I can walk again!! (Go Team Lean!!)

My run on Sunday was so much fun. Don't get me wrong, I've never done anything that I found that hard, but somehow, it was still fun.

So, my official finish was 2:54:40. That is from my Garmin. My chip time is 5 minutes more, but that is because I took a pee break and had to stand in line for a stall, if you can believe it!! I'm not counting that as part of my run time, since I was sitting! ;-)

I did really well for the first 14k....then the pee break....then my groove was gone! My hips were killing me, and I really finished the last part of the race running for a couple of minutes, walking for a couple.....on and on.... At one point I actually wondered if I could even finish! Somehow, I did.

So, I finally see the finish line, see my walking group waiting for me there......then I look over, and there is my husband and daughter! They came down to surprise me! Husband took the picture that I posted on Sunday. They stood there from the 2:30 mark (in case I actually was a speedy). They were cold, but they were smiling so big at me. I saw husband, ran over to him and let out the biggest sob of my life. I actually lost my breath! I think the race people thought I was trying to steal my race chip - cause while I was hugging husband and daughter there was a man at my ankle trying to get it off! Husband cried at my reaction to them being there. I don't think they have ever done anything that thoughtful. It made the pain worth it! He said me finishing this race was a really big deal, and he wanted to be there for it! I told him he might be a keeper yet! (haha)

The night before the race the dogs we were dog sitting had me up all night. I don't think I even got 4 hours sleep.

Oh, the brunch after the half marathon - totally worth it! It was at the Sheraton Hotel and it was delish.

So, lessons I learned from this run that I can apply to my next half marathon run (which is the end of May)

* make sure to get the long runs in. I only ever ran 12k before the race - and I would have benefited from the mental training had I done the longer runs. You really do need to train yourself to go further.
* have food with me. 14k's in I was STARVING to the point of distraction. I'm sure if I'd seen a small kid with food I would have taken it from them!!
* figure out my goal finish time and what pace that is and then practice that pace. I think I started this race too fast. My avg pace was 8:13, but I started the race under 7. I likely would have felt better for longer if I'd slowed it down.

I'm sure there were other things, but that's all I can think of now. Overall, it was a really good experience. Of course, I can think that now that the pain is gone. I had trouble going up and down the stairs even as late as last night. Monday I went to the Club and did the bike for 30 minutes. Really slow, but I thought it might work out the kinks. I guess it did, cause today I feel much better!

The best part about doing that race? I so inspired my daughter that she is thinking of trying a mini-triathlon!

I realize I'm kinda going on like there aren't a million people out there running half's (and more!) all the time. I'm just so happy that I finished!!

Have a healthy day bloggers!!