Half Marathon Recap

Well slap my ass and call me Sally, I survived my first half marathon!!!!!!  I still can’t believe I did it!  I went into the race with the mindset of just wanting to finish.  I had a goal to finish in 2 hours and 15 minutes which I felt would be a great start and enough to push myself a bit.  Well guess what!!??  I finished in 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 33 seconds!  I averaged a 9 minute and 40-some second mile.  I am in shock!  I did have the MapMyRun app on throughout the race so I had an idea of my splits but still, I just cannot believe it.  Going into the race I was nervous because my little hometown had just got pounded with 16 inches of snow a couple days before.  But the morning of the race it was 38 degrees, winds at 5-10 mph, and there was no rain (even though there was a 70% chance).  Originally I was hoping it would be warm out, but I think I did better in this weather because I sweat like a beast and the cool air really helped regulate things (mount up).  I was worried the running path would be icy or have snow in places, but the entire path and the roads connecting the paths were completely clear.  It was just glorious.  When the race started I had a lot of adrenalin pumping and I busted out like Lindsey Lohan escaping from rehab. 

My first 5 or so miles I ran in under 9 minutes per mile, which is too fast for me to maintain, so I had to drop it down a notch. 

I had my sweet playlist going and it really helped me truck along.  I seriously need music when I run otherwise I don’t do as well.  Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what kind of music it is, as long as I am digging it at the moment.  Fun Fact: In college when I started running I really liked the band Something Corporate.  They have a song called “Konstantine” that is REALLY long and REALLY slow, but I would listen to it every time I ran because I really liked it.  End of fun fact.

The route I ran was really nice.  It went along the river for the most part, winding through parks and a couple neighborhoods, a golf course, and then looped back around to end at the spot I started.  I was really surprised that no one around me walked…the entire race.  I really thought towards the end I would see some people walking but to my surprise everyone ran the race like a boss.  I wanted to walk a few times but the only times I did were when I grabbed water at the water stops.  I didn’t technically stop running, just slowed down enough to drink water.  I could not help but think of the Seinfeld episode when that dude running the NYC marathon grabs Kramer’s hot coffee instead of water and scorches himself.  I made sure to stay away from anyone holding a Styrofoam cup.

As I was nearing the end of the race I blasted my music, which was A$AP Rocky’s F*ckin Problems and that gave me the extra push I needed to finish.  I don’t know what it is about that song but I seriously feel like a boss when I hear it.  Makes me want to gold out my teeth, lower the Acura, add some spinners, and just roll through town REAL slow.  Maybe ghost ride the whip?

Anyway, the finish line was in near sight when I noticed my husband basically walking/galloping backwards so he could take pictures of me.  J  That totally made my day and helped me finish the race.  I just love him.  J 

When I crossed the finish line they announced my name which was pretty cool besides the fact that they pronounced my last name wrong.  Story of my life.  I immediately grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it like a mo fo.  I was so happy to be done, so happy I had finished, and so happy that I didn’t pass out along the way.  I have to say that my first half marathon was a success!  I say first because I might even do another one at the end of the summer.  I’ve got the itch!!!!!!

The only bad thing about the half marathon was the fact that I literally did not stop sweating until about 7pm that night.  No lie.  My family probably thinks I am going through menopause.  I probably stuck my head out of the sliding glass door of the deck about 100 times.  BOOFDA.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, all my family was in town that weekend so we all got together after the race for food and more food.  Here is a picture of all the grandchildren (and great grandchild) + Abby the pup, with my grandparents.   

I loved seeing my family and I was so happy we could all get together.  With our family being a little more spread out these days it’s rare when we are all in the same place at the same time.  I wish I could have stayed longer because the couple days I was in Minnesota just flew.  I can’t wait for us all to get together again and really hope it’s sooner than later. 

Also, my cousin Michael brought up the huge ass dog I was talking about in my last post, just like I predicted.  When talking about this a family member overheard us and said that the house we saw the dog at also had horses back then....almost made us second-guess ourselves but we still are certain that what we saw was a dog and not a horse.  That is our story and we are sticking to it!!!  And besides, why would they keep a horse in a cage on the side of their house???  Weird.

So, overall the weekend was a success.  We made it to Minnesota safely, I finished the half marathon, I replaced all the calories I burned with the delicious food my grandma made, I got to see ALL my cousins (on my mom’s side), Kamden was a very good boy all weekend, my muscles were only sore right after the race and a little the next day, and when we got back to Wisconsin it was 70 degrees and sunny.  We capped the weekend off with a few brews and some homemade nachos to celebrate Cinco de Mayo or as I like to call it, Cinco de Drinko!  Ole!

Welp, that’s all I have for now!

See ya later suckas!