Just do it.

After months of burning lungs, pumping legs and mile upon mile of mental preparation, I accomplished what I set out to do five months ago - I finished my first half marathon! I ran it in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 38 seconds.

I was ready. I had been ready, and didn't know it. I think I could have done this race weeks ago, but I would have told you I couldn't have. I was so nervous that I was getting race day jitters two weeks before the freakin' race!

They say that running such a mental sport. You work through your day until your not mad about it anymore. You work through your problems until there are none. You work through your pain even though you wanted to stop five miles back. What kept me going was that I had been visualizing coming to the finish line and throwing my arms in the air. Just thinking about it on my long training runs would give me an adrenaline rush and send shivers down my skin. I'm not kidding! I had a physical reaction to my visualization that gave me the endurance to keep going. I would close my eyes and I could see it as though I was really there.

Yesterday, when I was more tired than I had ever been, I rounded the corner, and then I saw it. It was like I was seeing a mirage- it was almost not real. I was staring at my goal- my finish line- in the flesh. And then the adrenaline came.

I got the biggest surge of energy and sprinted so fast that it felt like I was floating towards the big blue Finish sign. I was flying past the people that had been in front of me the whole time, past the people who were too tired to finish strong. I kept thinking, "This is the moment you have been waiting for for! This is your moment! THIS IS YOUR MOMENT!!" I sprinted as fast as I could, crossing the finish line with my arms in the air claiming victory over the 13.1 miles of pavement I had just dominated, faster than I imagined I would ever run it. it felt SOOOO good! I had the biggest grin. I did this. By myself. Hours of running, in the early mornings and sometimes into the dark of night. I pushed myself to run a distance I once claimed I would never attempt.

Towards the end of my training, I was getting burned out. I was getting tired of running, especially my long runs. Setting out for epic two hour runs each weekend was getting old, especially when they all ended with the near vertical hill that my house is on. I kept saying, "This is my first and last half marathon. This is too time consuming. This is too blah blah blah." But you know what? It was worth it. The moment I ran through the finish line was worth every morning I could have slept in but didn't, every blister, ache and pain that my poor feet endured, and every night I missed out on drinking because I had to run the next day.

I feel more in control of my life than ever before. I can do anything I set out to do. And in the last five months, I proved that to myself. I already signed up for another race today, albeit a 5-miler. I hate not having something to work towards. And I do plan to do another half, perhaps later this year. Currently, I have no desire to do a full marathon. But I'm not going to say I'm never going to do one. That could always change.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I am running for my life :)