We Did It!

I can happily report that a one Aileen O'Donnell and I completed our half marathon and came out on the other side alive and accomplished!

I'll walk you through the entire race-day weekend as it was one of the most exciting times in my life. Friday night Schock and I bar-hopped a little bit, which was probably not the best choice but it was fun anyway. I got to bed wayyy later than usual but it didn't seem to affect me too much over the course of the weekend. Saturday morning Aileen and I trekked to Cleveland to pick up our race packets and gear. We wandered the expo, bought some energy jelly beans (my new obsession), and then had a pretty unhealthy lunch. Whatever.

Later that night I prepared a nice dinner of white pasta and meat sauce. I am completely and utterly opposed to white pasta but I ate it anyway because Aileen said I was supposed to. Good call on her part, I think it helped. The I polished off an untold amount of oreos and went to bed. Oops.

The Sunday morning wake-up call came early: 4:50am to be exact. I got up, took a shower, got ready, and ate my usual power breakfast. 1/2 cup Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop organic vanilla protein powder, 1 abby-sized spoonful of organic, natural peanut butter, 1 organic banana, honey, and a splash of milk & a cup of coffee with Splenda and milk. I basically eat this every day and I love it. I now love it for so much more than taste- it is seriously the best fuel in the world. I also made a slice of toast which I ate on the way to Cleveland.

After breakfast I rushed to Aileen's so her wonderful Dad could drive us to the race. We jammed to some Eye of the Tiger on the way in and were feeling pretty pumped/nervous when we arrived. Mr. O'Donnell dropped us off and we scurried over to the longest bathroom lines EVER. We finally got to the starting line a little late and unstretched. We took off anyway though as we were already lingering around 7:10am.

Everything about the race was phenomenal. I have only been to Cleveland a handful of times so it was awesome to run through areas I had never seen. The people were incredible- I have never seen such an outpouring of support and enthusiasm. It was 7 o'clock on a Sunday and people were outside cheering for us when they didn't even know who we were! Crazy!

I felt energized and excited the entire time. I kept thinking I would "hit a wall" but I really never did. We ate our jelly beans around mile 5 then stopped at had Gu at mile 9. We took water and powerade at every station and stopped to stretch a few times. I'd say overall, we maybe walked about 500 yards the entire time because of slowing down at water stops. I felt a little dead from miles 10-11 and I blame that on running uphill and into the wind from 10-12. How rude! Once we got to mile 11 though I felt strong again and really kicked it in until the finish.

I think we definitely learned alot during this entire experience. This was the most difficult thing I have every accomplished (besides that whole college degree thing) and I am so proud of myself. I'm also so happy and proud for Aileen, for finishing/doing awesome, and coming up with the idea of running the race. It was incredible and I'm glad I got to do it with such a dear friend.

So, to sum things up: I didn't quit. I finally, FINALLY finished my training and ran the race. And, I'm hooked. This definitely will not be my last half- marathon and who knows, someday I might even go for a full...

I've Come A Long Way

So, yesterday marked ONE WEEK until the race! I am pleased and proud to say I successfully completed the last long training run: 10 miles. I think it was sore legs combined with a windy and cold morning but 10 was wayyyy more difficult than the 9 I ran last Monday. I made it though, in slightly under 2 hours, and that felt pretty darn good. My pace is embarassingly slow- if I cared about my pace. I never have and I probably never will so actually I'm not embarassed.

Quite the opposite, in fact. While I was running I tried to fill my head with positive thoughts to keep me going. The overwhelming notion was how truly far I have come as a person in just a few short years. This training program, and blog, started as sort of a joke back in February- a "can I really follow through with something?" sort-of-thing. It has ended up being so much more though. It has led me to the realization that I can accomplish difficult physical tasks and I am not a failure. I also realized, and this is perhaps the most stunning part, that I have grown up quite a bit. Four years ago I was lucky to wake up alive on a Sunday morning in the Spring thanks to man-made forces of debauchery, i.e. Greek Week. The same goes for 3 years ago and maybe even 2. Last year was a little more tame but not much. However, yesterday I woke up early, ate a healthy breakfast, and RAN 10 MILES. Who am I? an adult?! Yikes.

I am pretty freaking proud of myself for that. I survived college and have been elevated to some strange semi-responsible status a mere year later. Sure, I may have come to this conclusion without the half marathon but it would have been for a way lamer reason, like I can pay my bills on time with my own money. Borrring.

Instead, I laid the smack down on 10 miles of the towpath trail and I am therefore, a badass. A grown -up badass.

A grown-up badass who is going to (kind of) (definitely) dominate 13.1 miles next Sunday in Cleveland with her very first Ohio State friend.