The Half

The 13.1 mile race is a thing of the past. But what a great day it was!

(you'll have to click on the pic. to see me. I'm behind this guy)

The sun was out, but not too hot, there was a slight breeze and more importantly - no rain! A big deal for spring in Oregon.

The alarm clock at 6:15 am was not welcomed. I was a little nervous as we drove to the race. But my usual pre-race jitters weren't really a problem.

G and I started out together. Which was a good thing, and which helped me pace myself really well. G bought a heart monitor for his own pacing awhile back, and so he knew when we needed to slow down or speed up. His fancy schmancy watch also helped with our mile-pacing.

Made it to the finish!!

I felt so good the first few miles. G however had a hard day. I don't know if it was from planting a ton of potatoes on Saturday, or working on the remodel of the house, or what, but on Sunday he just wasn't running his best. 

And so I am trying hard not to crow too loudly, but I was really pleased with how well I did for my first ever half-marathon. I made it in 2 hours, and 1 minute. And I felt good the whole way. I didn't push myself to all-out speed. Not until the last couple of miles. Then I tried to pick up the pace, and ran hard to finish.

It's over! Now what?!

The toughest part of the whole day? Getting up from a chair, especially in the evening after sitting down for supper. By then I had a pounding headache and just wanted bed. My dear husband came through for me again. He helped clean everything up and get the older kids to bed. Once I had the littlest one in her bed, I put myself in the covers and didn't move until Monday morning. 

My son was thrilled to be on the OSU football field; he needed a photo of himself next to one of the players - he could tell you which one, but I can't!

 

 Now we need to figure out what we're going to do next - a marathon?! faster 5k's, or a 10k?