One down. . .and never again

Yesterday was the day. The day that I got to mark off of my life's to-do list "participate in a half marathon". Of course I didn't even know that this was on my life's to-do list and so first I will have to add it to the list so that I can then mark it off. The day started with my wonderful friends Emilia and Trish as we met for a quick picture before the race.

We then climbed into the car and headed downtown for some serious adventure. I have to admit that I loved the excitement in the air. There were so many people and there was so much electricity in the moment. Plus, walking with two great friends was exciting in and of itself. Oh the conversations that were to come. At 9:00 am the race officially began but since we were so far at the back, we didn't cross the starting line until almost 9:04 am.

I failed to check out the race course beforehand and so I was absolutely amazed at how far 13 miles will take you. For those of you who know Columbus, we started out at Nationwide Arena and then walked down and around campus and around the stadium. Then it was back through downtown, past Columbus State, past some really ugly parts of town, past Franklin University and down into German Village. We walked a bit through German Village and then we wound our way back into downtown and back to Nationwide Arena. All I can say is that it was far. Very, very far. I would have to say that miles 7.5-11 were the worst for me. Very painful, very cold and windy, and I didn't know how I was going to make it until Trish pulled out her ipod, hit a new reserve of energy and determination and booked it to the finish line. She was my inspiration and my motivation. I even had to jog to keep up with her. We all finished together in about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Very respectable as far as I am concerned. My whole goal was to finish in 4 hours and to not be last. Both goals were attained and so this race was a success. The walk back to the car was absolutely exhausting, but once I got a little food in me and my hands returned to more of their normal size I was feeling much better. Plus, I came home to a very clean and quiet house and a very hot shower. Even though I had to take care of Kelsey and Tyler for several hours while Doug took Dillon on a special outing to the movies, Doug made it up to me later by picking up some chinese food and allowing me to be a bum on the couch with very little movement. Although I am proud of myself for accomplishing this great feat, I will not be doing this distance ever again. Perhaps a 5k here or there, but really I think that I am more of a Pilates or Yoga kind of girl. I think that I will try those activities next, but not for a few days at least because right now my entire body aches.