Run Like a Diva

Last spring I saw posts on Facebook from friends that had run all kinds of races.  It was an inspiration to me to get off my duff and do something.  I took the plunge and registered for the Diva Half Marathon.  13.1 miles was a bit daunting, but I had a few months to train.  So after a little research I came up with a regime to follow to get myself ready.

Fast forward to September 13 at 5:15am.  It was chilly and raining and I was on my way to the race.  Thankfully it quit raining about the time that I pulled into the field for parking.  I followed the crowd to the table where we checked our bags.  After dropping things off I headed for the port-a-johns.  The lines were getting longer and longer.  

The race kicked off at 7:30am.  I was in the 3rd wave, so my time actually began about 10 minutes later.

Here I am waiting to take off.  It was COLD.  I was ready to get going to warm up.

Here is the arch we ran under to start our times.

My goal was to finish in 2 1/2 hours.  Up to that morning I had never gone more than 11 miles.  Thankfully on race day there is a bit of adrenaline that helps push you to the end.  Unfortunately at about mile 8 I had to stop at the port-a-johns for a quick break.  Thankfully it didn't set me back too much.  I had a pretty good pace through the whole race - better than in training.

I had worked up some pretty good calluses on my toes during training, but my piggies were hurting a bit in the last few miles.  Walking from the finish to get my bag was pretty painful.  My body was trying to figure out how to recover from it all.  But I had done it!!!!!

Here is my reward!  And it was totally worth it!

So later that day Amber asked when my next race would be.  I told her I doubted I'd do another in the spring because we may not have good enough weather to train in this winter.  So I'll do the Apple Blossom 10K and then do another long race in the fall.  13.1 miles wasn't easy, but there is something invigorating about it all.  I'll definitely be doing more!!!

And to help things even more, my good friend Lisa asked if I would help her train.  I should have a running buddy for next year!!!  Yay!!!