First Half Marathon- DONE

First, let me apologize to all my friends on MFP for being very absent recently. I have had many things going on in my life and haven't had the time devoted to logging and the community like I should have. I am finally getting things straightened out and can be back as a supporter again


Now for my success! I ran my first ever half marathon yesterday- 13.1 miles for those who aren't sure how long that actually is. To put this into perspective, I ran my first 5k the first weekend in May. I wrote a similar success story after that race as well. Being that I really don't consider myself a runner, it was a huge victory for me. However, even though I'm not really a runner, or a good runner, I do have motivation, determination, and I love setting goals for myself. So, I decided to sign up for the half, knowing that I would have about 4 months to prepare.

Preparation was so hard for me. It was SO difficult to balance lifting and running that I had to actually give up lifting for about the last month before the race, which was really upsetting to me because I love it so much. However, with attempting long runs a couple times a week, I just didn't have 3+ hours to devote to exercise daily and had to make a choice. (I'm so excited today to get back to the weights that even though I can barely walk because I'm so sore, I'm going anyway haha. I'll do back and bis, I don't care. I just want to get back to it!)

I was a ball of nerves the night before and the morning of the race. There were over 1000 participants in the race, so when I arrived it was actually pretty breath-taking. Seeing so many people there for a common purpose and knowing that I wouldn't be alone in the struggle was a great way to calm my nerves before we started. The first 8 miles were easy-peasy. I surprised myself and kept a pace 1:30 faster than I had practiced for, but I felt great. Miles 9 and 10 I had slowed down about 30 seconds but was still passing others who were starting to drop off. Miles 11 and 12 I started to struggle and the last mile- 13- was by far the hardest. I had to just keep repeating in my head "I can do this, I can do this" and keep telling myself to put one foot in front of the other. It really, really helped that there were so many spectators all cheering us on, because I didn't have anyone that went to specifically cheer me on, but it helped so much passing people sitting alongside the course cheering and yelling out your number.

By the end of the race I was spent. My legs could hardly move, I wasn't sure how I was going to drive home, and I was so hungry that I devoured anything I could get my hands on at the pavilion after the race (bananas, bagels, fruit, etc.)

I had two goals- one to just finish the race without walking, two- if I completed number one- was to beat a time of 2:30. I made 2:17. I did it. I set a goal, and I accomplished it, no matter how hard I knew it was going to be. And I'm proud of myself for doing so.

Sometimes in this journey we forget that there's more to it than just the weight loss. I think that setting goals for yourself and going through the actions of completing those goals can give you a huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, beyond seeing the number go down on the scale.

I'm the one on the left.