One month after the half-marathon and I am only just finding time to write about it! As I said in my previous post, Our time was 2:30:16. My dad's half-marathon time from the race in November was about 1:55. (How embarrassing. I felt so bad for holding him back! Of course he's a sweetheart and said he just wanted to spend time with his favorite daughter. Sorry Lindsay, the truth hurts.)


I was thrilled with my time. Probably because I would have been thrilled to finish, let alone beat my goal. My goal was to beat my sister's November time, which was about 2:45. :) Can you tell there's a little sibling rivalry?


Anyway, back to the race. I was so nervous the night before. Joe and I have been married for about ten months now, and I don't think he's ever seen me so anxious. I was bouncing off the walls in a bad way. Usually a cuddle or a kiss from him calms me down, but at that time I wanted to scream "I'm freaking out! Don't touch me!" (Sorry, Joe!)
Reason 1: I found out that night that my race packet (by mistake) didn't include a time chip. Would they still let me race??
Reason 2: Long story short, Dad had registered us for the full marathon because the half was full. He was told by the event organizer that this was ok, and we would just have to tell the information table that morning we were only running the half. Still, that's worrisome!
Reason 3: I HAD NEVER RUN 13 MILES BEFORE. Me, the mile-hater, was about to voluntarily run 13!? What the heck was I thinking?


Needless to say, it took me a while to fall asleep that night. My alarm went off at 5am, and I rolled out of bed tired and scared. I made myself an egg and toast for breakfast and tried to drink as much water (not easy with a nervous stomach) as possible. It was dark and cold outside, which just added to my anxiety.


I jogged the mile distance from our apartment to the starting line. I was nervous, but felt better when I saw my dad waiting for me. We went to the information table and told them our plight, and also told them about my missing time chip. They gave me a replacement, thank the Lord!


We stretched, warmed up, and waited to be called. Once the time approached, we shuffled into the waiting crowd to start running. My heart was pounding with fear and excitement. I couldn't believe I was running for fun!


We started at an easy pace and pretty much kept it the entire run. SLO is very hilly, and there were a few hills that I didn't expect. One seemed to last forever, but that made running back down it that much sweeter. We only stopped for water, and once towards the end to use the restroom. It was a beautiful, overcast day. Perfectly cool for a long run. We ran through downtown SLO (eerie in the morning, very still and quiet), through the countryside, and through some beautiful neighborhoods.


Right around mile five, I thought to myself "Uh... Molly, what were you thinking?? I can't do this!". Thankfully, that was right around the time my husband had found a place to cheer us on. He jogged beside us for a few paces, asking how I was doing and encouraging me like crazy. :) (I told you he was the best!)


The rest of the time sort of melts together. It seemed like much longer than 2 and 1/2 hours, but it also went by quickly, if that makes sense? We were cheered on during the final stretch by my mom, my sister and brother-in-law and little niece, and my husband. It was a great feeling to be done, and to know that I had done it!


I would definitely consider doing another one, but not for a while! :)