Fit for Life Half Marathon

So, last Saturday I ran this half marathon.  It was...well...grueling!

I knew going into it that I wasn't as prepared as I should be.  Sure, I had completed a handful of long runs and survived, but my normal runs are still usually just 4-5 miles so 13.1 makes for a big difference.  I really wasn't prepared for just how mentally challenging the race would be.  I'm not an early morning runner, and I was so excited/apprehensive about the race that I slept very little the night before.  I was tired after 3 miles and I felt exhausted by the 7 miles mark,  but I was still over 6 miles away from my car so I had to keep going.  Every time I wanted to stop I had to tell myself that if I kept going it would be over sooner.  I finished it though, in 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 41 seconds, which puts my pace at just about 10'31", much slower than my 10k pace, but about what I expected.

I'm glad that I did it.  It was something that a year ago I would not have thought that I could have ever done, and now I have.  What's even crazier is that now that I know what to expect I want to do it again...in September.  I think that I can do better, mentally more than physically, and I want to prove it.

 I was disappointed by the ugly and huge shirts (I ordered a small and gave it to Tyson, it fits him perfectly, and he is no small guy), but I love my medal.  I wanted to wear it all day, but that might have been a little silly.  I settled for the drive home.