want to be DONE so badly! I literally was chanting to myself "Just one foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other". You kind of have to just zone out and keep a rhythm in your head and think about everything BUT the fact that you have x many miles to go.
The finish line was not placed well. Mile 12 seemed to go on forever because you never actually saw the finish line. All of a sudden, you turned a corner and there it was! In races I've run in the past, you could see the finish line at least 1/2 mile before you hit it so it kind of gave you the little kick in the butt you needed to get there (and I'd usually try and sprint to it once I saw it). But in this race, you never could see it from the path so it was a little discouraging that I didn't have that moment to really sprint to the end. But I will say, when I turned that corner and looked at the clock and it said UNDER TWO HOURS, I sprinted my little tail off and just couldn't believe I was making it in under TWO!
This is us after the race -- with tiara, feather boa, medal, champagne and all!
I never truly expected that I would come in under 2 hours. In most of my training runs, my best average pace was 9 1/2 minute miles. If I had maintained that pace in this race, I would have run it in 2 hours, 7 minutes. Knowing that, I just imagined I would come in somewhere around there.
So this was a huge, wonderful surprise! And of course, Jaemie came in a couple of minutes ahead of me AND she stopped for a restroom break along the way. That's my rock star friend!
You know what I learned most during all of it? I tend to get caught up in how much I weigh (since the birth of 2
babies) and how my body has changed (not so much for the better in the
last 8 years). But at the end of the day, you know what? THIS body birthed TWO beautiful, healthy babies and just ran
THIRTEEN miles. So many people in this world don't have to privilege to
do either of these things and I feel lucky -- blessed -- that my body
has allowed me to do them. I should celebrate THIS body -- no matter
what size. And be SO PROUD of what it can accomplish!
Will I ever run another half marathon? I'm not sure. The training is brutal. But knowing that my body can do it is a wonderful revelation that I will be proud of for a long, long while. Big thanks to Jaemie for being my running and motivational partner! I love you friend!
