One of the most memorable and amazing weeks of my life has come and gone in the blink of an eye. September 2nd was I day I will never forget. All the training, the tears, the pain, the struggle, the whining, the complaining, the food, the running, has all paid off because I am officially a half marathoner. My goal was to run/jog the entire time..no walking. Goal complete!

4:00 am came and I hauled myself out of bed. I struggled getting to sleep the night before. I was panicked that I wouldn’t wake up, and that I would miss the race. This caused me to toss and turn like the ocean. This was the first race I have done where we started in the dark. It took 20 minutes after the initial gun shot for my corral to start because this race had 17,000 people. At about 6:05, I was off.

The first 3 miles were magical..I am so corny right now, but I don’t know how else to put them. I was able to run through Disneyland and California Adventure, with hundreds of other people that shared the same passion for running and Disneyland. My only complain with these miles was the congestion of people. It was stop and go for almost the entire time, this was a hassle and a slow down.

Miles 3-7 were neutral. I started to get some stomach kinks at mile 7 due to the fact that I hadn’t used the bathroom prior to running, so I had to stop and let the gut beast out.

At mile 9 I was given a Gu shot..aka the TAR shot. It was chocolate flavored, so it tasted good…but was SO thick that I thought I was going to choke. I couldn’t eat it. At this mile I ran through Angels Stadium which made me feel like a BAMF.

Miles 10-13 were tough. I had to turn my brain off and chant the word, “run.” I was tired, and excited all at the same time. I finally made it to the finish line..and I might have cried. OK I cried. I was tired, I was excited, I was proud, and I was amazed. This was a moment I will cherish forever. I earned my first running medal and I couldn’t feel more proud.

So proud I wanted to wear it all day.

This thing is like solid gold. I felt like a king. The run was tough near the end, but if I could do it all over again I would. I’m sad that it’s over, but so glad that it happened! Thank you to everyone that wished me well before the run.

Q: Tell me something that you accomplished this past week!? A HALF MARATHON BABAY!

I never blogged about my last three long runs on my half marathon training schedule. I blogged about my 7miler, which still holds the title of best run I’ve ever had. The 8miler I had scheduled for the next week was tough. Mentally I was out of it, and the run was painful. I won’t elaborate much more than that, but I can assure you I looked something like this.

The 9 miler was better. I stopped worrying about my pace, and just let myself run. My time was a lot slower than my 7miler, but I finished without a struggle. The only complain I had was during the last mile. My knees started to bother me, but I can thank my 9hr work day for that. I looked more like this.

Slow and steady.

This what I would look like as an animation, with a cauliflower arm.

The 10miler I ran this past Sunday was the final long run before the half. I was worried. I have never hit the double digits and although it was only one mile further than the week before, I was nervous. Mentally I was psyching myself out. Finally I just went for it, and I felt great the entire run. EVEN with the ridiculous hills. Almost an entire 5miles of the run were uphill..ugh. It was a slower pace still, but I felt like THIS..

Yea I was pretty much flying. I did it, I ran 10miles without stopping.

This Sunday is the big day, I am running my first half marathon and I couldn’t be more excited. Be ready for some California based posts for the next few days! California here I come!

Q: Tell me something exciting you have recently accomplished!! It doesn’t have to be fitness related, tell me anything!