Sooo....I have really wanted to catch up this thing but I have been stuck. For some reason I can not get the pictures that I wanted to post from the CD to my computer....so I have given up on that..moving on! And Shara took some great pictures, of course. With or without pictures I wanted to remember that I did complete my first half marathon on June 25 2011..Yay, cross that off the bucket list!! (something, I always wanted to do before my 30th birthday...phew, just made it!)
Anyway, the marathon was in Seattle. The traveling and trip was much more exciting and memorable than the race...thank you Shara. It was a big-big weekend....1st time to leave Presley overnight (lots of mommy anxiety) 1st time really driving in Seattle....1st time running a half marathon....no sleep....yucky food.....running, running and more running!! I had such a great time with my dear friend Shara. Soooo appreciate her coming with, I definitely would not have even found my way to the hotel without her ;) Felt 16 again for a moment while changing drivers...Chinese fire drill in downtown Seattle....getting lost driving in circles again and again and again!! I am such a country girl.
The actual race....had to wake up at 3 am!! yikes, as if paying to run 13.1 miles isn't crazy enough....lets wake up at 3 am and hang out in a parking lot for 4 hours before having to run. Finally, started the race with tons of other people. Felt great for the first 5k...several minutes ahead of my expected pace....skipped all water and fuel stations because I felt amazing.....10k felt good..still ahead of my expected pace...no fuel or water yet because I didn't need it..I felt good!! and then you guessed it...hit the wall at mile 9....ugghh...up a steep hill at mile 9.5...technically my legs were doing a running motion but honestly I am not sure that I was moving forward at some points....I felt terrible, then tried to get some fuel in...too late_ my body was already mad at me. So the last 3.5 miles were slo-mo-jo!! ended up finishing 7 minutes behind my expected time----argh!! oh well...learned my lessons for next time =) Total time was 2hours 37 minutes
I could still breathe and stand at the end, so I will chalk it up a success!!
The more amazing thing is-----as a Bellingham Team, we raised over $90,000 to donate to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Let's find the cure people!! When I think about how painful cancer is both emotionally and physically.....that hilly long 13.1 miles is like a stroll through the park.
GO Team!!
(I would totally recommend joining Team in Training for endurance events, if you ever get the chance)
It makes me sad the pictures didn't work. I will post online and you can download them. I don't know why it didn't work...?? At least you could print them. Maybe you'll have to do just a post with pictures. :)
ReplyDeletePS - I had a GREAT time too. Glad I could be there!
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