No big deal - just did a 1/2 marathon...

It was pitch black when we left the comfort of home on Sunday morning at 4:30 am to pick-up my co-racer Kellyann. Arriving at the OC Fair Grounds in plenty of time, we (Eric, Craig, Kellyann & I) rode the 5am shuttle to the race start. As we milled about, making sure to use the porta-potty before the lines formed, the reality of the day set it... 13.1 miles is a LONG way to go!

Kellyann and I have been walking together since our oldest girls were in Kindergarten, but this was the first time we took on a big challenge. Yes, we'd walked 3 times a week for years, averaging about 5 miles each day... but 13.1 was a daunting task! We listened to Eric's advice and had proper shoes, socks, inserts for the shoes, hydration, and protein. We'd also timed ourselves individually to make sure that we could do the course in the 3.5 hours limit. At last check I was 15 minutes over, and this was NOT acceptable! So we settled on a strategy of walking for 9 minutes and running for 1 minute, bringing a stopwatch with us to make sure we didn't over do it. We also took advantage of hills and ran down them, even if that meant running before we got to 9 minutes.

How'd we do? Well, our strategy paid off! We finished the course in 2 hours and 57 minutes and we each have a medal to prove it! Eric finished the course in just over 2hours as did our friend Craig.

Soreness set in almost immediately and peeling ourselves out of the car was a bit of a challenge. But today is Wednesday and I've already played softball, done a 3-mile walk, and I'm ready for the final practice Coaching my little soccer team tonight. Life is good! But the best part is the elation at knowing the 1/2 marathon was more than possible, it's DONE! My knee's survived with plenty of icing and I'll live to walk another race... maybe the Rock 'n Roll 1/2 in Phoenix in January... it could happen!

This weekend I'm traveling with Taylor's Girl Scout Troop to San Fransisco to "bridge them to Cadette's" by walking over the Golden Gate Bridge! Sammie and Eric will have a blast together too as they're going to Disneyland and Sammie will compete in her first soccer tournament. Go Soccer Stars!!!