Half Marathons

This past weekend I ran in my very first half marathon!  That is 13.1 miles.  That is a lot of miles!  I've been training since summer, some weeks were better and more committed then others.  My longest run was a 10 miler then week before.  I don't think I was really feeling ready for the race, but I was excited for the race.

We were up by 4am on race day..  leaving the house by 5 and in Dover by 6.  The ONLY good thing about the race starting that early was watching the sun rise!  We started the run in Dover Downs..  the race track.  That was pretty cool too.  Ready to go!

I ran the first 6 miles well.  My pace was faster then my usual pace.  I was feeling good and enjoying the beautiful run.  Seriously..  the sun, the sky, the clouds - gorgeous!  I snapped a few pics along the way.

Miles 6 - 9 were slowing down a little..  feeling tired.  And by mile 10, my legs were aching.  I was ready to start taking some walking breaks around mile 10 - but then I saw my mom, my sister - in - law and Mother in law and my 2 kids..  and that pushed me to keep running!

Hot, sweaty, around mile 9 or 10...

Probably from 10.5 to the finish I allowed myself some short walk breaks..  I found that I ran faster when I ran if I could walk for 30 seconds here and there.  I was feeling pretty sore and achy at this point.  But I knew I was nearly there...  so I pushed through.  My goal was to finish in 3 hours...  I'm not fast by any means and this race was not about time for me, but about doing it, running most of it and finishing it.  I finish 11 minutes faster then my goal time which was awesome!  I credit that to my first 6 miles being a faster pace for me.

I felt pretty good after I finished.  Excited.  It definitely was an awesome feeling to accomplish something that I never in a million years thought I would or could do.  Not just the race itself, but also the training...  the time commitment..  seeing it through - all of that was so good for me.

Sunday - Tuesday were tough.  I was exhausted..  and incredibly sore.  But glad I did the race.  I'm not sure I would do another half..  10 miles may be a good limit..  but we'll see!

John did the full marathon and he came in 2nd for his age group.  The kids had been up since 4 in the morning and they were SO done!  So we came home and John stayed on to get his medal!

It was a fun day!