I did it everyone! I really did not believe a couple months ago that I'd be able to finish a half marathon, and I did it. I ran the whole way. I did do a half marathon about 10 years ago, and I'm pretty sure back then I did some walking. This time- nope.
I didn't sleep well the night before. I had a lot on my mind and I was just plain nervous. Jeff, Luther and I stayed at my parent's place downtown so that we could get to the race easier. Luther has decided recently that sleeping at my parent's isn't fun unless he can play with Macaroon, so he spent a lot of time whining at the door. Then, there was a dance party or something outside at 11 p.m. Finally, I fell asleep just in time to wake up and run.
We headed to the race with our signs in tow and I did not feel great. I was sleepy and just plain scared. I stood alone in corral 12 and listened to all the people chatter about how they didn't even train. Why the heck not?! The race started at 6:30, and my corral got going at about 6:45. Off we went - and I felt great. Though the 2:15 pace guys were in corral 11, I caught up to them. However, they seemed a tad slow. I passed that group and decided as long as they didn't pass me I'd make my 2:15 goal and all would be great.
I didn't have headphones. I thought there'd be so much music and excitement I wouldn't need them. There were long stretches where I was dying for music. I still felt great though, and I was moving fast. I slowed down a bit, didn't want to poop out at mile 6. Running on those weird bridges is hard.
At mile 4.5, I rounded the corner and saw Al, Marie, Lorae, Meghan and Jeff all waving and smiling. This made me smile and gave me a boost. Though next time, I'll request that boost hang out at Mile 8.
We headed over to the lakefront, and went south forrrrreeeevvvvvver. I knew at some point we had to turn around, but I had no clue when. We kept going more and more south AWAY from the finish line. I still felt good though. At about mile 8, I realized I could look at the HUGE clock at each mile and keep track of my pace. Oops, that would've been helpful at the start. One problem was, I wasn't sure what time I started, so I knew my time on the big clock wasn't accurate. But I was raking in 10-minute miles, right on track.
Eventually, we turned around and I cheered in my head. The weather was beautiful, but a bit sunny. There was a cool breeze and it was a gorgeous day. At about Mile 9, I spotted Theresa at the Bear Necessities Gu station. I did NOT try any icky goo, but it was nice to see another friendly face. At this point, I was also starting to recognize my running mates. For a while I was passing a ton of people, and a ton were passing me. Here, it was more steady.
I still felt OK, and then mile 10 hit and I was ready to stop. There were only 3 miles to go, but I had 10 behind me and MAN I was starting to feel it. I hit 11, and paused a tad at the water station. OK, I admit I walked when I got water. Only because at mile 4 I tried to continue running and splooshed it all down my shirt. A great way to look while waving at my "fans." At mile 11, I took extra time with that water break, I'll admit it. But then I pushed on.
Mile 12! At this point, everyone kept yelling "you're almost done!" Finally, someone yelled "it's around the corner." Wrong. Then there was another corner, and another and then FINALLY the finish line. I could see it. I tried to find Jeff and Meghan and anyone else, but there were tons of people. I did see the camera guy on a scaffolding capturing the pain on my face.
Then, it was over. There was a spot to take a picture with your medal in front of a Rock N' Roll half marathon sign. No thanks. I needed water and a seat. Then I saw my friends. I drank a bottle of water, ate a granola bar, and sat down. It felt great.
Thanks everyone for your support!! This is my last post. I might have a few more pictures but that's it. See you next year!
