I just ran my first half marathon! I am saying it's my "first" since I might do another, although not for awhile. I don't think I trained as well as I could have (hard to find time with two littles and one of whom is nursing and doesn't like to take a bottle!)
I am so proud of what I did though, even though I was exhausted, and there were periods where I had to walk due to congestion, and I had to stop to pee because I had a nervous bladder and wasn't able to pee before the race began. When it got to the point where with every step all I could think of was having to go to the bathroom, I knew I had to stop. Thankfully I made it to mile 6 before it was all consuming.
As I was running the race, I was thinking of the things I normally do - Tito and the kids, what I was actually doing, especially with a heart condition, and having suffered 4 minor heart attacks. How awesome it was that I was running 13.1 miles...not to mention it was 4 1/2 months after giving birth via c-section. This half was something I actually had said I would never do and that I thought was "crazy". Well, now I'm on the crazy train, because I not only did it but I'm thinking of doing it again!
At about mile 9 I got really tired. I was dragging and basically I don't think I was running any faster than I could have walked. And then a man passed me who only had one leg and the other had a spring/running foot attached. And I thought, "I can do this...this guy is inspiring me." And then a little while later, when I passed some people who had shirts on that said they were running for friends and family members who had passed away from cancer, I remember thinking that everyone participating had their own reasons for doing it. My reasons seemed simple - to prove to myself that my body was able to do it after having Kawasaki Disease and being left with coronary aneurysms. To prove that I could do it so I could tell my children what I'd done and hopefully inspire them to someday do the same, or at least be active. And to prove to my husband and myself that I was dedicated to being in better shape so I'm around for him and the kids for a LONG time.
So I finished...and it was hard. And at one point I remember thinking that it was the hardest thing I'd ever done, even harder than having my kids via c-section and the recovery. The bonus is that recovery after a c-section is weeks, whereas after a race it's a few days. :) I struggled through the last two miles. I think part of why it was hard was that I didn't know where I was going, and I have a hard time judging how long I've got left if I don't know where I'm going. And I had chosen not to wear my GPS that tells me mileage. (Bad decision!)
Overall coolest part of the course was running through the I-90 tunnel...I took off my earphones to memorize the sound of thousands of feet going through the tunnel...amazing.
Here's some photos from the day:
Before we started...
My running club...we're doing jazz hands... :)
Before the race
You can't see it but this guy ran the whole marathon (26.2 miles!) juggling!
At the start!
Running through the I-90 tunnel...so cool!
Rounding the corner back into Seattle
Finishers (minus a couple of people who hadn't finished yet!)
I am so proud of what I did though, even though I was exhausted, and there were periods where I had to walk due to congestion, and I had to stop to pee because I had a nervous bladder and wasn't able to pee before the race began. When it got to the point where with every step all I could think of was having to go to the bathroom, I knew I had to stop. Thankfully I made it to mile 6 before it was all consuming.
As I was running the race, I was thinking of the things I normally do - Tito and the kids, what I was actually doing, especially with a heart condition, and having suffered 4 minor heart attacks. How awesome it was that I was running 13.1 miles...not to mention it was 4 1/2 months after giving birth via c-section. This half was something I actually had said I would never do and that I thought was "crazy". Well, now I'm on the crazy train, because I not only did it but I'm thinking of doing it again!
At about mile 9 I got really tired. I was dragging and basically I don't think I was running any faster than I could have walked. And then a man passed me who only had one leg and the other had a spring/running foot attached. And I thought, "I can do this...this guy is inspiring me." And then a little while later, when I passed some people who had shirts on that said they were running for friends and family members who had passed away from cancer, I remember thinking that everyone participating had their own reasons for doing it. My reasons seemed simple - to prove to myself that my body was able to do it after having Kawasaki Disease and being left with coronary aneurysms. To prove that I could do it so I could tell my children what I'd done and hopefully inspire them to someday do the same, or at least be active. And to prove to my husband and myself that I was dedicated to being in better shape so I'm around for him and the kids for a LONG time.
So I finished...and it was hard. And at one point I remember thinking that it was the hardest thing I'd ever done, even harder than having my kids via c-section and the recovery. The bonus is that recovery after a c-section is weeks, whereas after a race it's a few days. :) I struggled through the last two miles. I think part of why it was hard was that I didn't know where I was going, and I have a hard time judging how long I've got left if I don't know where I'm going. And I had chosen not to wear my GPS that tells me mileage. (Bad decision!)
Overall coolest part of the course was running through the I-90 tunnel...I took off my earphones to memorize the sound of thousands of feet going through the tunnel...amazing.
Here's some photos from the day:
Before we started...
My running club...we're doing jazz hands... :)
Before the race
You can't see it but this guy ran the whole marathon (26.2 miles!) juggling!
At the start!
Running through the I-90 tunnel...so cool!
Rounding the corner back into Seattle
Finishers (minus a couple of people who hadn't finished yet!)
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