Mile 2.5

Well, we did it.
It was painful, hot, long and exhasting. But we finished the half marathon at Virginia beach.

There are many reasons why this will be my last half marathon.
One, I don't believe I was designed to be a long distance runner. I don't especially enjoy running. (An example of that would be.... I saw people the day before the race running for fun.... laying at the beach is my kind of fun.) My lungs aren't a big fan of it either. It seems like it does more harm then good to my body. My breathing has grow significantly worse since training for it which has resulted in numerous doctors visits and tests. not fun!

Another reason is that running consumes your life, when you have to train for a long run. You should really run 30-40 miles a week and work up to more when training. That is very time consuming and I would be just as happy spending a hour at the gym, get a total body workout, and go home and spend time with my family. The training this time was not fun!

Now here are some race highlights....
We started off great. I knew we wouldn't be running for time (I'm slow), but we started off at about a 9-10 minute mile pace, so I thought "wow this feels great, maybe we could get a good time". Right about the time I thought that, I got a lung collapsing pain in my side (from running to fast) and had to walk. This is very defeating because at this point, we were only about 2.5 mile into it. My body still felt good and my mind was still telling me I could run. I also felt like I had let my teammate down (my hubby), who graciously walked next to me. I could feel the tears welding up inside, but I told myself "if you start to cry you are going to stop breathing", so all I could do was walk and run for the next 3 miles until my cramp went away. That pretty much crushed any motivation for time, so now the goal was just to finish.
Miles 10-12 seemed to drag on forever. My body at this point was exhasted. I was coverd with sweat, and I felt like I was running in slow motion. On mile 11, I told him I had to walk, he was hurting at this point as well. We got a great view of the ocean and then I saw the finish. It was about half a mile away. I said, "lets run" and we took off. With every step, I could feel the pain shoot through my hips and back, but we kept going. Then Mike grabbed my hand and we sprinted the next 400 meters together. I almost couldn't contain my emotion. I thought "Man, I love his guy so much. He could have left me in the dust, but instead we are finishing as a team". We crossed the finish line. I will never forget crossing the line with my best friend. What an amazing ending. I felt so defeated by my body and mind, but then he carried me through.
So it was our first race together, and probably our last 1/2 marathon we will run.

I am in awe of my husband. For running the race and bringing me through the finish line!! I want to climb all of lifes hurdles with you! I love you baby!