i may or may not have run a half marathon.

yup, i did. it was a while ago..... but i did it.


race day was perfect: a little chilly in the morning (when we got there before the sun came up), but turned into a beautiful fall day. my parents came to watch, and naturally my mom had signs. she had to resort to those because i had already instituted a balloon-ban. pat and her balloons, i'll never understand it...


i actually wasn't too nervous until we were walking to the starting line and i was suddenly surrounded by all these very athletic-looking people, and i got to wondering if i was out of my league. my favorite part was the very tall, lone kenyan man standing under the 1:15 sign with a look on his face like, "yeah, you just walk on back to 2:00".  yes, sir.


after i finished almost throwing up three times, the gun went off, and i kicked off the race with some beyonce. that's right, "all the single ladies" was my song of choice. good decision, i'd say. prosser's parents and mine had scoped out some great places along the race route to see us, so it was always great to see a familiar face (and a sign).


first 8 miles: amazing. next two miles: hell.


there was one part where my mom said, "yeah, when we saw you come in alumni drive, you looked pretty bad." thanks, mom. "but you picked it up on the way out!" yeah, a mile and a half later.


after that, it was just a battle of wills. i knew i could run three more miles, and i knew i would hate myself if i ran them super slow (up to this point, i was dead on my target pace, even a little faster). and i would REALLY hate myself if i walked. and then God told my iPod to play Vitamin String Quartet "Hallelujah". oh man, i got goosebumps. movie moment.

that last mile, we could see the lights of the stadium, and i was trucking for them like nobody's business. my feet hitting the track was the best feeling i've maybe ever had. i could see the finish line, and my dad being paparazzi right behind it, and i just booked it.





2 hours, 12 minutes, and 49 seconds. not bad for my first try, i'd say.




i still don't really believe i actually did it. i think i blacked out that morning for a while. but maybe it's like pregnancy: people say you don't remember the pain, so that you may actually do it again. and it's true, i will.


((someone remind me of that later))