Mission Accomplished

The secondary title to this post is "The Adventures of Frumpy Girl!"

This morning I ran my first (and hopefully only) half marathon (13.1 miles)!

When you make it your New Year's Resolution to run a half marathon at the end of October, you have 10 long months to dread think about it and train.

The best thing about today is that I'm DONE!  No more anticipating the race.

Also, while I tried to not give myself too many goals other than to finish, I was secretly hoping to get under 2:30.  I made it in at 2:15:47, so whoo hoo!  

It was amazing seeing nearly 1,000 people standing out in the dark, cold morning all with goals, and all ready to challenge their bodies.

I overheard one man say exactly what I'd been thinking "Well, no matter how I do, this will be my PR since I've never run a half before."

I learned a number of things about running a half marathon at this race: 

1) It's not very fun to wake up before 6am 

on a freezing cold day to go stand outside in the dark.

 2) There exists no place in all the world with longer lines to use a porta-potty.

3) You need layers for such a cold run, and you can strip and drop them for charity.  I shedded a fleece after 1.5 miles.

4) Drinking the water and Gatorade at every drink stop 

can make your tummy swish while you run.

5) Everyone, and I mean everyone, has fancy shoes and cute running clothes... except me (hence "The Adventures of Frumpy Girl!").

 

(What I looked like in my dingy shoes and baggy pants 

that I had to keep pulling up along the way)

 

 (What everyone else looked like in their fancy shoes, black tights, and cute ear warmers... I was seriously the only female not wearing tights.  I guess I'm stuck in my high school soccer days)

 6)  Kudzu can actually look beautiful when it is covered in frost.

7)  There are lots of dead moles on the Silver Comet trail (I counted 4).

8)  Most people don't collapse in the grass and start rolling around moaning after their race... but I do.  This "all natural" gal was begging for some Motrin!  I mean, I've given birth three times without medication, but I gladly accepted some Motrin when we got home.

9)  If you're competitive, like me, you'll scrap your "run 9 minutes and walk 1" plan and not take a walk break till an hour and 20 minutes in (and even then it will only be a 30 second walk).

10)  It is really special to have a supportive husband encourage you to sign up, watch the kids while you train, and run the last mile and a half of the race with you (after he finished his own 13.1 miles!).

And a special thanks to my Mom.  She spent the night at our house (with interrupted sleep due to a snuggly cat and barking dog) so she could watch our three kiddos (two with snotty noses and one with a fever) this morning while Justin and I headed to the race.  

She deserves a medal too!