1st Half Marathon...

n'

I can't believe I'm even typing this...

but I finished my first 1/2 marathon this morning!!!

A few months back, a few friends and I had the "great" idea to run in the Akron marathon for the 2nd year in a row, but this time do the 1/2 instead of the relay. 

I ended up (stupidly, I know) not really training much for the race after hurting my knee back in July, but I figured I'd give it my best shot this morning.  Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, my knee didn't hurt as much as expected, and the rush of adrenaline at the starting line all made for a great run.  The Akron race is so much fun to do because there are so many people out on the streets to cheer and support all of the runners.  It's hard to stop to walk for a moment when there are people on either side of the street cheering you on!

The best parts?

* The sense of accomplishment when crossing the finish line and hearing your name called out.  So fun!

* Running with friends and even meeting new people who all help encourage each other to keep going.

* Coming in earlier than your goal time.  Hooray!

* The comical signs people on the side of the road held up for us ("And to think this sounded like a good idea when you signed up 2 months ago", "Don't stop to walk...we're all watching you")

The worst parts?

* Limping through the last mile, convinced that this mile is at least 5 times longer than any other mile you've run for the day.

* The walk back to the car (next year we need to park closer to the END of the race instead of closer to the starting line...even if it only makes a difference of a few blocks!).

* Knowing that tomorrow morning I'm surely not going to be able to walk!

But I did it!!!

(If I'd only trained properly, I could use that as an excuse as to my lack of blogging lately.  Since that didn't happen, we'll have to go with the "new job, recent vacation, ect." excuse.  Look for pictures of our two recent vacations to be coming...soonish.)