The Indian Summer Half Marathon

Finally, a good 9 days after the fact I'm posting about the half marathon.

I went to bed around 10:30 Friday night not feeling nervous at all. Then I woke up at 6:44, exactly one minute before the alarm and got myself dressed and ready to go. I don't think I was even nervous until Amy and Jessica pulled up and I started thinking to myself "What am I doing?" Luckily both of them owned up to similar feelings.

We arrived safely at Columbia Point and checked and got our T-shirts and numbers. With the coveted race T-shirt in hand we considered climbing back in the car and calling it good.

You wouldn't believe how many familiar faces we saw- which was good until EVERY SINGLE PERSON told us they were there to do the 5k. Jessica and I kept looking at each other and wondering if we were really as stupid as we felt entering this race after a mere 4 weeks of preparation. Oh well.

We lined up at the starting gate and awaited our fate. The starting alarm went off and we began our 13.1 mile journey. We were doing great, so well in fact that at the turn-around point for the 5 k race I asked Jess if she wanted to finish early... BUT we kept going.

We ran past Howard Amon, through Leslie Groves, past WSU-TC, and waved to Calaway's house across the river and then FINALLY we came to our turn-around point only to have to pass all those point in reverse. The big pick up for us was seeing how many people were actually behind us. We thought maybe 2 or 3, but there were at least 15. We were the front runners in the slow category!!

We were awesome, only stopping to walk between mile 7.5 and 8.0 because neither of us are coordinated enough to drink and run at the same time. Then we stopped again between mile 10.0 and 11.0 , but after that it was all running. The last mile seemed so long, but as soon as the finish was in view, Jess and I sprinted to the finish line where our families were eagerly waiting for us.

It was a great feeling to finally be finished running and Jeremy, Kaden and Brynnlee even had a "prize" for me. A bag chuck full of foot lotion, foot soaks, massage lotion, bubble bath, a new shower pouf, and a new watch (which I was totally needing).

So after a few waters and Gatorades we headed home where I grabbed a quick shower before we spent the afternoon looking for desks. Kaden and I even spared a few minutes to play Guitar Hero at Best Buy... and then we went to Mid-Columbia Gymnastics where Tia and Howie were celebrating their birthdays. What a long day!

Jeremy asked me after catching my breath if finishing made me want to do a Marathon and I said "No. Doing this makes me NOT want to do a Marathon."

However just like childbirth, the memory is already fading after 9 days and I'm softening to the idea- but only slightly.