Sunday, April 25, 2010

My first 13.1...Done!


Today is a day that will go down in my record book. I completed my first half marathon! 13.1 miles and all in honor of the OKC Memorial. "April 19, 1995. 9:02am. A bomb was detonated in the street in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK, destroying the Federal Building and killing 168 people. Hundreds more had their lives altered forever. The entire nation was changed by this worst act of terrorism by an American toward other Americans." - Thomas A. Hill III

I had three goals for today's race.
  1. Finish
  2. Finish in under 2 and 1/2 hours
  3. Finish without having to walk

And I was successful in achieving all 3. I can honestly say that this is one of my greatest achievements and is certainly my greatest physical achievement outside of birthing my two beautiful children. And I can also honestly say that I never would have thought it would be possible. I realize that people do it all the time. Those people aren't me. I'm a fast twitch muscle girl. Endurance was never my thing. But I did it and I am proud. The body and Faith can go a long way.

I was so grateful to have my husband and children standing near the finish line rooting me on. I blew them kisses as I went by. Their smiles and my own made it entirely worth while.

During the run I was inspired but the spectators, their hospitality, signage, cheering, etc. My favorite was a sign that said "Run This Bitch". I literally laughed out loud and kept on going. I also so a woman with a Nike tattoo and thought to myself "JUST DO IT". And then took on the mantra, "I got this, I can do this".

I also realized that all runners are not fit or fit looking. One woman's running skirt hiked up her backside so much that she was showing her built-in panty and saggy hiney the entire time. There is also a lot of litter the results from the race. My "Save The Earth" sentiments were high.

I've marked 13.1 off my bucket list. I'll consider another at another time. For now, I'm icing my knees.

Thanks to all of you who supported me and cheered me on during my training and during the race. I'm glad to have done it with your love in mind.