The whole experience still feels so surreal. I distinctly remember back in September/October when I called my mom in excitement because I had just ran 4.5 miles. Last year when I was in South Africa a few of my friends ran the "two oceans" half marathon, and I remembered feeling so jealous. I never would have imagine that just one year later I'd be running a half marathon. Not to get too cheesey here, but it really goes to show that if you set your mind on something you really can achieve whatever you want!
As far as sticking to my plan, I did really well for the most part. The last few weeks were a little iffy because there was so much going on, but I always made sure to get my long runs in. Probably the biggest mistake I made was going out on St. Patty's day. That Thursday was only 3 days before the race, but I got peer pressured into going out. I ended up drinking a lot more than planned and I know it affected me after the race because my stomach was not happy!
Now onto the race weekend:
I can't even begin to describe how happy and thankful I am that my wonderful mom, older sister and my sister's boyfriend came to support me in the race. They drove all the way to Boston Saturday morning and we did a little sight seeing. I wanted to make sure my eating was on point all day, so after eating a banana and kashi granola bar for breakfast, I made a homemade burrito for lunch. I stuffed my whole wheat wrap with leftover brown rice, refried vegetarian beans, salsa, sour cream and a little hot sauce. It was delicious! My family wanted to go out to eat when they got here and I ended up ordering shrimp cocktail, just so I wasn't sitting there not eating.
We headed to New Bedford around 5:30 and made it to our hotel around 7. The hotel was beautiful and filled with runners! My mom and I shared a room and she let me have the big bed. Thanks mom :) We split up and went out for separate dinners that night...my mom and I heading across the street. I started off with a huuuge bowl of mussels -- probably not the best choice the night before a race but I couldn't resist! The restaurant had a runner's special of whole wheat pasta, lots of veggies, in an olive oil based sauce. I was happy they had this on the menu and it was great, but a tiiiny bit too oily. We headed back to the hotel and after laying out my race clothes I was in bed by 10:30! I fell asleep watching "the best thing I ever ate: burgers" on the food network and knew EXACTLY what I'd be eating when the race was over.
The next morning we woke up around 8 to go down to breakfast. The race didn't start until 11AM which was really lucky for me because I am NOT a morning person. I ate a big banana and a whole wheat bagel with some peanut butter for breakfast. I drank about half of my blue gatorade/water mix as well. My mom and I walked over to the YMCA to pick up my race packet and then went back to the hotel to change. Around 10:30 we headed over to the race start!
The weather was PERFECT. It was about 40 degrees and really sunny. I wore my favorite and most comfy shirt from South Africa with my Tufts 10k long sleeve underneath. I was sooo nervous at the start! I was shaking a little but couldn't stop smiling either.As soon as the race started I suddenly felt calm. All the nerves I had been feeling just slipped away and I felt pure happiness. Who cares what time I finished in? I was doing something for me and I would not diminish my accomplishments by worrying about time or comparing myself to others. I had signed up for this race with 3 of my friends and I was the only one who followed through and actually ran it. I am beyond proud of myself for completing this on my own!
The first 3 miles flew by, and then suddenly we started hitting hills. More like gigantic mountains! While going up these huge hills I honestly felt like I wasn't gonna make it! Boston is pretty flat so I had zero hill training. But I did make it! And I loved the sign at the end of the hill that said "see, just a hill!". There were cute and motivating signs all throughout the race and it really helped make the time just fly by. I saw my family around mile 6 and it was such a great motivator! I gave my mom a hug and my sister ran with me for about a minute. I was sooo happy to see them and it definitely gave me more strength to keep on trucking.
The last few miles were along the beautiful harbor. I felt completely calm and happy while running, and couldn't believe I didn't have to stop at all! At mile 12 there was another big hill, and once I was over it I started feeling really tired. I got pretty slow and was ready for it to be over! As soon as I saw the 13 mile mark excitement just rushed over me and I started sprinting to the finish line. I saw my family cheering me on and I was just beaming. I crossed the finish line and took a biiiiig breath of relief! I was immediately handed a water bottle, some oranges, and my race medal! I FINISHED A HALF MARATHON!!!
We snapped a couple of pictures and chose to skip the free food from the race and head out to lunch instead. I happily gobbled down my huge burger and fries! I said goodbye to my family and caught a ride back to Boston with a friend. As soon as I got home I showered, then hopped into bed and stayed there for the rest of the night :) My friends surprised me with beautiful flowers and since I was still hungry I ordered mozzarella sticks for dinner. Haha, not quite the healthiest dinner. But who cares?I still can't believe I actually ran a half marathon. I've been taking it slightly easy the past few days (except for competing in an indoor triathlon last night...woops) and plan to continue taking it easy through next week! Then who knows, maybe another half marathon ;)
i shed a little tear reliving this adventure.
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