Racing Day!

The Thunder Road 1/2 Marathon was an amazing experience.  I am proud to say that I finished the race without stopping or walking.  Even with all my months of training, it was hard, but I finished strong with a time of 2 hours and 15 minutes.  Not bad for a girl who refused to run a mile in junior high for fear that she might sweat!

Between the Marathon and 1/2 Marathon runners there were over 11,000 participants.  It was an amazing feeling to be part of a crowd with such energy.  Throughout the 13.1 miles of Charlotte, people were out with signs, bells, cheering squads and musicians - routing for their loved ones and complete strangers.  It was amazing!

The last 2 miles were not easy, but I had one motiviation - my personal cheering squad that I knew was waiting for me at the finish line.  And they did NOT disappoint!!

I was able to see Gill and the boys as I approached the finish line.  It was emotional, to see them routing for me - I threw my hands in the air, cheered back at them, and finished my first 1/2 marathon!

After getting my medal and some nutrition, I was able to find my boys.  They loved my medal.  Patrick announced that it meant "Mommy won and everyone else LOST".  

(We'll just ignore the 1,600 people that crossed the finish line before me and go with that.)

 After we got home and I took a very long nap, Finn and Patrick helped me cross of my last

run on my training checklist.  I think they felt as much of a sense of accomplishment as I did - they had been supporting my every run for the past 4 months.

I won't lie, as great as I felt - my body hurt.

As a matter of fact, by the end of the night I could not even make it up the stairs!!

It was a fantastic experience and I can't wait until next year when I try the (gulp) full Marathon!

(I'm waiting for the official pictures from the race, as soon as I get those, I'll post them as well)