aaand, so far it is the only one I have been able to keep. I believe one of my others was blogging weekly, well, we all know how that is going. So, on to the one I actually kept, running some sort of race. Sunday was the Rock & Roll Half Marathon here in San Diego. It was so much fun! I was really nervous the days leading up to the race, as my mom and husband and kids can attest to, but now having done it I know what to expect next time, yes, next time! I want to do this again and again. There is such an energy when you run with a group of people, I just can’t explain it. It pushed me to run further than I thought I could and do do so much better than I ever dreamed. Just to break it down, when I signed up for this race in Feb. I figured I would walk most of it, I knew I could do that. I had to put a finish time when I signed up, so I put 3.5 hours. I figured that would give me plenty of time. Well, as I trained more and more and started enjoying running I realized that I could probably run almost half, which was about 6 miles in my mind, walk a bit, then run the last mile or so. Well, yesterday rolls around and I get going and there is this great energy going around me and before I know it I have run 9 miles!!!! At that point my body was feeling it, mostly my right pinky toe and the horrible blister that was developing. Ouch! So, I walked for a bit, got hydrated, and ran the last two miles and crossed the finish line in less than 3 hours!! I believe my time was 2.40.52. So, well below my estimated goal and well beyond what I would have imagined myself accomplishing! The most important part is that I had a good time, met some new friends, and truly enjoyed myself.
It was a great day, I am very proud, but today it was back to reality. There was laundry, bathrooms to clean, rugs to vacuum, and kids to take to and pick up from school, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am so thankful to my amazing family who put up with my running and crazy ideas like meeting them at the soccer fields on Saturday mornings and to my mom for coming out to not only help and spend time with the kids but to support me and cheer me on. I know I was a bit of a pain this past week as I worked through my nerves. Luckily I got a great night’s sleep on Saturday and was ready to go on Sunday morning at 6:15 (that is when the race officially started even though my group didn’t actually start until 7).
Now we are in the home stretch for school to end and summer to begin. The boys will be doing a few day camps, we will spend some time in MN with my family, and this coming weekend we will be saying goodbye to Joe’s parent’s home in Bakersfield. They are moving down this way to enjoy their retirement.
Below are a few pics from the race. Miraculously at about mile 9 Joe and I spotted each other and he got some great pics. It didn’t work out for them to meet me at the finish, just too crazy, but we met up at the mall, had lunch, and all came home and took a nap! Not a bad day if you ask me. Enjoy!
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