Flying Pig Half Marathon

I have so much to update on, but I feel like this subject deserves an entry all of it's own, because it's my biggest accomplishment to date and I know I have a lot to say on the subject. I still can't believe I ran a half marathon! This was the most incredible experience of my life! Yes, it was also the hardest thing I have ever done, but I can't tell you how amazing it felt to have that finisher's medal placed around my neck at the end of the race.

Beth and I woke up around 4 a.m. to eat breakfast and get ready and by 5 a.m. we were on our way out the door to head downtown. Denise called to see how we were feeling so I chatted with her for a bit. The closer we go to downtown, the more frequent the lighting was flashing. We were crossing fingers that the storms would roll out before the race started but unfortunately, we got rained on for the first couple of miles.

We walked a lot of the race and by a lot, I mean a lot. I'm actually disappointed in myself in how much I walked it. I know Beth had to be getting frustrated because I know she's faster than I am but she stuck by me until mile 9, when she finally decided to run it in. I kept telling her earlier in the race to go ahead and go but she stuck by me until mile 9. Without her, those final four miles were awful. I faced the biggest mental battles between miles 10 and 11 because my stepdad had been texting me since he works for our local ABC affiliate, which I had already passed once at mile 6 and would be passing again at mile 11 and he kept telling me "I only have three minutes" and I just burst into tears because I really wanted him to see me coming down that final two mile stretch when I hit mile 11 and I didn't think he'd be there because he would have to be in actually doing his job. Imagine my surprise when I looked up as I ran down the hill at mile 11 and there he was, on the balcony, watching for me. I wiped the tears away and pushed myself to keep running, telling myself I hadn't come that far just to walk it in.

I hit mile 12 and I finally started walking again because I was in so much pain. Since it had rained, my socks and shoes were soaked and they rubbed awful blisters on my feet. I was pretty much limping between miles 12 and 13. At mile 13, with .1 to go in the race, I was getting discouraged because coming from the opposite direction were all the people running the full marathon, who, in the time it had taken me to run a half, had run 26.2 miles. I started yelling at myself, telling myself I had't come that far just to walk it in and decided it was time to start running again. At that moment, I look up and I see Megan and James. That was it for me. I started crying again and sprinted to the finish line, where I collapsed into Beth's arms and was just crying. I couln't believe we had actually finished!!

A sweet older lady was one of the volunteers handing out medals and she asked me if she could do the honors of putting my medal around my neck. That did it for me. I started crying again! We headed through the finisher's area to the recovery zone where we got water, had our chips taken off, and got food! Then we headed out where my coworker Savannah was waiting for me, which meant so much! I loved that she had come all the way downtown to see me at the finish line. Then we headed off to find Megan and James and wound our way back up to the finish line to wait for Denise to come in, who had done the full. Megan and James left and I anxiously kept watching for Denise to come down the finish line so I could run her in. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the whole day, getting to run Denise in as she finished her second full marathon!

There is just nothing like the running community in Cincinnati and the Flying Pig was such an incredible experience. At mile 9.5, I lost my hat I had hooked around my running belt and got chased down by a volunteer at a water station to return it to me. I didn't get much further down the road when it fell off again because it was held together with velcro, which had gotten wet so it didn't want to stay closed. This time, some other runners returned it to me and we started chatting. They kept telling me I looked fabulous and they wished they had the stamina to walk/run the race the way I was. I told them I had been training for a year but that I was discouraged because I had walked so much of the race and they told me not to be discouraged because I looked incredible and should be proud of how far I had come. Then they told me that they would carry my hat for me if they thought they'd see me at the finish line and I just laughed and told them that it didn't matter, it was just a $2.00 hat from Wal-mart so I threw it off to the side of the road and kept going. I ended up seeing them again at mile 12 as we made the turn around the block to head back into downtown to the finish line and they were clapping and cheering me on as I rounded the corner to the home stretch.

It gave me chills to come down the home stretch to the finish line. I know I had gone downtown last year to watch Denise finish her marathon but it still amazes me to see how many spectators come out to cheer the runners on. To hear so many people cheering for us as we ran it in was one of the most incredible moments of my life. There is just nothing like the support of the running community in Cincinnati. It's one of the reasons I've gotten addicted to running and races. There's no such thing as size or body shape, or worrying about what someone else is doing. Everyone cheers for everyone else and even when running with a friend and running buddy, it's still an incredibly individual sport.

I officially finished in 3:49:01 but Beth and I had stopped for 10 minutes at mile four to use the porta potties (which are soooo gross, just incase anyone was curious!) so we deducted 10 minutes off of our time, which would make it 3:39:01. Not bad for my first half. I'm a little discouraged because I walked so much of it and had I run more it would have been a faster time, but I still came in under four hours which is phenomenal!

What's next you ask?? Well, apparently one half marathon wasn't enough because I am officially in training for my next one! My friend Desiree and I are running the Air Force Half Marathon on September 17th, which is held at Wright Patt, the Air Force base in Dayton. I think Tym is going to train too which is awesome! I'm sooo excited to run with Des for sure and to run another half marathon. My goal is to cut some time off and to actually run a good chunk of it. I'm going to try and do some speed training workshops at Mojo and push myself even harder to overcome these mental blocks that keep telling me I can't do this, when I know I can.

I still can't believe after a year of training that one day came and went so quickly but I can't wait to train for the next one! I am officially addicted to running and races and am excited for what the future holds! Here's to four months of solid training with (hopefully!) no injuries and setbacks! Flying Pig Half Marathon is in the books. Bring it on Air Force Half!!!

Another note to self

Another note to self since I'm supposed to be studying for midterms:

--Update on half marathon!!

--Update on weight loss/changes to be made starting tomorrow

--Update on dating situation

--Update on plans for a "me" day this weekend

--Update on outcome of doctor's appointment and this stupid rash

--Update on plans for next half marathon in September!!!

That's all. Back to these awful Tests in Counseling notes. Ugh.

Pictures from the half marathon weekend!

I'm way too tired to write out an update about how the weekend went so I thought I would just share some pictures for now. I finished my very first half marathon in 3:49:01 officially but Beth and I deducted 10 minutes from that time because we stopped for ten minutes at mile four to use the porta potty so without that 10 minute stop it would have been a 3:39:01 finish. Not bad for my first half!

For now, here are pictures to enjoy!

Beth and I at the Spaghetti Factory on Friday night to carb load!

Denise and I after carb loading the Spaghetti Factory!

Beth and I at the expo on Saturday!

After our first half marathon! We were sore, cold, tired, and a hot mess but we finished!!

So proud to have finished my very first half marathon!! Bring on the Air Force Half in September!

A close up of my medal!!

Real update to come tomorrow night after I get some sleep.

The weekend I've been waiting a year for...

This is the weekend I've been waiting a year for! At this time last year, I was getting excited to head downtown on Sunday morning to watch Denise cross the finish line of her first full marathon. A year later, we've come full circle and she will run the full marathon while I run the half.

I never thought this day would come but it's finally here! I am confident (though nervous!) and ready. I have trained for a year for this. I am ready! I picked Beth up at the airport today (she's currently sleeping because she had a flight at 7 a.m. Tuscon time so she's exhausted) and then we had dinner with Denise to carb load. Tomorrow we head to the expo to pick up our numbers and our t-shirts and then Sunday is the big day!!

I'm headed to bed now myself because we're getting up early to watch some friends finish at the 10k and then heading to the expo from there. Plus, I've been training my body for the last week to sleep when it's tired and my eyes hurt so it's bedtime. I'm only still awake because I was finishing up some homework.

Have a great weekend and think of me bright and early Sunday morning as I run 13.1 miles!!

Dear work...

Dear work,
Thank you for bouncing my paycheck for the third time in a year and a half. Thank you for the fact that I now only have $29 to my name until you can correct this mistake and the fact that my car is on empty and I have to drive to work, school, and home tomorrow. Thank you for making me come home and cry because I am so pissed off that I spent $82 I didn't have at the oil change place not knowing my paycheck had bounced. And thank you most of all for knowing about this mistake since SATURDAY and not bothering to tell any of us that our checks were going to bounce.

Sincerely,
a pissed off employee who is not going to be fun to work with tomorrow

Five days to go...

So the half marathon is in five days. FIVE! How has a year of training come down to the home stretch already?!?

How am I feeling you ask? Physically, I'm so ready, minus this pesky rash which is once again spreading. I'm really hoping the doctor has some answers for me when the test results come back this week. Otherwise, my body is trained and ready for this race. I twisted my ankle last week but it's completely healed and feeling good. There is no reason physically that I can't run 13 miles on Sunday!

Mentally, I'm starting to stress a little. I haven't done more than nine miles during long runs so my mind is playing tricks on me and telling me I'm not ready, even though I know I am. I'm trying to be the strong one because I know Denise is freaking out a little more than I am about her whole marathon so I'm trying to stay upbeat for both of us. We're both ready. I know that for a fact. We've been training for a year and she's run THREE half marathons since running the full marathon at the Pig last year. She is so ready and she CAN do this!!

I knew that mentally this week was going to be tough. I'm a bundle of nerves, excitement, and fear but I KNOW I'm ready for this race. I have never wanted something so badly in my entire life. I CAN and WILL cross that finish line on Sunday morning! Now if only that pesky forecase would change to eliminate the rain. Then things would be perfect. T-minus 5 days and counting! Bring on the Flying Pig Half Marathon!!

Going with my gut on this one...

I'm long overdue for an update so I figure this will probably be a long entry.

First off: school. The "school year" is almost over but with it comes a whole new set of worries. I have to take a summer class over the summer which was supposed to be online but is now going to be five weeks during second session, twice a week. This is going to screw up me being able to work full time all summer long. I mean, my internship was going to start at the beginning of August anyway but I was still hoping to get close to 40 hours through the end of August. Instead, I'm going to be lucky if I get 30. Guess it'll get me prepared for next school year when I can only work three days a week due to my internship.

I'm getting excited but nervous about my internship. I'll be at a local junior high where the school district has cut back to just one counselor so she has already told me that I'm going to have more responsibility than normal since she'll be the only one in the building. I told her I'm okay with that because it'll give me more experience and I'll be able to better market myself once I graduate.

I started stressing about my internship today because I can only intern one and a half days a week for fall quarter because one of my classes falls in the middle of the day at one, which means having to leave my internship at noon in order to make it to class on time. I wish they'd change it and offer it at four like normal graduate classes, but whatever. I'll just deal with it. I sat and calculated and I should be fine on hours which is good. It's one less thing for me to stress about.

Second: doctor's appointment. I went to the doctor this week because my body started breaking out in my awful rash again. It doesn't itch and it doesn't hurt but it just keeps popping up. Well, the nurse practicioner looked at it and said it looked like the rash that's associated with both mono and strep so she tested me for both and both of the initial tests came back negative. She took a culture of one of the spots on my stomach and sent it off to be analyzed so I have a follow up appointment on Thursday to get the results. I don't know what's wrong with me but right now it's clearing up which is a good thing so we'll see what the results say this week.

Third: running! So the marathon is one week from TODAY! I can't believe that a year of training has come down to one week. This is a very slow paced week training wise. I only have to do two miles tomorrow and two miles Wednesday. I can't believe Denise, Beth, and I have made it through a year of training. I'm sooo excited to pick Beth up at the airport on Friday and then to cross that finish line together next Sunday. We made it!! I can't wait to put that 13.1 sticker on my car after the race is over!

Finally: the boy. We went on a second date last night which went so well, hence my all smiles entry from late last night. Well, today I woke up and I just don't feel right. I spent a lot of time in prayer at church this morning and I really feel like God is telling me no on this one. There are many red flags being raised for me, as much as I do enjoy spending time with him and talking to him. After several more conversations after our long heart to heart last week, I feel like we're just not on the same page and right now we're at two different places in our lives. I just honestly don't think it'll be fair of me to keep going out on dates with him when I know it just doesn't feel right.

I need someone who is spiritually going to be on my level, someone I can go to church with and pray with and go to Bible study with, someone who genuinely loves the Lord and wants to seek Him first in all we do and I just don't get that vibe from Don. I feel like he takes an interest in what I have to say about my volunteer work with my youth girls but I don't think he has any interest in the spiritual side of it, regardless of how much I bring it into conversation.

He's a fun person to be around, but right now, it just doesn't feel right. I don't want to disobey what I know God is telling me to do so I need to walk away now before either one of us gets hurt. I have talked to several friends about this who are spiritually grounded and I feel like this is the right decision for me to make. As much as it sucks in the moment to have to make this decision, I know God is going to bless it tremendously because I'm choosing to listen to where He is directing me instead of following my head and heart on this one. Now I just need to figure out how to have this conversation after telling him last night what a good time I had with him.

*sigh* Please pray for my heart in the upcoming week or two as I try to figure out how to best approach this situation and pray that God moves through me as I follow where He is directing me.