I can no begin to explain how I felt on Saturday morning. I met my friend Paige at 7 and she rode with me to the race. This was her 19th half marathon so she is a pro at what to do. We arrived and picked up our packets, waited in the long line for the potty and met up with some of our other S2S Sisters. There was a 70% chance of rain but most of it stalled out and broke apart before it reached our area. I was glad that the rain was going to hold off but I wasn't happy about how humid it was. I was nervous about the run because by mile 10 during my training, I would have to hit the bushes or a potty. I was very thankful that I was actually able to take care of business before the race started. What a relief. The gun goes off and we start to run. I typically do a 3 minute run/1 minute walk pattern. I was feeling good so I started running 7 minutes/walking 1 minute. When I did this, some of my friends were sticking to the old pattern. Before I new it, I could no longer see them behind me. At mile 5 it started to rain but not to hard. This route was along the bay so I was able to run and look at the water most of the way. I am so use to running with my friends and they help motivate me. After mile 7, I went back to my run 3/walk 1 because I didn't want to give out by the end. It was hard running by myself. I'm just not use to it. After mile 10, things went down hill. Mile 11-13 was HORRIBLE!!! My right leg was hurting and I had a blister on my right pinkie toe. It hurt so bad. At mile 11 I wanted to call and tell someone to come pick me up. Thank goodness I had no bars on my phone so the call wouldn't go through. No, I really wasn't going to quit but I just wanted to call my husband and for him to tell me it was going to be okay. I pushed through, at a snail's pace and crossed the finish line at 2:52. My goal was 2:45 but at that point I was just happy to finish. The last .1 was emotional. Tears started rolling down my face. I worked so hard for that 13.1 sticker. Yes, it's all about the sticker, haha!!! I was upset after I finished because all they gave you was an ornament and because I was one of the last ones to finish, mine was plain white. NOPE, MINE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE HOLIDAY HALF MARATHON ON IT. THE TENTS WERE ALREADY TAKEN DOWN, THE FOOD WAS GONE, BEER WAS GONE, ETC. I felt like I was being punished because I was so slow. Out of 238 runners, I finished 231. The only pro's to the race was that the money went for a good cause and I earned my 13.1 sticker.
Me crossing the finish line!!!
Some of my S2S Sisters
I'm signed up to run the Gulf Coast Half in Pensacola on January 11. It's a big run so I'm sure I will have a better experience.
Awesome job!!
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