13.1

Today I ran the Carrabba's Half Marathon. I'm very glad I did it but I'm even more glad it's over!

When I checked with Paul about signing up for the race a few months ago his only comment was "remember you're not in your 20s anymore." Gee, thanks for the reminder. Perhaps my physical condition is deteriorating as I age, but I was more worried about the heat. I've run a half marathon before and even a full marathon...but those were 4 and 5 years ago and in January and February. You must be crazy to run any further than 3 miles in south Texas during the month of June, July or August....but I AM CRAZY. I almost gave up on the idea 7 weeks ago when Paul ruptured his Achilles. Training for it became a new challenge because Paul couldn't really care for Natalie by himself since he is on crutches. I was only running 3 days a week (to save my poor, old-timer knees). On two of those days my runs were very short...maybe 3-4 miles. It was the long run each weekend that was most challenging to accomplish with Paul on crutches. For most of the longish runs, I got up as early as possible on Saturday mornings...fed Natalie and ran as fast and far as I could until Paul called and said she was awake again. Then I headed home! I missed a few of my long runs due to Paul's surgery and extreme sleep deprivation (I couldn't drag myself out of bed) but considering all that was going on...I did the best I could to prepare!

Specifically about the race.....Many of my fellow runners today were running a relay....dividing the half marathon distance into 4 pieces. I decided I needed to run the whole thing....ALONE. I really wanted to run the entire distance. I was originally going to run with a friend but she is pregnant now and well, obviously running in the heat for 3 hours is NOT a good idea if you are preggo. Soooo.... I was going it alone. I was pretty nervous about the race....I hadn't run this far since February 2006 when Paul and I ran the Austin Marathon. The first lap of the race was the longest section (3.75 miles). I decided not to carry my phone and didn't wear a watch and so I didn't have any way to keep time. I was SURE I had been running at least an hour and must be about halfway done with the whole thing when I ran under the clock after the first lap and saw I had only been running for 32 minutes...ugh! All I could think was...I will NEVER make it. The trails we ran on were shady and flat. Much flatter than I expected! Phew! Without the shade...I really might not have made it. Mentally the race was tougher than I expected but physically not as bad as I thought it might be. Does that make any sense? Anyway...I walked quite a bit during my final lap and ended with a time of 2:10:56. I was pretty happy with my time. It was slower than I've run those distances before...but I've never tired to run that far in that kind of heat before. The world was spinning after I crossed the finish line but a nice gentleman let me sit on his cooler and get my bearings. After some water and food I was more than ready to head home and get a shower! The only thing that made me sad was to be alone at the "after party". Paul wanted so much to come...but I convinced him that being on crutches in that heat and having to drag a two year old along would just be disastrous. Gigi sweetly kept Natalie from early morning until lunchtime when I finally made it back to pick her up. Thank you so much Paul and Gigi for taking such good care of the girls so that I could spend the morning running this race!

So....I HATE this photo...but it is the only one I have....taken at 5:30 am in my living room before I left for the race. I know...you are disappointed not to see any action shots...but those wouldn't have been any prettier 'cause I'm pretty sure I was red or some shade of purple the entire run.