I did it!

It's been a week since my last post, and boy, what a week! Currently I am enjoying my Spring Break, relaxing at home with my little puppy. BUT there is probably something more exciting you want to read about...

I completed my first half marathon!

And I did it in 2:03:29

I am so so excited that I completed it! I will start my day from the very beginning.

4 am: Woke up after having a crazy dream about my half marathon
5 am: Woke up after having another crazy dream....
6 am: Woke up after yet ANOTHER dream....
6:45 am: Rise and Shine, time to wake up! I was actually pretty relieved to wake up because my dreams were so stressful. But once I woke up, I was still so nervous, I could hardly eat! I planned on a nice hearty breakfast (toast and peanut butter, yummm), but after eating about half a slice, I thought I might puke. Gave some to the dog and threw the rest away :P
7:30 am: Leave the house to go pick up Eric, and head to Issaquah for my race
8 am: Arrive at Lake Sammamish Park in Issaquah, WA. From here, until about 9am, my stomach was just in KNOTS. I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to complete my race, that I would throw up, or have a heart attack or something. If you have been following my half marathon story, you know that I have never really been a runner-- what if I didn't train enough?! Eeek!

My mom pinning on my number before the race!

8:50 am: Pre-race meeting. All the runners (1300 of us!) lined up near our pace markers. Throughout all my training, I had been running about a 10 minute pace. On race day though, only the older out of shape people or mom's with strollers were back there, so I lined up at the 9 minute pace. I only planned on doing this once, I didn't want to be in a crowd of lame people for my big moment :P  At this time, I also started eating my Clif Shot Bloks. Love these guys, and would absolutely recommend them to anyone. Taste good, and they seriously work. In training, I only ate 3 before a run, but I ate all 6 on race day!

9am: 5...4...3...2...1...GO! Holllyyyyyy crapppp. This is the only way I can describe this moment. Of course there is the starting line traffic jam, but I just put my head phones in and tried to find my pace. It was weird though, because I was so so nervous, and as soon as I started running, I felt completely fine. It's like my body was like "oh yea, we know how to do this..."

I am on the side closest to the camera, in the white jacket (number 515) seen in the other photos. This is just a minute or so out of the gate.

Seemed like the 2 mile marker came up so fast, I wasn't expecting it. Looked down at my stop watch and saw it had been 18 minutes. Not too shabby. Pretty soon, I came up on my first aid station. They all had little snacks and things, but (even though this wasn't exactly my plan going into the race) I only took water. I wasn't quite sure how to chug this little dixie cup of water, but I just kinda threw some in my mouth, chucked it in the garbage, and felt pretty much like the awesomest person in the world. Pretty dorky sounding, but I promise I mustu' looked awesome.

Mile 4 seemed to come up soon too! My family cheered me on!

Aid stations were about every two miles. Everyone was so nice and so helpful. I didn't really know what to expect, but at every station, there were just about 10 or 15 people along the sides holding out cups or snacks, telling you what was in them. Like I said, I always went for the water, but there were pretzels, bananas, nuun hydration, and lots of clif products.

I had a great playlist that kept me going all 13.1 miles. I never stopped once, and honestly, mile 13 came faster than I had expected. I really pumped it up that last .1 mile, and even more once I saw the finish line. I had no idea I had it in me, but I ran pretty quick across that line! Definitely a great way to start my special day (my 20th birthday!!!)

It is a little sad to have my race over with! When I ended, I was tired, but I felt like I could have (and should have) done more. Now I am thinking about doing a marathon, a triathalon, or even a few speedy 5k's! I was happy I accomplished it, but I feel a lot different than I expected. I thought I would feel so awesome for completing my half, but unfortunately, I just feel all unstoppable :P I am not satisfied with just one race, now I want to do a billion of them! Will I always be a runner? Is this just what I do now? Couldn't I have picked an indoor sport?

Regardless..I DID IT :)

Sporting my new Lake Sammamish Half Marathon shirt and Medal! Evergreen Trail Runs put on a great race, and I would definitely use them again. Happy running!