I finally got it done - 13.1 miles - check.

It is exactly 3 years since I started this journey with running after I broke my ankle.  I had to take a week off from blogging to allow myself to think about the experience and take in everything leading to the race and the race itself. This past Sunday March 19, 2017 was the date I was able to conquer one of the biggest challenges I had set my mind to do this year which was the half marathon distance (13.1 miles/21 kms).  I had been told by my Coach Karen in the fall last year that she believed that I was ready to do a half marathon this year and that as long as I trained for it I would be ok.  All the people I have run with in the past year or more believed in me more than I believed in myself and I decided to stop putting myself down and do my best.  This journey has not been easy and there is no way I would have done this if I had not surrounded myself with people who are not only there for me but influenced me to push myself and do better. 

In the past several weeks I have shared with you how it felt like when I went up in mileage in preparation for the race.  The half marathon was done in Sarasota, Florida which meant I would have to fly out of the Washington, DC area to go to Florida for the race.  I traveled with a couple of friends and we spent time visiting friends'parents as well as touring and going out to eat.  Having a busy weekend was a distraction for me so I was not able to focus on the big race on Sunday morning. 

Race day:

Saved until the end

The start time was 6:45 am and we got there by 6:00 am.  I was nervous but not too nervous until when we came out of the car to get ready to drop off our bags and meet other friends.  In the process of looking for where to drop off our bags it was only natural for me to start looking at runners bibs to notice who were running the half and those who were going to run the relay. Most of the people who were out there had what I defined as athletes bodies and never looked like I did physically. I could not relate to anybody and felt totally intimidated.  I remember saying I had not seen any plus size person and the ones I saw were going to be spectators.  I panicked and actually got emotional because at that point I thought I had bitten more than I could handle.  Jackie had to calm me down and remind me that I was ready since for some reason I just could not stop crying and that I should hold my tears for when I was done.  I had all the members of team remind me to trust my training and that I was going to do great. 

The race started and I had no choice but have my game face on for the race.  It was not easy but it got done. Seeing the band members while on the race course gave me energy while we cheered for each other.  I was doing ok until about mile 8 when I felt I was getting too hot.  There were two couples who were in front of me and one of these couples were wearing sweatshirts.  I just didn't understand how they would still be wearing sweatshirts while I felt I was melting and was running with the sun.  By mile 9 I had cooled off since there was a breeze and I had stopped judging these couples who were still ahead of me.  Mile 9 was tough for me until when I got to mile 10. I had to change my mantra to "trust your training you got this" and that is what I kept telling myself. I knew what it felt like to run 12 miles and all I wanted was to get there and will figure out how I will get to the end. I got a burst of energy and went past the two couples who had practically run most of the race near me.

Getting to mile 12 was emotional for me because I knew had done most of the race and just had to finish the last 1.1 mile.  This mile was dedicated to my friend Corynne who was not with us on the trip and usually says you can slow down but don't stop and you cannot quit.  I did not quit and kept going until when I saw the mile marker 13.  I could not believe that I had actually made it to mile 13 and could not control myself but start crying.  My amazing friends saw me and just started screaming and cheering me on while I approached them.  They then surprised me with a sign and I don' think I will ever forget how I felt at that time.  The love, the support, the excitement that I was almost done is what gave me the energy to cross the finish line.

I once heard Steve Harvey on the radio station talk about how you are able to know a person’s character by the people they surround themselves with because you became just like them.  I am proud to say am a runner and have the most amazing running support group anybody would wish for in their lives.  Some have asked me if I would run a half marathon again and my answer right now is that I know I can do it but am not sure I will do it again just yet.