I'm officially a half marathoner!



Me and Gina after the race, finishers!



Finally, after 4 months of training, it's over!  The Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon training occupied many hours of my time, but was all worth it.  Getting up at 430 in the morning is not how my usual Sunday routine goes.  Catching the bus to the oceanfront, not usually in my routine either.  13.1 miles waiting to be run, right again, not in my usual Sunday routine.  I was lucky enough to have 2 girl friends run it with me.  We tried to run together for as long as we could, but eventually everyone ended up getting into their groove and separating.



Me and my babies



From mile 1-6 was fun, lots of singing and dancing and cheering.  Then a little past the 6th mile, my i-pod goes berzerk and stops playing music.  A little fiddling and still, no music.  I gave it a little rest and thankfully it came back on a mile later.  I could feel my body slow down at mile 8 and also started to get a really bad cramp.  I really didn't want to walk at all during the race, but the cramp refused to go away as I tried to 'run it off,' so I did end up walking at the 9th mile.  I sent my running partner to keep going, I wanted her to get a good time and not slow down because of me.  The cramp wasn't completely gone, but I kept going and to my surprise saw one of my girlfriends cheering me on at mile 10.  That was exactly what I needed to get pumped.  3 more miles was all that was left ahead of me.



Stella's shirt I made for race day









It was great to see all the spectators cheering for their friends and family, having the local community out to support the runners.  It was amazing to see the wave of people running ahead of me.  I started to get a little emotional after mile 11- I was filled with joy, pride, a sense of accomplishment that I was almost finished.

Bro's shirt I made for race day

Once I got to the boardwalk, I could faintly see the finish line ahead.  I couldn't get there fast enough!  I sprinted past many runners and finally did it, I finished!  Walking through the crowds, I was looking for my friend and my family.  Of course, I also scooped up all the freebies and snacks too.



 



We ended our journey with a beer from the beer tent and an icecream cone from Kohr Bro's.  If only I could say the morning after a race like that was just as great.  Sore muscles = slow moving.  I almost forgot, my goal was to finish at 2hr20m, my final time was 2hr24m.  I'm really proud of myself, it's a huge accomplishment for me, and I get to check it off 'my list.'  Now, on to the next race? 













I am a finisher!