Half-marathon

Well, folks. I survived. Last Saturday, I ran (and walked) 13.1 miles. I am still feeling a little sore today. Yesterday was brutal.

Looking back, I wish I'd trained more. At the same time, I knew if I extended my training too long, I'd give up.

Here's a brief overview of the day.

Left the house at 5:00 and checked in at 5:45. They shuttled us up to the mouth of the canyon and we had about a half hour up there to "warm up" (aka sit on the curb) and use the port-a-potty. On the drive up to the canyon, I sat next to an awesomely chatty older chap who had been running all his life. I could tell by his obvious running attire (insanely small shorts, hairy legs, and race pack), that this was going to be just another run for him. He was super nice though and shared all of his running secrets with me.

The first 8 miles were awesome. I felt great and ran the entire time. I had a pretty good pace and if I'd kept it up, I would've finished under 2:30. During miles 8-10, the sun came up and I ended up getting to a place in the group where there wasn't anyone near me. It was a rough 25 minutes. It was easy at the beginning to see someone 10 feet in front of you and work your up to them, but by myself and if felt like I was going sooo slow. I walked for a minute or two during that time. Then after mile 10, I walked for almost 2 miles. To be honest, it felt so good. My body was rejecting movement and did not want to keep going. However, I walked as fast as I could, took my earbuds out and just enjoyed it. It was perfect for me. I was a little disappointed that I didn't keep running but I also didn't really care.

I ran the last mile and it was fun coming into the park and seeing my hubby and baby there. Leo's family came to support and it was great. My time was 2:40 which was just dandy. Of course later that day, my friend posted her husband's time in another half marathon and his was 1:40.... Just an hour less than my time.

Looking back, that race is so typical me. I don't have a drop of competitiveness in me, not even against myself. Just finishing was perfect. I think I'm going to try to do another one after my next baby (no, I'm not pregnant). For the next few months, I want to take my baby for long walks, at least a couple miles every day and then jog two or three times a week. I want to enjoy it though and not stress about it.