13.1 Miles

I seriously cannot believe I haven't posted about my half marathon yet. It was almost a month ago but between moving, school, and not having Internet at my new apartment, time has slipped away from me!

my bib!

The race started promptly at 7:03 (not 7:00!! ha) and we got in line about 7:01. :) Sometimes in races, you stand there for 10-15 minutes and the nerves get to you. Especially for this race, I'm glad that didn't happen. We had no time to "think" about what was about to go down. We got in line and about 5 minutes later, we crossed the start line.

I've said this several times, but we did not care one bit about our time. Each mile up until the end, we were a little under what I had been training so I was happy. But seriously, I did not care at all what time I crossed the finish line. I just wanted to finish standing up and not crawling. ;)

We started getting Gatorade at the water stations around mile 4 or 5 and I grabbed Gatorade every other mile until the finish. I never once stopped, just grabbed, drank (and spilled half of it all over me) and kept running.

The race course was so awesome. No huge hills, just slight inclines at times. And even some downhill parts (if you know me, you know I don't do hills)! We sank into a good breezy (ok, freezing) run and I got lost in my music and was surprised at how fast each mile was coming. I started running in gloves (it was about 22 degrees at 7am) but I took them off around 4 miles and then throughout the rest of the race put them on & off according to how cold my hands were. I can't run in long sleeves so I had a dry fit tshirt on but I hate when my hands are frozen so I kept the gloves handy rather than tossing them like most people do.

It was really easy to run and get pumped up when there were bystanders on the side of the road cheering us on. However, toward the end, it got tough when there were spots where people weren't standing by cheering.

Around mile 12, I felt myself slow down a bit, but again, I really didn't care. At that point, I knew how close I was and I just kept telling myself to keep going! My ankles & knees starting hurting at the end but during my training, they were hurting most of the long runs so I was thankful they didn't hurt through most of the race.

 

When I started getting close to the finish line, I thought I was going to fall apart and just start crying, Tears of joy that is. I just kept thinking about how long and how hard I had trained for this. I seriously couldn't believe I had accomplished it. Just a few years ago, I couldn't even run for 5 minutes straight. Now I was about to complete 13.1 miles! I get this weird urge in races to sprint when I see the finish line, so that's what I did in this one too. It felt amazing to cross that finish line!



about to cross the finish line

 

 

 

 

Runkeeper Stats

 

I managed to keep my tears in and crossed the finish line with the biggest smile on my face. My time was 2 hours, 17 minutes! It was the best feeling ever. Melissa crossed the finish line about 2 minutes later and we gave each other the biggest hug. We did it!!! My cousin Karlie crossed the line after Melissa and we greeted her outside the chute for a photo shoot!

My attempt at jumping with joy that we finished, except my legs were in pain, this was the result...

love my running buddies

I am so proud of us. We have come so far and WE DID IT!!!

This happy came last week and it is now on the back of my car :)

My mom and dad came, along with Ty and Melissa's finance Matt, and Ty's dad & sister! So thankful for everyone's support!

 

Ty got a text message of all my split times, which was cool because he could see where I was and at what time and could try and time when I was going to cross the finish line.

 

 



my sweet, supportive parents

Ty's dad & sister, Casey

Biggest fan. Couldn't have done it without him.

Leading up to the race, people kept asking me if I would do it again and I kept saying, "I don't think so...I just want to do this one to say I've done it"....Well, halfway to the car that morning, Melissa and I were already talking about our next one. ;)

Melissa sent me this a few days after the race..ha :)

We piled in the car and headed to Cracker Barrel and inhaled a huge breakfast!!! I could barely walk for a few days but I felt so accomplished that I didn't care.

My start time, 10k & 15k split, and finish time!