It was an early morning because I had to be at the park where the finish line was at 5:30. We got on school buses that took everyone to the starting line. It was a (what seemed like) long drive up the foothills here in Idaho Falls right by the windmills. It was a little chilly but I think my nerves kept me warm. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day with just sunshine and no wind and seeing the sunrise right before starting was great. Before I even knew it they shot the gun for us to start at 6:30am and I was on my way. The first 6 miles of this race were downhill (maybe a little bit of cheating but 13 miles is 13 miles) which I hadn't trained for, but was awesome. I felt like I zoomed through the first 3 or 4 miles and wasn't out of breath or tired at all and it was gorgeous... amazing. There was only one uphill but it wasn't bad. I kept waiting for it to get really hard or to have thoughts about needing to quit (or throwing up or passing out) but they NEVER came. Before I knew it I had reached the 3rd, of 4, aid stations at 8.8 miles. I knew that if I could reach that point that the rest of it would seem doable, and it totally was. I just kept running and had just the right pace for me and before I knew it I had reached the park where the finish line was. There was a final loop around the park which seemed to take forever and then I had made it to the finish line!!! 2:06:41 What an amazing feeling!!
Steve, Angie, Elaine, and Preston, Abby, and Tyson had planned on getting to the finish line at 8:30. I had no idea how long this was going to take me but apparently I was too fast because I finished at 8:36 just 2 minutes before they pulled in. They were so disappointed that they had missed it and I was a little bummed to. Abby and Preston were bawling, Preston because he had missed my race and kept asking why I ran so fast. It took a little bit to get him to calm down but he was really excited once he saw my medal and told me that it was a "real" one.
We hung around for awhile and watched some other runners finish and I ate some bread and drank a couple bottles of water. Angie and Elaine took all of the kids home with them since Steve was still not feeling great and I knew I would be worn out. Steve and I were not a very fun bunch the rest of the day as he slept most of the day and I took a big nap and then my soreness kicked in. Thankfully Steve is doing better today although he's still worn out. As for me... I am the most sore I've ever been in my entire life. Every muscle hurts. I fully expected my legs and feet to hurt but my back, shoulders, and neck are absolutely killing me. Not fun.
I am still in a little bit of shock that my half marathon came and went already. I never, ever thought that I would be capable of running 13.1 miles or that I would even attempt it. And I definitely NEVER expected that it would be fun and enjoyable! Here I was expecting the worst case scenario and it actually went the best that it possibly could. I'm not going to lie I am very proud of myself. This was a big goal with a lot of time and effort involved. All I keep thinking is, "I did it, I really ran a half marathon!" I'm not so sure about doing it again, although everyone assures me I will, but it feels so great to be able to cross it off the list (and have the stress of it over)!
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| Um, so a pretty gross picture of me, but I had to show off my shirt and my medal. Definitely going to be displaying that bad boy in my room! |
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