Well. I did it.

My first ever half marathon. For those who may not know, I am a runner. Well, I move my legs and somehow my body follows. I am not fast by any stretch of the imagination. But I can cover the distance.

Let me back up a bit. In 2006 I dedicated myself to get back to what makes me happy. Running. So my husband and I joined a gym, and I was on my way to building my mileage back up to what it had been before we had opened the coffee shop. I was working out 3-4 times a week and getting back in the swing of things, but wondering why I had this nagging pain in my side. Other symptoms made me miss lots of workouts and forced me to finally tell Mark about it, and make an appointment to see a doctor.

Turns out I had a cyst taking up residence inside my ovary. In addition, there was “something” in my uterus. And it wasn’t a baby. Yikes. Suddenly running wasn’t so important, but getting better was. I had two surgeries to remove the offending parties, and during the time I was not able to exercise, I missed running even more.

Once I was cleared to run, and at full 100% health (yay!) I went full speed ahead. I found a “beginner” running training plan that would help me build muscle and endurance once again. I did that for around 12 weeks, then I saw that there was a half marathon in March in Seabrook. That would be my goal race. The in-laws live there. It would be a nice excuse to get us out there to visit.

I began training for it in December. I would increase my mileage slowly over the course of 12 weeks. I missed only one long run when I was out with a cold. My long runs increased by a mile every week. Every week was a milestone. 5 miles. 6 miles. 7 miles. 8 miles! Then the dreaded double digits. wow. 10 miles. I had never done it before. Could I go that far? Yes I did. Then before I knew it the race was here.

We drove to Houston on Friday, with the race being on Sunday. Plenty of time to get acclimated to the humidity. Turns out.. it was not humid at all! The weather was perfect!

A friend and I ran together. We met up at the starting line, made our way to the back, and within minutes the gun went of and we were on our way!

The first mile was cool and windy. I almost lost my hat. In retrospect I should have let it fly, because it just sat on top of my head in a very unflattering way. I would not know this until after the race, when I would see the photos on the camera. Ouch. We did it in 12:45 not bad.. but I was worried we’d gone out too fast. That is my MO. Go out too fast, then gasp for air at the end. 12:45 felt good, but this was 13.1 miles. Could we hold that pace for 13.1 miles? Nope. But we would try.

Mile 2 came and went before we knew it. We were feeling great.. still on pace, and began to see the marathoners zoom past us coming from the other direction on the trail across the street. Man, the leaders were fast! Then we saw some half-marathoners. We knew the turnaround was up there somewhere. We rounded the corner and then we saw it. Waves! Water! It was amazing! What a view! I love the ocean. Well.. technically it was the bay. But for our purposes right then right there it was the ocean. We rejoiced and I’m certain we both had huge grins plastered on our faces when we saw the water. And.. the cookies! The aid station at the bay had cookies! I opted not to partake, as I did not want to toss them and see them again later. I just slurped down some water to go with my shot blok, and smiled at the bay. Just so you know, the beach is my “happy” place. It’s where my mind goes when faced with icky challenges. (like surgery, dental work, medical exams) I filed that image in my head for use later in the race. I would need it.

So we were feeling pretty good. Meredith and I had fun answering the trivia questions along the course. Who is Miss Piggy in love with? GAH! Kermit. Give us something we don’t know. Then another cardboard sign: Clear Lake Fitness Club wants you to succeed! Aww. Ok. That’s nice! Just plodding along happy in our thoughts. I had my ipod on low so we could converse. “brick hooouuuuse” She’s lucky I didn’t sing aloud.

Around mile 4 it struck. The knee pain. Ouch. I knew it would happen. It usually hits at mile 4 and lasts through mile 6. Run through it and it will go away. It did.

Around mile 5 or so, the aid station had paper towels! The sun had come out and boy were we sweaty. Those were nice. “Clear Lake Fitness Club Wants you to succeed!” I placed it in my back pocket to retrieve later. of course, later when I needed it it was gone! It had fallen out somewhere. I felt bad for littering, but it was not intentional so the guilt went away quickly.

When we neared the end of the first loop, I saw them. My Husband. His Brother. Their father. All clapping for me as I ran by. Mark was taking pictures. Meredith and I were cheering and smiling. (I think) I was so happy and proud that my in-laws would come support me like that. I have such a wonderful family. They would never doubt my ability to succeed. I am so lucky. HAH! It was the “Lucky Trail Half Marathon” after all!

Then it hit me. The smell. The race organizers were barbecuing our post-race lunch. The smell was overwhelming. Usually bbq would make a normal person’s mouth water. But no. I am not normal. I gagged. That’s my other MO. Gag at every little smell. I thought was I gonna throw up. But I put my hands in front of my nose and smelled my sweat. Much better. Imagine the beach. Imagine the beach. The bay is coming up again in just a few more miles.

One. More. Loop. We can do this. “Clear Lake Fitness Club wants you to succeed!” Around mile 9 I started to feel weak. My stomach was growling. My meager breakfast of half a bowl of oatmeal, a pancake, and a bite of banana was not enough! See, I have this problem with gagging at breakfast too. I did not choke down enough calories. Back at the aid station at the bay. I had an orange and saved the peel. Thank you Meredith for the brilliant idea. “Put the peel up to your nose when we pass the smelly bbq!” We stopped to stretch our quads. We must’ve looked pretty worn out because a volunteer rushed up to us and asked if we needed help. No we’re fine!

I really wanted to stop. But we’d come so far! If Meredith hadn’t been there I might have talked myself into quitting right there. My stomach was growling. My legs felt like they were gonna give out at any moment. I was running out of gas. My knees and hips were starting to hurt again. I felt a slight twinge in my abdomen. Yo! It was one of the surgery incisions reminding me it was there. It does that from time to time.“Clear Lake Fitness Club wants you to succeed!” Clear Lake Fitness Club can shove it.

Once we got into our groove it was smooth sailing. We felt good again. We were having fun! I was enjoying the trees. The people. The weather. It was amazing. Yes, it was a runner’s high. And it came at mile 12, when we passed a volunteer who yelled “You’re doing great! You won’t see me again! You have one more turn and you are DONE!” We wanted to cry. We both got teary. We confessed that we might cry at the finish line. From pain? From happiness? Maybe both.

Seeing the finish line was incredible. We tried to speed up.. but we just could not muster enough energy to sprint. I felt like I was smiling.. but in the pictures I look constipated. Oh, and the hat. It just sat on top of my head like the huge mesh trucker caps my junior high track coach used to wear. Coach Brown Style. Nice. Note to self: dual pony tails do not work with hats.

We crossed the finish line. The lady handed me my finisher’s medal. My first. I put that thing around my neck and wore it with pride.

YES!!! I finished. Without injury!

Yes, I was sore.

I was tired.

I was hungry.

But, I could not wipe that grin off my face.

I ran a half marathon.