i ran my first official half marathon yesterday. we woke up at 3:50am and i was immediately doing battle with a serious case of nerves. i tried to go about my pre race ritual as best i could. shower, smoothie, sneaker check, coffee, etc. as soon as we arrived at the race venue, i was fine. the parking situation was kind of crazy so we missed the starting gun while we were busy putting on sunscreen, checking in our bag, and waiting in line for one last pit stop; we had our timing chips so didn't panic too much about getting our times. we stretched a teeny bit and got our music going. there wasn't any fanfare since we had missed the herd of runners making their way slowly across the line, but we headed out on the road and put one foot in front of the other to cross the starting line; just the two of us. we headed out slowly and so began our little adventure. 

i had decided to dedicate all my miles to my closest friends and family and it worked for me to think of people pushing me mile after mile. the first few i had my doubts and usual thoughts of: i can stop if i want to, i don't really want to be doing this, i think i'm getting a cramp, it's kind of hot out already. i felt great, but i couldn't focus. the next few miles were way different. i felt inspired, i was hitting a groove, and even though there were some gnarly hills (thanks danielle for picking mile 5-you really got me up a crazy one!), i was on point. around mile 10 is when the i just want to be done now mindset kicked in, and i felt my legs starting to cement up on me. every foot forward, i felt pain. my spirits were still high, and i grabbed water when i could and ate my sports beans. i knew i was going to finish no matter what. there was no way i was going to walk through the finish line. there were people cheering, a dude handing out vodka (what?!), and folks telling me i was almost there. surreal. i got to the final turn and saw the end. definitely emotional at this point. my last mile i dedicated to my nana who passed away in january. tears happened, and a half marathon was finished. mark had already completed his adventure and was waiting for me, which was awesome. i fell into his arms and we were so happy to see each other. then we hobbled immediately over to the gatorade/bagel tent. recharge! my official time - 2:44:03.  

clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.