The Time I Ran A Race That Had The Word 'Marathon' In It

Well folks, I did it.  I accomplished one of my life goals: to run a half marathon.  And it feels fantastic.  Well, my body is sore and it was hard to walk Sunday afternoon, but inside it feels great :)

It feels great to know that just a mere few months ago I couldn't run 1/2 a mile without stopping.  I hated it.  No, despised it.  And now?  Now I just ran 13.1 miles, crossed that Finish Line, and checked "run a half marathon" off my bucket list.  How sweet is that?

Accomplishing this goal means a lot more to me than the 1700 calories I burned on Sunday or the 2 gallons of sweat I poured out.  Yeah, it was a great workout, but more than that it was knowing that I pushed passed something that was mentally hard, physically draining, and took a lot of time and effort on my end.  It means missed happy hours with friends, getting up early on the weekends, numerous blisters, money spent on new running shoes, and even some tears along the way.  It means proving to myself that I can. And I will.

Steph and me before the race.

Steph and me as finishers!

My supporters.

This journey to the finish line started way before that first gun blew at 8:00am on Sunday morning; It was a few months in the making and it took more than just me to get there.  It took my numerous running buddies (shout out to you, GP!) along the way, all the encouraging comments and texts these past few months, and my awesome parents for coming out and cheering me on at the different mile markers!  I was so lucky to be able to cross my first half marathon finish line with my best friend.  Steph and I started "running" (if you call one 1/2 mile lap around the pond at a 14 minute pace running!) together about a year ago.  We knew we both wanted to run a half marathon eventually (it just took me about six months longer than her to really get serious, commit, and dig in to this goal!).  I am so blessed to have had so many awesome supporters along for the ride - thanks to all who made this journey an awesome experience for me!