My half marathon recap

On Sunday I ran my fourth half marathon. For those of you who aren't runners, that's 13.1 miles. Half way to crazy, but not all the way! If you have ever trained for a race, your life starts to get consumed with running. How many miles am I going to get in this week? What pace do I need to run this morning? Should I rest today or squeeze a run in? In August, my mind seemed to only be prepping for the race,  so I shared a week long series on running here at Holy Craft. You can see what gear I use here What training program I follow here My playlist here And a little bit of what kept me motivated here It's been our family tradition for the past two years to have a Teodoro Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning. Last year my cousin Angie had just started running and after the run we talked about running a half marathon the following year.  She was wanting a goal to work towards, and I was looking for a way to celebrate my 35th birthday.

 Angie started running

and was so good at it!

Most of the time she pushes a jogging stroller with two kids and her dog!

Now that is dedication!

Her sister in law Megan joined her on her runs three times a week and after I started working up my distance, I started joining them as well.

This is the three of us before the race.

And this is the three of us after.

Because of a knee injury, Megan wanted to run her own pace.

Angie and I ran together for the first 7 miles or so, 

that is, until I rolled my ankle and just couldn't seem to find it in me to pick up the pace.

The finish line for the 10k and the half are at the same spot.

You have to run past the 10k finish to continue on course.

About 1/4 mile before the 10k finish, I was running along and rolled my ankle.

Not sure how it happened, but it was enough to slow me down and play with my mind mentally.

I kept thinking I had every excuse to drop off at the finish, but I kept going.

We look more tired in this after picture!

I felt like I was slowing Angie down, and told her several times to keep going without me.

She started to pull away slowly around mile 7.

The final leg of the race is an out and back along the waterfront.

There are a few hills over overpasses that are long and steady.

Angie was just in front of me and so was the 1:50 pacer.

At mile 9.5 there is a turn around.

The first mile of the race we had torrential downpour with some thundershowers.

It was wet!

The roads were slick and as I went to round the corner to start heading back, I felt my legs go out from under me.

I slipped and fell flat on my face.

Literally.

I don't remember the last time I fell that hard.

Hard enough that I didn't get up right away.

 I literally just laid there.

Two women stopped behind me

{it's a tight turn and I blocked the way}

helped me up and told me I was bleeding on my face but just a little.

My elbow and my hand hurt worse and neither were bleeding,

so I carried on.

I was feeling spent around mile 10 and finally gave in and walked for about a tenth of a mile.

After my ankle roll and now my face plant, I was feeling like this whole run thing wasn't going my way.

I kept seeing the gap between me and the people I was running behind get bigger and racers started passing me.  I was starting to give up.

I walked another hill.

I trained for hills, and never walked the hill the two other times I have run this course.

And I finally pulled myself together and managed to push through...until I got to the next hill.

Thankfully, these ladies were at the top cheering me on.

Heidi has run the half a few times before with me and Alise was running her first 10k.

Both are friends from church and had finished their race and were waiting 

around to cheer me on at the finish.

I have never been more grateful to see them midway up the hill and it was my motivation to keep on running

and not walk that final hill before the finish.

I finished the race in 1:53:51.

7th in my age division and 24th overall.

Not too shabby for walking part of it, rolling an ankle and spending some time face down on the pavement!

Some things I think are worth mentioning after this race.

People cheering on the streets are angels from heaven.

I was so thankful to have strangers on the sidelines cheering me on.

If you can, be a spectator and cheer loud and hard for those runners.

Thank those who are working the race.

The volunteers are taking time out of their schedules to be there standing in the rain.

They don't have to be.

Make sure you say thank you.

Having a friend who has run the course and knows how hard the final hill is,

is the best motivator to keep you going when you are ready to quit!

I am thankful for friends that stuck around and pushed me to the end.

Know a friend running a race?

Spend some time on the sidelines cheering on their accomplishment.

After the race, I hit up the medical team for some bandaids and some ice. I asked for Vicodin but they were plum out.   My body is less sore from running and more sore from bumps and bruises this time around,  but I am so thankful that I stuck with it and finished the race, even when I was ready to quit. Now back to icing and elevating. And hibernating from running for the winter. The elliptical at the gym {complete with reality TV} is calling me name!