2:19 and Something

Yeah, so that would be me, about 20 minutes after finishing my first half-marathon. The picture is taken by my own camera phone, in OrangemanMike's car, on the way to get our celebratory eat on.

Don't I look happy? I was ecstatic.

The race was beautiful. It was also one of the hardest things I have ever done. When my trainer said that running was 90% mental, she knew what she was talking about. Because you can prepare all you want, but when it comes down to it, it's just you and the road and 13.1 miles stretching ahead of you.

That being said, the crowds were incredibly helpful during my quest for the finish line. Especially my friends and family in the crowds who had gotten up early to get to the race site, and had waited for me to run by them, only to walk to the next location and wait again. It was chilly yesterday if you weren't running.

There were stretches with no spectators (and I had chosen to run without my iPod) but even those miles felt good. The best feeling might have been at mile 10, when I made a left turn and saw the ocean, and knew that I was going to finish. (Or at mile 9, when I was offered Oreos, M&M's and Jelly Beans at the 'High Energy Station' and managed to find humor in my refusal.)

I ran the whole way. I beat my goal time. I actually sprinted across the finish line.

And when I was asked (by The Librarian) about a minute after I stopped running if I was going to run the NYC full marathon, I replied without hesitation.

"Oh yeah!"