1/2 Marathon Epic

A week ago, I was in sunny Phoenix where the temperature lingered around 80 degrees. This morning, I ran in the blustery 37ish mark. What a difference!

The 1/2 marathon was an amazing experience. It was hot and hard--at the time I hated life. The night before the race, we went to a dinner that had an inspirational speaker who had us rolling on the floor in laughter. In his closing remarks, he mentioned that the best feeling of the race is when you know that you are going to finish. Well, even as I crossed the finish line (the ACTUAL finish, not the fake finish that they don't tell you is fake but put it there for photo ops. Bastards!) I never felt that feeling. The only thought running through my head at the end was that I needed to find the med tent so I could ice my knees which started really hurting at about mile .5. While running the 13.1 miles, I cursed a lot, sometimes in my head and sometimes out loud. I kept asking myself why I got into this stupid running hobby. I kept telling myself that I would never run again.

30 minutes after the finish, it started to dawn on me that I had accomplished my goal. Maybe not as well as I had originally wanted to, but finished none the less and it felt good. The more the days pass from the race, the more fond of it I become. I made sure to study the race map after so I wouldn't forget a single moment.

I think the best part of the whole thing is the honor I had of my cheering section. My cousin's wife made the most beautiful signs and my group of 11 or so cheered the loudest of any other group I saw. It was touching and amazing to see people whom I love share in my hard work (they had just as good a time being spectators too!) I am horrible about sharing pics online, so you can check out my folks' blog for some if you care.

So, what's next, you ask? The Austin 1/2 marathon in February. I'd like to think that I'll retire my running shoes after that, as my body is clearly not made for long distance races, but I seriously doubt it.

Thanks to everyone for putting up with me over the past six months and supporting me when I thought it was not possible! You may be able to toast to jog-free blog, but I cannot guarantee that.