Half Marathon - DONE!

Thumbs up at mile 8 - so far, so good?

Rachel from my Galloway pace group.

My girls - Erica & Nicole.

Will and me, post-race.

Did not sleep a wink last night, got up at 3:30 and downed a bottle of cold water. Felt so chilly when I crawled back into bed. Got up at 4:30 (temperature: 68, humidity 69%), had toast w/ pb and a banana, and prepared for the race. Carpooled downtown with Mark, Nicole and Justice, and got there with time to spare — picked up our chips, waited in line for the portolets (now, apparently pronounced "port-o-lays" which may be the French version?), jogged, and got into line. The first two miles were over two bridges and it wasn't too bad - I passed the 2 mile mark around 18 minutes. I continued running for the better part of the first 6 or 7 miles, seeing the clock hit 1:00 around mile 6. I had water at mile 4 and was super thirsty by the time I was able to get more at mile 8 (mile 6 was Powerade). The run was pretty - very shaded and nice, some onlookers as well. Heading back, around mile 7 Justice and Mark (Nicole's husband) were cheering us on outside of the Fox in Avondale. I spotted Justice in his green shirt right away. I was so happy to see them. A little bit later I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard "Caron!" and it was a friend, Jen, who I knew would be running the race but who I hadn't seen in awhile. So we stayed together for a few. I scarfed some orange and green Sport Beans twice but it's so hard to get the package open then chew and swallow while on the go. I didn't take the GU at mile 10 nor did I eat the Hammer Gel I'd brought with me. Mile 9 to 10 was definitely the hardest — it felt like an eternity.  Mile 11 was at the top of the River Walk and I definitely was walking at that point. I knew what came next. I whizzed down the winding part of the River Walk (my favorite part of the race!) and we were now in the home stretch - the sun glaring in our eyes (thank you, Nike hat). I felt like I was dragging. It was more of a shuffle but I tried to keep going. Mile 12 finally arrived and I knew I had just one more mile to go. I stopped to walk. I picked back up and made it to the end - somewhere around 2:16:30. (official time to come) The finish line was around a corner and I picked up the pace for that last .1 of a mile. I removed  my chip from my shoe, put on my first half marathon medal proudly and looked for my friends. I saw Justice and Mark immediately and needed water badly. I grabbed some, wolfed it down and smiled happily for a photo - so glad to be done. After a banana and another water I was happy. The weather rocked - it was 65 when we started, and probably 75 at most when we finished. All in all, a good day!