I finished the half marathon!!! whoo hooo! I was really pleased with the whole experience and I beat my goal time!!! Here is a picture before the race with my brother and mom. They decided to come down from Dallas to watch me run and the boyfriend was also there to watch me. I was awesome to have fans!
and after the race....

I just loved it. Should I sign up for one in April???

So a little recap of the 13.1 miles:
  • mile 1: very crowded and I was getting slightly emotional. I kept thinking about how I would feel when I finished, and that I would probably cry. I saw a group of 3 runners with the following shirts, "Cancer Survivor," "Running with My Dad who Survived Cancer," and "Running with a Cancer Survivor." Very moving. I also saw a woman with a tag saying "I run for everyone who hated gym class!"
  • I decided I would stalk the 4:30 marathon pacer (10:18) and then try to run faster at the end... but after 3 miles of stalking, I decided that I could run faster...
  • running faster lasted until about mile 9 and then BOOM marathon pacer guy is about to pass me... this is why you PACE yourself.
  • So miles 1-7 were all good, nothing too exciting. 3 girl friends from school running were in the full and just a little behind me. I got to see their boyfriends (on bikes) a few times so that was nice. I also saw the girls before the race which was great.
  • miles 8-9 were kinda slow for no real reason.. well I was tired. This is when the pace guy caught up to me.
  • the course split at mile 10 and then I picked back up my pace.
  • there were 2 HUGE hills, one at mile 11 and mile 12. I ran up the hills and then at the peak, I literally felt like I was in a dead stop I was so tired.. but then the downhill was there and I just kept running..
  • the finish was AWESOME! my really good friend and my roommate (also sisters) volunteered to hand out medals. So when I finished, they gave me my medal!
  • Also, I am really happy with my time!
Finish Time: 2:13:57 (10:13 pace)