City of Oaks Half Marathon

I can’t believe it took me a week and a half to write this. It’s official: I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON! Didn’t do too shabby either if I say so myself, 2:12 (even though afterwards at lunch there was a marathon on tv and the winners ran their 26.2 in 2:09, barf).  I don’t know when I’ve ever been this proud of myself.

That being said, let me just say that stuff was haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrdddddddd, physically and mentally. I had come in out and of my mental “you got this” only once or twice until mile 11.5. At that point I knew exactly where in Raleigh I was and exactly where I wasn’t; close enough to being finished. For a minute I thought about how I wasn’t going to be able to do it anymore and then I saw the marathon folk spilt off and continue and I thanked God that wasn’t me. I slowed significantly there but still finished which was my number one priority.

I will say up until my 11.5 mile meltdown of confidence.  It was a good run. My running buddy, Brooke and I cruised through. We even ditched our pace group fairly early on because in training we had been running a fast 5 mile pace and staying with them felt like our strides were all jacked up. I never would have been able to run this thing without Brooke training and running it with me.

Did I say it was hard already? I honestly thought I was going to come through the finish line with tears and a huge smile but it was more of a look of disbelief that it was over and I had come out alive. After that fuzzy moment my family appeared and reminded me of what an awesome feat I had overcome. Seeing Jordan’s face come through the crowd with a huge grin and rose (he’s a keeper) was more than enough recognition. I value his opinion more than anyone else’s and although he told me several times he was proud, he didn’t have to, his face had it written all over it.

My mom and dad also came which was super sweet of them. I’m a lucky girl to have such a supportive family backing me and my goals.

After the race I couldn’t even think about running without feeling sick. I really felt dead the rest of the day. I do know now that it’s because I didn’t replenish electrolytes during the run and so my body had a hard time recouping the rest of the day. Next time (If there is a next time) I will be sure to eat my GU gummies and save myself the rest of the day.

After saying for so long “I’m not a runner, I can’t do that, I’ll never be able to go out and just run”, it’s a truly amazing feeling to be able to slap my 13.1 sticker on the back of my car. I’m already gearing up for more (also I love the bling, I'm a sucker for it now. If you thought a free t-shirt with entry was awesome, just wait 'til they put that medal around your neck). I didn’t run the entire WEEK after my race, mainly as a “you go girl” for me but I do know that most of the motivation is gone to seriously train. That being said I signed up today for a 10k J