what I'm up to

Sooooooo - it finally happened this past Sunday. After three months of hard training (and one recent bout of strep throat) the big day arrived. I woke up in the pre-dawn hours of the morning to attach my bib number carefully to the front of my running shirt, strap the timing chip to my shoelaces, and slide my nano armband in place to start the big race. Lisa and I made our way to find the starting line at Fair Park just east of downtown Dallas. As we merge onto I-30 we realize that there may be several thousand other people with this exact same idea and timing and that we may or may not make it in time for me to start the race. As the traffic inches forward and the clock races toward 7:30am I start to get more and more nervous. Finally at 7:27 we pull into the gates at Fair Park, Lisa stops, and I jump out of the car and jog toward the starting line. It's not hard to find. Apparently there are more people that were early or on time than there appeared to be running late. So I join the masses, make sure my nano detects my nike plus chip, and select my workout playlist. I'm ready.

And we're off....here's what I'm thinking:

mile 1: ok only 12.1 more miles to go...really? I still have to run 12.1 more miles?

mile 5: shoot, I'm about to die and Joanna from my office just passed me, shoot

mile 6: Joanna stopped for water and then stopped going up a hill, thank you DRC for the training program that included hills

mile 8: only 5.1 more miles to go, I'm not going to make it without dying

mile 10: I might be able to do this without dying, yes, I'll take that gatorade thank you very much

mile 12: a water and a short walk and I can make it, I can make it

mile 12.5: ok a short walk and then I have to start running way before the finish line. I know Paul will be there and I CANNOT let him see me walking

mile 13: YESSSSSS!!! the finish line is in sight and I DIDN'T DIE!!!

So that was fun. I finished the half marathon in 2 hours and 7 minutes. My best time out of the three that I've run. I'm running another one on May 4th and I plan to break 2 hours!! Stay tuned for the results. (Side note for those of you wondering: I did beat Joanna. by 7 minutes thank you very much!) I also need to give a shout out to those who saw me finish the race: Mom, Dad, Paul, Rachel, and Lisa. It means a lot to me!

There are several other upcoming events - so watch for some fun pictures with great friends!!