Half-Marathon COMPLETE

Sunday, February 26th was the day I completed my first half-marathon. That morning I got up around 5:30 and debated whether or not to have coffee (which is part of my routine for my longer runs) and only ate a spoonful of peanut butter. Next time around I'll choose to have the coffee (because it gets things going for me without giving too much detail) and will eat my normal half a blueberry bagel with peanut butter. The other change I made that was out of the norm for me was eating "carb-loaded" food. I am not a carbs eater for the most part and am very careful about my food intake. I ate some things that I wouldn't normally eat a few days before the race and let's just say that I shouldn't have done that. One last thing I changed the day of the race was eating some energy beans that I've never eaten before and I think with all of those added up, my stomach couldn't handle the long run. Everyone has had stomach issues before, so I'll stop there and you can imagine what I went through. Let's just say that I'm thankful they had port-a-potties on the race.

I was fine through mile 6 and then I just went downhill from there. I made up some time through the Stockyards, but then mile 9 was all uphill and I tried to text Jackson and tell him where I stood and I think those two things combined sent me cramping again. I made it through downtown and had to stop at another bathroom. After mile 10 I just had to coast through to the finish which added some time to my overall time that I wasn't happy about. I ended up finishing in 2 hours and 7 minutes. My goal time was under two hours, so I am a bit disappointed but at the same time happy that I accomplished my overall goal.

When I made the last curve towards the finish line I felt so happy when I saw Jackson and Laine rooting me on to the finish. They were so supportive and I couldn't have done it without them. When I told Jackson what happened, he was like, "It would've been better if you fell or something" and I agree!! When I crossed the finish line Jackson told me the guy in the lead for the ultra (30 miles) had just finished his 20th mile!! That to me is unbelievable. I learned at school the next day that the guy was disqualified for entering under a false name..Who would do that?? I'm happy that I completed the 13.1 mile run and am even prouder that I can drive around with my 13.1 mile sticker on my car!! I've wanted one of those for SO long!! I'll definitely do another race and am actually toying with the idea of the "Heels and Hills" half in May!!