I did it!

Well this Past Saturday 11/26/2011 I completed my first half marathon in Orange Beach Alabama! I can not believe that I did it! It was a tough race. First to start the day it was already 70 degrees at 8am! By the end of the race it got close to 78. I have some pretty funky tan lines on my back! I ran with my friend Stephanie Murray. It was very nice to have someone to talk to and have fun along the way. All was good with me until about mile five when we hit the road along the beach and the wind was crazy! It felt like someone was pushing me back the whole time, I was trying to run forward. The Sand was whipping up and I was so over the wind at that point! Finally we got back to trails. This time the trails were in the sun and there was a lot more incline but we kept going. We decided to do our first chomps at 7 miles right before the water station. For those that don't know about chomps a lot like huge gummies for adults that help give you some energy. Then a couple miles later..Stephanie had to make a pit stop and she told me to keep going that she would catch up to me later. At this point it was probably good for me to be alone and speed up a little bit. My hips and back were bothering me from going slower then my body wanted me to do. At the same time though I was greatful for Stephanie because I am my own worst enemy for running to hard in the beginning and burning out in the end. She finally caught up with me about a mile down the road but we made the decision to seperate around mile 10 so we could both run our own pace. I took off ahead did some more chomps and kept on going. Things were good until mile 12 and then that is when I hit a wall, and my lower back and hips locked up and would not allow me to run anymore. So I did what I did not want to do, and walked a little while I stretched my back out. So I did a walk run the last mile. Can you beleive only one mile and I just could not run the whole thing. I was able to run the last quarter of mile or so to the finish and finished three minutes slower then I wanted to, so not to bad with all things considered. As I crossed the finish line my parents and my son were there to cheer me in! It was so awesome to get that medal and complete it. Many runners were suffering from cramps and dehydration that day. In fact one runner said they had done 30 half marathons is that is was the worst one they had done, due to weather, wind and inclines. With that said I felt pretty good! It is crazy to say but I am already looking forward to the next! This has been such an accomplishment. After I finished the first thing that came out of my mouth is I don't think I will ever do a full Marathon...lol! I am so happy that I have completed it. Johnathan had to work but he bought me a dozen roses to tell me that he was proud of me! I thank all of my family and friends that have supported me and cheered me on a long the way. I am looking forward to many more of them in my future!