My First Half Marathon

I did it! I survived my first half marathon. The morning of the race the sky was covered with thick gray clouds. It was not the best weather condititions. We had huge gusts of winds and constant drizzle or mist. At the beginning of the race it was 70 degrees and by the end it was 55 degrees! I wasn't going to give up after all the work and training I put toward this one day. The race started at 7:30. I was set to run with pace group that would finish in 2 hr 35 minutes. I had a running buddy. I was set! Well, at about mile 1 my running buddy fell behind. At mile 3, the pace leader stopped to tie her shoe. The two people I was relying were behind me! I continued on forward. I ran with another first timer for a while. Then at mile 7 I took a quick water, snack, potty break and set out for more! Once I hit mile 10 the race volunteers informed us that a storm was approaching and the race would close in 30 minutes! I had to really push myself the last three miles! At mile 12 I started to really feel the pain and fatigue set in. Then as we turned the corner I could see the finish line in sight (they cut the race short). Whew! What a relief. It was the best feeling to see Judd and Evie waiting for me at the finish line!

In the end the storm went around us and the race continued! With the possibility of inclement weather, I think they cut the course short by a little over a half mile. I finished in 2 hours 22 minutes, an average pace of 10:55 minute mile- much better than I had expected! I am proud to say that I survived a very adventurous race day with the crazy weather! I think I can call myself a runner! I look forward to some quick two or three mile runs!

a card from my friend, jenn

(running goodies inside)

yeah! so happy to see my family!

my medal

TIRED!

showing off my medal

my biggest fan