...and then I found $5.

As we all know, I didn’t train properly for Saturday’s 1/2 marathon. I had all intentions of doing so when I signed up, but life got in the way. I had originally wanted to finish in 1:55. A 12 minute difference than my previous (and only) half marathon in Philly, 2010. I hadn’t really trained for that one either, so I thought it was something I could do.

As the weeks and months went by without doing my long runs, I knew 1:55 was out of the question, but I still wanted to beat my Philly time of 2:07. I had no strategy and was hoping for the best. 

Saturday morning came quickly, and off to DC we went. The race started. The course was a lot more hilly then I was anticipating. The weather was perfect. I started out fast (rookie mistake), ended slow…but throughout the entire race I was ahead of where I thought I would have been. Maybe thanks to my friends who came out to cheer me on! The last couple of miles, however, were brutal. I had zero energy. Not much crowd support, which really makes a difference. (All those people are watching you—you have to keep going!) I almost barfed twice—too much water and Gatorade along the way, I think. I told myself I was never going to do this again. I was about to stop and walk around miles 11 and 12, but I had run 13 miles 2 weekends before so I knew I could do it. There would be no selling myself short, so onward I went. 

I crossed the finish line at 2:03. 4 minutes faster than my previous half! Although it wasn’t as good as I was originally hoping for, it was an improvement nonetheless—considering I barely trained.

Next time (and yes, there will be a next time) I will train and I will finish a half marathon in under 2 hours. 

I also want to say congratulations to my sister who finished her first half marathon on Saturday. Good job Kristie!

Personal achievements aside, I want to make a note of how great the Rock and Roll Marathon Series people did at putting together the race. Yes, the packet pickup was a tad inconvenient, but I don’t know what else could have been done. That’s what happens when a race is on a Saturday I guess. Day of everything was so smooth, so organized. I was really impressed and will definitely register again if they choose to come back to DC. Kudos to you, RnR!

Now, some photos (but definitely not the professional ones—woof!):

Me and my sister pre-race

Photo my mom snapped of me about to cross the finish line

Finisher!

Me and sister, post race

Congratulations to all of you other Tumblrs who ran too!

Now, time to train for the 10 miler in April. Oy.