I just ran my first HALF MARATHON!

I just officially survived my first 13.1 mile run!!!

 That's a half marathon in

2 hours 29 minutes and 52 seconds!!

Five months ago I was a smoker who didn't exercise and couldn't run more than a half mile without having a severe asthma attack and now I am a runner who finishes half marathons! 

When I lined up for the race I was nervous. Unkown situations always make me anxious and I had never run that much in my entire life. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to finish or that I'd give up and walk most of it or that I'd end up realizing I was SO out of shape I'd be in the first medical station they had along the race. I had been resting the past few weeks because of my injury and I was afraid that might flare up again too (luckily it didn't at all!). I was so nervous that I woke up at 3am the morning of the race and couldn't go back to sleep!

But...

I finished it and I walked maybe a total of 5 minutes the entire race.

As we lined up in our corrals and waited for the gun to go off, I began to look around at the people near me and I realized just how far I have come. I was standing next to a lot of people who were championing their health and now I was one of those people too. 

 

That's me in my new shirt, very excited after the race! 

One of the best parts of the race (other than the finish line) was when Katie, Sam and Martin (current and former roomies) and Sam's friend Lindsay came out to cheer me on. Sam had told me that he would be right after mile 5 on the sideline. It honestly kept me going through those first couple of miles where it already felt really tiring. As I rounded the corner on mile 5, I see Martin peering out above the crowd (the boy is tall) and then Lindsay and Sam appeared with a sign that said "Keychain this sign is for you" haha... Martin and Sam call me keychain cause I'm so small I could "fit on a keychain." I didn't see Katie sadly, but I found out later that she was hiding next to the boys.

My friends are amazing... they totally made my day :)

When I hit mile 9, my feet started going numb and my legs were getting sore, still I kept pushing through and by the time I crossed mile 12, tears began filling my eyes...

I hit the last leg of the race and as the crowd's cheering got louder and louder I felt so completely overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. I was so proud of myself. I had become that girl... you know... one who actually cares about herself... one who holds her head up high... one who believes in herself enough to sign up for a half marathon and actually finishes it 30 minutes before her estimated time!

I crossed the finish line and I cried... I cried glorious tears of joy... because I have overcome so much

and now running a half marathon was another thing I could add to that list.

 I did it!