Half Marathon-- Finished.

NaNa WOULD have 2 beers after the race :)

I'm turning into one of those absent bloggers, but between school, grading, two book clubs (I'm so cool), and training, I haven't had time. Well, that's not exactly true. I really just haven't felt like posting in awhile.

Here's how the half went down: I was really dreading this race and I'm soooo happy it's over. I can free up some time and stop thinking about this event. After 13 weeks of training, bruises, shin splints, animal attacks, achilles injuries, falling over many times, over 80 workouts, as well as tears, early mornings, and anxieties, I finally finished.

I was really nervous because the furthest I trained was 7 miles and that was run/walking. I ended up finishing 2:44. For me, that was exciting since there were training runs that hurt so bad in the beginning I had to turn around and come home. I ran for the first 45 minutes and the rest I did intervals and I will never, ever, ever, ever do the Whistlestop Half again. Nine miles of trail in one direction is way too monotonous. I'm glad I had my friends to keep me in check because I probably wouldn't have been up at 4:30 a.m. and riding a school bus to the starting line without their help and encouragement. NaNa came in around 2 hours, Lees around 2:15, and E$ around 2:30. We were all about 15 minutes apart from one another.

But, the best part? My dad surprised me at the finish line and suddenly, I started crying. It was a very overwhelming experience. The medic people were concerned, but I had to let them know they were tears of joy and confusion. I'm still trying to figure out how I fell over twice at mile 1 and 5. Thank Bob for my entourage of older women to pick me up. Thanks retired ladies-- for the running support and encouragement :)

Because of this commitment, I have lost 11 pounds, quit smoking, and enjoy a little 3 mile jog and can have some 5k fun.