Half Marathon

I competed in my first half marathon today - the Stillwater Marathon. There were about 2,200 runners at the starting line - for all 4 races - the full marathon, 20 mile, half marathon, and 12k. The half marathon course was 13.43 miles. I had a gun time of 2:06:30 and a chip time of 2:05:41. When I was setting a goal time, I was aiming for 2 hours, but once I saw the Stillwater course and the amount of hills it contained, I adjusted my goal to 2 hours and 15 minutes. I was very pleased with a finish time of just over 2 hours. Had I stayed with my split time pace (56 minutes at 6.5 miles) I would have finished under 2 hours. That last half was hard, running with an injured knee. Regardless, I gave it 100% and that is all I could do. I haven't pushed my body physically that hard since I competed in IronGirl last fall and my plan now is to enjoy the summer and work out because I want to, not because I have a training schedule to adhere to. Thanks to my family and to my jobshare partner, Bethany, for being my awesome supporters today. I couldn't have done it without you guys!! I don't think I've wiped the grin off my face since I crossed that finish line - it is hard to put into words the "high" you get from completing an endeavor like this. I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can! There are 3 videos following the pictures - the first is at the starting line, the second is at Mile 9, and the last is at the finish line.