First Half-Marathon is DONE!

Oh my goodness...yesterday was THE day! The day I had been training for for the last 4 months. The day that I honestly never thought would come. I ran my very first half marathon, The Woodlands Half. I had actually been debating NOT running it because of my ankle injury that I got a few weeks ago but me, being the stubborn lady that I am, knew that that was just not an option. I was going to run no matter what!!
It was cold, and windy but I put on my big girl panties and sucked it up. (For those of you that might not know, I'll let you in on a little secret...I HATE the cold)
I was really excited that I not only had my Bestie running with me but my mom was also running with me. They are both seasoned marathoners and I don't think they know just how much I look up to them and truly appreciate their guidance and support. I don't think I could have done it without them there with me!!
I had already run the course a month prior to the actual race on a training run so I was familiar with the route and knew I could go the distance. But that was all before my epic fall.
The first few miles were great. No pain, no problems. Then around mile 5-6 I knew that I was going to have issues. But I kept going...even if I had slowed down. Then it hit me about mile 10. I WAS IN PAIN. MASSIVE SHARP PAIN. I was is tears but I had to keep going. And I did. I finished the race in 2:40...10 minutes slower than my 2:30 goal. At first I was so upset with myself that I didn't achieve that time but the more and more I thought about it I realized that I had still done great considering my injury. And I know there will be plenty of other chances to improve my time once I get my ankle healed again.
After the Half and Full Marathons and 5K there was a Kid's 2K that my little man, my husband and I all ran together as a family. It was so awesome to see all the little ones having fun and running and Hunter had a great time. He was especially proud to receive his very own medal at the end. He decided that he needed to take it to Show-and-Tell tomorrow at school.
All in all it was a great experience. One that I will remember forever.