I did it. I ran my 1st Half Marathon...in less than 2 hours! Boy oh boy what a feeling. As soon as I crossed the finish line I thought "I'm never doing that again!" but later on that day I started having the "post half marathon blues" so will be doing another one for sure! It's one of those things that you prepare for for so long and then when it's over you feel kind of down. Good thing I have Rebekka and Lauren though because they keep me motivated! We actually ran a 5K Fun Run this morning at Columbia Park. It was Elia's first participation in a run (with Bekka pushing him in his stroller of course) and he even got a ribbon :)
Anyway back to the Half Marathon! It was in Eugene, OR so Saturday afternoon we all drove down and checked into our hotels and picked up race packets and bibs at the Expo Center. We went to dinner at a Sushi place and had a couple of beers and lots of yummy food. Eugene is the home of the Ninkasi brewery and I swear the beer tasted even MORE delicious there! Lauren went to college in Eugene so is pretty familiar with the area, and after dinner she took us to Max's Tavern in Springfield which is supposed to be what Mo's Tavern on the Simpsons was created after! No minors were allowed so Rebekka and Damien switched off watching Elias in the parking lot while we all had a quick beer in "Mo's" Afterwards we headed back to the hotel (Cam and I booked our hotel too late so it was a DUMP! Rebekka and Damien luckily had a suite and me and Cam slept on the pull out sofa) and "the guys" minus Elias went out for some evening brews while the girls all got some rest.
Six AM the next morning we were up and ready, I drove us to the race while the guys rested and recovered from their hangovers! We got close to the race and realized we needed a place to park! We found a lot that was a pay lot and obviously none of us had our wallets on us so we panicked! We found a spot on a side road and ran about 1/2 to the start line! Too late to wait in line for the porta potties, we just got right in the mix! Bekka and Lauren have been running for longer than me so I didn't want to slow them down and didn't plan on trying to keep up with them :) We said our "good lucks" and they went up closer to the finish line because they were in a different corral.
The race was awesome. I love the crowds and the energy ~ it's so emotional. And inspiring! There were signs "Your feet hurt because your kicking ass!" "Don't Poop (out)" people yelling "You are doing great!" "Your body is an amazing thing!" a sign that said "Pain is temporary but bragging rights are forever!" and my favorite was this guy that held a sign saying "Dear complete strangers, this one's for YOU! Your doing Great!" And there's music and gatorade and bananas...it was fun. When I got to mile 11 I started getting super tired. My body wanted to do it but my legs weren't working! We crossed the Williamette River 2x so that was good for my mental state and then finally we were in the final stretch. I thought the race was just going to end on the street but we went into Hayward Field and ran 1/4 mile on the track with people in the stands and it was amazing. I thought I was going to cry but I didn't...I cried afterwards at times but not once I crossed the finish line. I haven't been this proud of myself since I don't know when. I know I've made a lot of accomplishments but a half marathon is something that I always wanted to do and I did it, just proving you can do anything you put your mind to!"I don't stop when I'm tired. I stop when I'm DONE"
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