That's right I actually finished it AND I only walked about 1 mile. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really proud of myself. I hadn't trained like I needed to (read: I've run a total of 6 miles in the past two and a half weeks combined) and almost deferred. But I would have still lost my money if I deferred, so I decided to suck it up and try and run. I did get myself in that situation. It's not like it creeped up on me either, I signed up back in June or something, plenty of time to train.
Anyways, that doesn't matter now. Let's go over how this run went:
I woke up at 5 AM to be ready to leave by 5:40, had a good breakfast and got ready. Val was running late (what else is new?) so we did not actually get there until 6:15 even though we live about 8 minutes away from where we parked (you do the math). It was drizzling when we left and some major cold front came through. By cold front I mean it was in the high 40s, low 50s. This is Houston so you Northerners don't judge. Out here in Houston we're not even sure snow is a real thing or if it's made up by Hollywood to make movies prettier. Just saying.
We were kinda late lining up so we ended up being the very last people to start running. I'm not kidding, I turned around and there was no one behind me. It also started pouring down really cold rain fright as the start gun went off. I was only wearing capris and my Texans long sleeved shirt (did you really think I wouldn't wear/mention my Texans?) I was soaked within seconds, it was great. I started running expecting the worst, I hadn't run in ages and it was the worst weather I had ever run in. At this point I was wishing I had stayed in bed.
Surprisingly the first 4 miles flew by, I didn't stop at all except to drink my water from the water stands (who can run and drink anyways, I'd choke to death) and I don't consider that a walk, that's just a safety thing. I lost track of miles and times between 4-6 miles, I had to go to the bathroom really bad and was starting to feel the effect. I finally found some port-a-potty's (ew, but necessary) and waited in line for about 10 minutes freezing my butt ff since I was still soaked but at some point in the race the rain had stopped. I was so focused that I didn't realize it had even stopped raining.
To be honest after that the race was a blur, I stopped to drink at every water/Gatorade station. I was in pain, but I was determined not to walk much and wanted to prove to myself I could push through. It rained on and off and I lost myself in thoughts a few times. I know it's not a good thing but for runners, but it's how I run. It's therapy. I also almost burst into tears a couple times, too much emotions. Crossing that finish line was such a good feeling, but I think I was a little too exhausted to take it all in. Either ways I got my medal and finisher's shirt, so it was a successful race. Hopefully I can run again next year. I definitively want to do another half marathon (once I'm fully recovered. For now I have no interest in the full marathon, but who knows.
Stay tuned, tomorrow I'll go over a list for newbies of what to expect and some tips to get through your first half or full that I learned today while talking to people. Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!
Three words - YOU GO GIRL!
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