Charleston 1/2 Marathon

Today I achieved a goal that I set out for 6 months ago - I finished my first 1/2 marathon!

I ran with Nicole Hendrick (whose birthday was today) and Chad served as our driver and encourager.  Traffic was backed up so we decided to hop out of the car and he then met us at the 3 mile marker to take some of our warmer clothes that we shed at that time.  The first 3 miles were so pretty in downtown Charleston running along the water and Rainbow Row.  Nicole and I both climbed the stairs to run on the seawall.  I even saw a dolphin swimming around...I tried to soak it all in.  I was thrilled to see Chad at mile 3 in downtown along all of the trendy shops. 

He was so encouraging and even started running with me as I unzipped my vest and took off my gloves so I didn't have to slow down.  However, as the video shows he forgot that he was filming me and as a result we get some asphault. 

I was very surprised with how calm I was in the run and how fast the time went by.  I never felt the urge to use the bathroom, amazing! In addition, I never had to dig deep within.  It turns out that my 6 months of training prepared me for the task at hand, go figure that is what preparation can get you!  I knew that I had passed the 2:30 pace runner around the 3rd mile and at about the 5th mile I could see the 2:15 pace runner.  I had told myself that I didn't care about time but mentally I wanted to finish between 2:15 and 2:30.  At mile 10 I was part of the 2:15 pace runner's pack.  It was neat feeling like I belonged to an exclusive group running around this one girl...but once I got to mile 11 and I realized I only had 20 more minutes to finish I realized that I could go faster and I took off on my own.  The last mile took us back along the water and I ran tall till the last turn when I saw the FINISH LINE sign with balloons.  At that moment I smiled and soaked in the satisfaction of all the hard work.  I finished...I actually did it.  The day was here, I ran 13.1 miles and I was about to cross the finish line, ahhh! 

My final time was 2:12 and I couldn't have been more pleased for my first 1/2 marathon.  I missed seeing Team Jana on the way in but found them shortly after coming out of the baracade.  Nicole was a little bit behind me so I decided to run back and encourage her in the last 1/2 mile.  This was a wonderful day that I will always remember with a smile. 

On a side note, hours after the race I can say that my legs feel like lead sticks and if they stay bent for too many minutes they start to feel like broken lead sticks.  A massage is definitely in order for Monday!

In addition, my sister-in-law, Jen's birthday is also today.  Happy Birthday Jen!