I did it!

I. Completed. A. Half. Marathon.  I can't believe that's true!  As someone who has struggled with their weight all their lives, and has never really been an overly fit or athletic person, this is not something I ever thought I could accomplish.  Just a year ago I was struggling, begging my running friends for advice on how to get past the wall I was hitting at the 7K mark.  Then 10K became my new weekly long run, followed by 12K, followed by 15 ... When I completed my first 18K I realized I was a week behind in my  training and begged John Stanton, the running guru, for advice.

The day of the marathon I was nervous.  I had never EVER run more than 18K and here I was thinking I could run 21?  And in less than 2.5 hours?  Seriously, I must have lost my mind.  But as fellow runners gathered at the start line, I blocked out my own negative thoughts, and those of certain people around me who said I should not be disappointed if I couldn't meet my goal (seriously, that alone gave me the gusto to git 'er done!), and started to get excited.

I hooked up with the 2:30 pace bunny and took off.  As you should, we started out slowly in an effort to save our energy for the final portion of the race.  By the 2nd half of the race I was feeling awesome and even pushed ahead of our group a little bit, thinking I must have been so much stronger than I initially felt and would probably finish at least an hour ahead of that crew.  Of course, this was just my foolish delirium as a newbie running in the heat and they quickly caught up with me (without much effort on their part, I might add).

The final leg of the race was gruelling.  As I rounded the corner to the 18K mark my mind started to tell my body I wasn't going to be able to go any farther than I had run in the past.  That at 18K I would literally hit a wall and fall straight backwards like some sort of Saturday morning cartoon character.  But then up ahead I saw a beautiful sight ... my wonderful husband and darling daughter cheering me on from a gas station parking lot.  The sounds of "yay, Mommy!" and my family's big smiles, my daughter carrying a sign from a friend (upside down, but nonetheless), gave me the energy to keep going ... with a smile on my face, tears on my cheeks and a lump in my throat, I high-fived my daughter and pushed on.

The final 1/2K was on the university's track.  It was littered with encouraging spectators and volunteers, applauding and cheering on the final few meters.  But the thing that dragged my sorry, tired butt to the end was seeing my family & friends, and then hearing them announce my name over the loud speaker as my chip crossed the finish line.

I am proud of my accomplishment.  But more than that, I am surprised that crossing "completion of a half marathon" off of my bucket list has just made me add more to the bucket ...

Hmm.  Which half marathon will I do next????