I ran a marathon. May 17th, 2009 will now forever be a milestone in my life. The weather was perfect. I ran the first half in just under 2 hours, which was 6.5 minutes faster than my half marathon time in San Francisco last Fall. I didn’t mean to do that, but it was a nice bonus. I slowed down in the second half, even though I was feeling pretty good, because I was entering new territory for myself. At mile 21, my right calf muscle was killing me, and my left foot was hurting too. Rather than risk further injury, I started walking, but I walked as fast as I could manage. I walked miles 22-26, and then ran the last .2 miles on the final stretch. Finished in 4:49:59. I didn’t think I was going to get emotional, but when I turned that last corner and started running again, I was wiping away tears all the way across the finish line. I’ve gotta say I’m pretty proud of myself and how far I’ve come this last year. So will I do another? Not planning on it right now, but you never know. But I’m glad I ran this one. I’ll definitely run some more half marathons. I already have my eye on one in September, as well as a 10K trail race in August. So the running will continue to be a big part of my life. Here’s a photo that Amy took at the finish line.
