I have been wanting to do a half marathon for a really long time. Ever since I started running as a hobby fish years ago, I kept putting it off because I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it the way I wanted. Really, I just didn't want to walk any portion. My friend Kelly (who is currently living in Illinois while her husband attends Dental School) and I were casually chatting about the races that she had signed up for and whether or not she wanted to do a half marathon. She quickly responded with YES. She said there was a half marathon close to her house in September and that we should do it. So we did!! I signed up for it in May, which gave me the perfect amount of time to train. Though, I didn't need to train too much more because my mileage was already pretty high at that point.
Of course I didn't sleep at all the night before and then the morning was full of the nervous butterflies that made you sick to your stomach.
As soon as we started the race I just felt like I was flying. It is much more fun to run alongside a ton of people then alone in your house. Haha. The adrenaline kicked in from the very start and it was one of the best feelings in the world!
David asked around what time he should be at the finish line to meet me. I had no idea what time to give him. I had never run 13 miles straight before. The most I had run was 11, but that was on a treadmill with no incline! I told him that I would like to do it in 2 hours so, be there about 10 minutes before that. I didn't have a watch on while I ran so I had no idea what time it was throughout. I could sense though that I was going somewhat fast since I was passing so many people.
By miles 11 and 12, my legs were SO sore. I had never felt that sensation before where your legs start hurting from running before you even end (usually I feel it the next day).
I got to the end and I kept looking for Dave, and I couldn't find him. As I crossed the finish line I looked at the time and I ended at 1 hour 46 minutes. He wasn't even there yet!
Dave felt so bad he wasn't there to cheer me to the finish line, but truthfully, I liked that he wasn't there. It was a perfect way to end the half. As silly as it sounds, I cried out of happiness alone surrounded by so many people (sheesh, you would think that I ran a full marathon or something with how emotional I was!). But, it was a personal goal that I did all by myself, and to beat Dave to the finish line was really awesome!
I felt so bad because Kelly had injured her knee early on in the race and had to finish 13 miles with excruciating pain in her knee. But she did it!!!
Now I can't wait to do another one! The next time I hope Dave will run alongside me. But shoot, having a baby totally got me out of shape!
P.S. I didn't walk!!
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