13.1

This weekend I ran my fourth half marathon.

That's 13.1 miles to be exact.

My first half was Charlotte's Thunder Road about 3 years ago. I finished somewhere around 2:50:00, and was about 60 lbs heavier. I remember crying at mile 10 because I couldn't believe I made it that far. Then because of the crying, I lost my breath. And the last 3 miles were HARD.

Second half was the High Country Half Marathon, where you begin at Kidd Brewer Stadium (ASU) and run up all these back roads all the way to Blowing Rock. I kid you not, uphill all the way. By this point I was at my goal weight. I don't have a clue how my finish time was, but if I were to guess it would probably be around 2:15:00. I remember falling to the ground at the finish line in tears because it hurt so bad.

Third half, my goal was to finish under 2:00:00. It was the Myrtle Beach Half. FLAT. No hills. My weight was still down below my goal, so I knew making the 2 hour mark was no problem. Until it was. The last 2 miles were running into some fierce wind. It slowed me down majorly. So I finished right around 2:03:00. Just 3 minutes over. I was a little bummed, but I was still able to improve my time.

All three of the above half marathons were between having Finn and Kellan.

Once I got clearance to exercise and had finished nursing Kellan, I began training again. I started off very slowly. 1 mile for a few days, then 1.5 miles. And I gradually built back up to long weekend runs of 8-9, 10-11, and so on. A few weeks before this fourth half marathon, I was back down (almost) to my pre-baby weight. This helped greatly to increase my speed. I'm still about 5-6 lbs heavier than I was at my very lightest, but I'm content to be where I am.

I have really worked hard to increase my speed and endurance so that I could finish under 2 hours on this half marathon. I've run approximately 3 times per week during the week, at about 4:30 am. Those morning runs are typically 3 miles, sometimes 4. Then on weekends I'd do a long run on Saturday and a 5 miler on Sunday. I've been averaging 85-100 miles a month. And on days I wasn't running, I was doing 40-60 minutes of "Insanity" videos. I'm telling you, it works.

I know that to beat 2 hours, your pace has to be faster than an average of 9:08 minutes/mile.

My comfy pace is about 9:15.

I also knew that the Davidson Half is hilly. Especially at mile 11.5 - right as your body is starting to fatigue. And by hilly I mean UP-hilly. So I knew I was going to have to speed through a lot of the miles in order to account for all the up-hills at the end.

I started to really get nervous 2 weeks out. Just thinking about how badly I wanted it.

Picked up my packet on Thursday. "Packet". It consisted of this:

Yes, a t-shirt and a lame number. Not even a really cool number.

The t-shirt might fit over my head if I'm lucky. I got a medium.

I think it was made for an 8 year old.

Friday I tried to hydrate-hydrate-hydrate.

Friday I also tried to eat very well. Lots of fruits and veggies and protein.

I also tried to get some good sleep.

I think I accomplished all of the above.

The morning of, I woke up at 5:30 and took a shower. I know that probably seems odd to shower before you go sweat. But I wanted to feel clean and fresh, and didn't want my hair looking all greasy in addition to the sweat. It's a thing. I know. I drank a cup of coffee, ate a banana with a bit of PB. If you're a runner, you know why you drink the coffee. Coffee works magic. It worked its magic for about an hour and a half.

Got to Davidson about 1/2 hour before gun. Frequented the porta-potties and walked around to warm my muscles. It was a little chilly. My stomach was just-a-turning. I mean, thank God for port-potties.

At the start line, I got in with the 2:00:00 pacers. They described the course and their plan for getting us across under 2 hours. I felt good, but nervous. There were a lot of us aiming for that time.

GUN.

Mile 1 was slightly downhill. I made an effort not to be an over-achiever and exhaust myself in mile 1, but also wanted to stay ahead of the pacers. I made mile 1 under 9:00. That was a good sign.

Every other mile was either right under 9:00 or right over. It really depended on the hills. And really the entire course was significantly hilly. However, there was one hill called Patrick Johnston (named after the road) that was the reason the Davidson Half is so difficult. You run down it at mile 1.5 and up it at 11.5. When I ran down it, I knew it was going to be tough going up. It was a short hill, but very steep. So I picked up the pace.

Lots of nice greenways, a few beautiful neighborhoods. A PGA tournament going on in one of them. Big leaderboards, men standing around with "quiet" signs. The golf people didn't seem to like the fact that we were running around their course...especially with all the cheering sections at each turn. Oh well.

At the turn-around (it was an out and back race), I had no idea where I actually stood. I figured right under an hour, but there was no timing sign. My watch just tells me by the mile, so I had no idea. But, about a minute after the turn-around came the 2 hour pacers. I was doing well!

At mile 7, for some reason, I had this wave of emotion come over me. I started to think about how much distance I had left to cover and how I couldn't wait to see my 3 favorite boys at the finish line. And then I started to think about my mom and how much she would love to have the ability I have to run...but even just to walk. I started to cry. And I remembered how losing your breath can destroy your race. So I choked it up and had to spend 30 seconds coaching myself to get my breath back to match the rhythm of my feet.

Back through the golf course, neighborhoods, and greenways.

And the looming 11.5 hill up ahead. I saw it. And in my head I said some words of encouragement. And I conquered it. I ran the whole thing. And although it slowed me down, it didn't stop me.

Even at the top of the hill, I told myself I could probably run a marathon (that's 26.2 miles). I felt good enough. Yes, I am signing up for a marathon.

Then at 12 miles, I decided I was crazy and that I would never run a marathon. I'm tired!

At 12.5ish miles, I heard the 2 hour pacers coming up behind me. They were yelling (encouragingly) at all the people running with them:

"ONLY 4 MORE MINUTES"

"PUMP YOUR ARMS"

"DON'T STOP"

"YOU'VE COME THIS FAR"

"GO FASTER!"

And I did all of those things. The last 0.2 miles were uphill. And as I saw the turn to the finish line, I saw my 3 favorite boys cheering me on. Pat was filming my run to the finish line, and Finn was shouting GO MOMMY, GO MOMMY! I suddenly had this spurt of energy to kick it into high gear.

And I crossed at 1:58:50.

UNDER 2 HOURS.

(Came in 11th in my age group)

And they handed me my medal.

Um, just an FYI...if you ever decide to run a race where you're giving finisher's medals. Put a dang ribbon on it so the finishers can WEAR it with pride. What is this little mini leather strap?

All day Saturday and Sunday my calves were tight. But I had no knee pain, and that's a wonderful thing. I am so proud of myself. I accomplished something many people only imagine or dream to. I don't have a "what's next" goal. I'm not trying to get my next one under 1:45:00. I'm not going to register for a full marathon. I'm just going to keep running, eat right, and stay healthy.

I'm doing these things not to be "skinny". I'm doing them to be a role model of health and wellness for my boys. I'm doing them so I can live a long healthy life, see my boys graduate college and get jobs. I want to watch them get married and have babies. I want to retire with my hubby at the beach. I want to travel. And I know to do these things I have to take care of ME.

And on another note, I found these two sleeping pictures in my phone. Wanted to share:

Kellan - how he naps:

On his belly, always has always will.

And he has to have a blanket scrunched underneath him.

Finn - how he sleeps:

I know. It freaks me out, too. But if you take his

"Pooh Blankie" off his face, he has a meltdown.

Who wouldn't take care of themselves to spend the rest of their lives with these two little pieces of perfection?

Oh, and October 1 I'm "running into" a running club at St. James.

Bring it!