Half Marathon #2

After what seemed like training for an eternity, I've finally completed my second half marathon. I actually got quite a bit of sleep the night before (surprisingly since my nerves were a wreck and the bed was so uncomfortable). I woke Saturday morning with a nervous stomach to a cold morning (48 degrees!) and clear skies. I hated the thought of having my first cold run be my half marathon, but there was nothing I could do. I just had to suck it up and praise myself for actually bringing enough clothes. The hubby got me to the race start and hung out with me while I stretched and jumped up and down to keep myself warm. The start was a little hectic since they had to change the begining of the route last second to account for construction that was happening on campus. The gun finally went off at 8:11 and we all raced forward. The first 2 miles were a bunch of u-turns and a lot of confusion. I'm really surprised no one ran into each other (or maybe they did and I just missed it). By mile 3 we were leaving the UT campus and the weather was warming up (or at least I was cuz that's when the jacket came off). We ran past a few construction trucks and their horrible exhaust about mile 4.5 and then at mile 6 ran up the biggest hill I'd ever seen. I'll be honest, I was prepared for this hill. What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that the rest of the race was pretty much a steady incline. I kicked up the pace a little (or everyone else started to slow down) around mile 8. I was feeling great and still full of energy and heard the cheers of my hubby and family 3 times already. By the time I saw my entourage again at mile 10, I was starting to really feel it. My butt cheeks were screaming and my legs were not wanting to move anymore. And we were still going uphill. By the time I hit mile 12, we were back in the UT campus and I was starting to doubt myself. I got rid of the ipod and did my best to make it up the last final hill because I knew the last .4 miles was flat. I wanted to sprint the last mile (that was my plan), but all the hills had me worn out. At the top of that last hill, I caught my breath and gave it everything I had to the finish. All of my family, including my 5 year old neice were there cheering me on. It was the best finish I could ask for, even if after crossing the finish line I couldn't breath anymore. I gasped for breathe and hugged my husband and couldn't quit smiling. I had beat my previous time by almost 8 minutes, even on an uphill course!

Final chip time: 2:06:46