2:02 -ish

Well, folks, I successfully finished the Columbus Half Marathon in around 2:02.  (Depending on where you look it was either 2:02 or 2:03 - I prefer to round down!)  I made one brief pit stop to check out the quality of the portable restrooms and walked through a couple water stations so I wouldn't slosh water all over my face, but otherwise, I kept moving the whole time.  

It was a beautiful day in Columbus.  Really, really, really bone-chilling cold, but still beautiful.  (Shout out to my mom for the North Face gloves she gave me last Christmas - those babies really helped me out!) The course went through some of the big neighborhoods/areas in Columbus - Bexley, German Village, the arena district...At every turn there were people cheering on the runners.  I've never seen anything like it.  You couldn't go 5 feet without someone rooting you on.  It was a nice touch. Kudos for the city of Columbus for putting on such a nice race.

Around mile 10 I started thinking, "I'm never going to do this again," but I'm feeling better about the race today.  I have a new appreciation for full marathon runners.  I can't imagine running double what I ran yesterday...although that's what I said about half marathons a couple years ago...now it's time to pick another race to train for!

The most exciting weekend ever

Disclaimer: If you don't know me IRL, this might be the most uninteresting post ever. My apologies.

I expect this weekend to be awesome! Today I took a much needed vacation day to hang with my mom and indulge in some gluttonous food. (Most likely the Purple Parma from Melt and a Brownie Monster from Tommy's.) Why am I drowning myself in calories? Because I'm running my very first half-marathon this Sunday in Columbus. (Hooray!)

(Right before my first 5K - I didn't look nearly as tough afterwards)

This race has been a long time coming. After I ran my first 5K (The Lakewood Ambulance Chase) back in 2007 (after overcoming a very serious phobia of treadmills), I got hooked on running. I found a bunch of friends to run with in races - more for the sense of camaraderie and freebies than for competition.

(St. Malachi 5 mile race - circa 2008)

Sadly, my body isn't as into running as my head is, and after I started training to run a half-marathon last year, I suffered a pretty serious tendon injury in my left ankle. I could barely walk let alone run. What a bummer, right? But I'm a trooper and took time off and rehabbed by foot. I wore the uncomfortable orthotics my doctor gave me. I stuck to the treadmill. And when I felt ready, I began to train again. I hoped to be ready to run in the Cleveland (half) Marathon.

But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Again. This year, I injured my right ankle. (D'oh!) On the bright side of things, I now have matching walking boot casts, so I could dress up like some sort of robot for Halloween, but it was a really downer for my psyche.

(St. Malachi 2 miles race circa 2009 - I like to call this the "Eye of the Tiger" photo)

What helped me to get through my immobile periods was the support of my family, friends, and co-workers. I'm very fortunate to have so many fabulous people in my life who are willing to be supportive, even when I'm in bad spirits. (Special thanks to Mom and Jeff! Sorry for occasionally being an angry monster!)

(Hermes 10 Miler - 2009 - The Steak and Potato running team)

After my right ankle healed earlier this summer, I started training again. I think most people would have given up after having matching ankle injuries, but after coming so far with my training, I wasn't about to give up. And now here we are, more than 12 weeks and hundreds of miles later. Clearly, I haven't been given natural running ability, but I think my mental motivation has gotten me through my lack of physical ability. Every time I felt ready to quit, I remembered how sad I was when I couldn't walk or run, as well as how many people had been so supportive during my injuries, and that just motivated me to try that much harder to improve.

So I'm really looking forward to my half-marathon adventure in Columbus this Sunday. (As well as seeing some friends and eating some delicious grub. I <3 you, Columbus!) I'm not going to be breaking any records, but I will be accomplishing something that I've been working for and working towards for so long. My meat-a-tarian boyfriend will there to be rooting me on (and getting hypothermia - it's gonna be COLD!) and through some cool new technology, my chip timer on my shoe will be sending automatic updates on my progress out over the interwebs via Facebook and Twitter. (neat, huh?) Look for a post on my adventures in Columbus next week...I plan on going to so many fabulous vegetarian friendly restaurants!

(SELREC 5K 2009 - Crossing the finish line in my first race after my ankle injury)

P.S. If this is my last post ever, you can assume that I passed out on the course somewhere and got trampled by a woman with a jogging stroller.