Last weekend I accomplished something I never thought I would do in a million years... I completed my first half marathon!
My buddies, Leslie, Cora, and Valerie, stayed the night in Conway. We all took off Friday afternoon so we would have plenty of time to pick up our packets, drive the course, check in to our hotel, and of course carb load at dinner! Our first hotel was a Days Inn. Yikes!! It was cheap, which was good. But the stong floral scent covering the body odor stench bellowing from our old, musty rooms with yellowed bed sheets and water stained ceilings weren't so great. We could handle all the nastiness, but then the line men started coming "home" and found four women staying there. Then came the cat calls and lustful stares and we were GONE!!! Seriously. It was scary. And that's how we found ourselves at the nice, cozy, safe Comfort Inn.
We ran to the Sporty Runner to get our packets and super cool tshirts that smelled like puke. Then drove the 13.1 mile course. Holy smokes! I had no clue 13.1 miles was forever long!!!
We ate a delicious dinner at Russos. I had a kid plate of spaghetti and meatballs and split a piece of cheesecake with Val. YUM
By this time, it was 7ish. We headed back to our nice, cozy, safe hotel. I got all my race gear ready and crawled into my stain free bed and waited on Bran. He arrived around 8:30ish. I crashed!
The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and headed to the McGhee Center. Traffic was crazy!! I bet we walked a mile to get to the starting line! Haha!
2,000 runners and/or walkers were there!! I was in the corral in front of the walkers.
We were ready to get started!! The first part of the course was easy. We ended up crossing back past the start line almost at mile five, so I got to see Bran again. I gave him my arm sleeves because I was warm. I felt GREAT at that point. My pace was steady and mood was great. I ran up the first big hill without walking and all was great!
This is a screenshot of my splits. Obviously you can see I was completely gassed by mile 10. There was a hill on almost every single mile. I had to take my first walk break at mile 7 on another significant hill. I was so bummed. I ran again up until mile 10. And I basically walked the majority of miles 10-12. It was so tough and such a mental battle. I really was wishing I had a running partner at that point to help me push past. I had 80 year old men walking past me. It was tough and extremely discouraging.
I jogged the last mile and crossed the finish line at 2:58. My goal was 2:45 but I guess I can only go up from here!!
My rewards! A huge medal and a snickers bar!
Some of the women I trained with. I love my city's running community! They are so uplifting and encouraging!
This is my teaching partner, Leslie. We started running together back in March. She keeps me accountable!
Brandon has been my biggest supporter! I wouldn't have made it to the finish line if I knew he wasn't going to be. He is my rock!
I wear my Soaring Wings shirt proudly.
This sticker is really the whole reason why I wanted to do a half!! Haha!!!!
So I am running another half in April. I know how to train better, and I know I can run 13.1 miles in 2:45 if I keep pushing and working. I can't wait for my next half!!
And finally, my lunch afterwards! Pretty sure I consumed those 1,500 calories that I just burned!!
