Born to run

I did it! I finished my first half marathon. I was hoping for 2 hrs and 15 mins and managed to cross the finish line at 2 hrs 17. Pretty close to my target time (approx 10 min and 30 seconds per mile). Whew. All that training paid off.

It ended up being a beautiful day for a run, which helped. As did the new songs on my playlist. Lose Yourself came on right at the 8-mile mark (perfect timing!) and really helped me get through the worst part of the race. Eye of the Tiger came on near the end when I most wanted to walk.

The best part of the race was the last quarter mile when I saw Susie, Sean, Betsy, Archie, George, and James in the crowd cheering me on. I missed seeing my parents for some reason, but then I was lucky enough to see Jason and Molly smiling by the finish line. It meant the world to have everyone there.

It definitely wasn't easy, and I still feel like I'm recovering (mostly from lack of sleep...I had to get up at 4 am on race day), but I'm glad I did it.

Thanks again to everyone who supported me through training and donated to my fundraising campaign. I promise the next race won't be as big of a production. What's that? What did I say? The next race? Who knows...but I'm thinking about it.

Before the race, wearing my lucky purple and bib #7575 (apologies for the port-a-potty background)

The home stretch! Thanks to Sean for capturing these action shots

Not too tired for a fist pump