This post is better late than never though.
Race morning, March 7th, in Orlando, was cold. Cold isn't the right word to describe it actually. It was freezing, frigid and borderline miserable. I woke up at 3 am after a relatively restless night, got ready, and headed to the lobby of the hotel at 3:45 with hundreds of others. We got to Epcot at early and eventually were taken on a mile walk (which wasn't counted in the 13.1, by the way, which, if you ask me, is totally unfair! haha) to the start line. I loved seeing everyone dressed up and starting to shed warmer layers. I don't know why they did it so early, considering how cold it was, but regardless...race time finally approached and I was just a ball of jittery nerves and excitement. Everytime a different corral started, there were fireworks and music and it was just an unreal experience. And then it was my turn...
Mile 1 passed by in a flash. So quick, I was shocked. It only took me about 13 minutes! Miles 2 & 3 were also pretty easy. I was feeling good and having fun. My 5k split time was 42 minutes and at that point I felt so powerful and like I could run forever (or at least for 10 more miles). I found a group that I was pacing myself with and just kept on truckin'. Things that were crazy/amazing to me: 1)LOVED LOVED LOVED the characters on the side of the road to take pictures with. I never stopped, but I still loved it. 2) People had the cutest sayings on shirts/costumes. Some of the most creative things ever! 3) SO MANY AMAZING WOMEN!
Mile 4 wasn't bad. Mile 5 sucked. I don't know why. Actually, I think I do--during Mile 5 we had to go up and down this annoying ditch by the Contemporary Resort. If I never see that underpass again, I'll be okay. Miles 6, 7, 8 and 9 were in Magic Kingdom and were just fun. Running through the castle was awesome, and I again was feeling amazing about the run. My 10K split time was 1:27, which is about the same as 5K, and I was running a consistent 13-14 minute mile. During mile 9, I started to realize that, oh my gosh, I really was going to finish this thing. It choked me up a little and I had to take some deep breaths and remember to focus!
Miles 10 and 11 were pretty boring and contained an on-ramp for the road. These two definitely felt the longest. Mile 12 was also extremely long, and again because I knew how close I was, I was feeling a lot of things. Emotional, excited, tired. I honestly felt like if I stopped, my feet wouldn't know what to do next. when I saw the sign for the last mile, as I ran into Epcot, I actually teared up a little! I didn't expect that! This last mile, inside of Epcot took it all out of me. It felt fast and actually shorter than the others, but I was just exhausted! When I passed the Mile 13 sign and headed toward the finish line, past the--get this--gospel choir!--and crossed the finish line with a time of 3:12:04!!!!
I cried, okay bawled, when I crossed, saw my mom and Michelle. Amazing. Got my medal and RAN MY FIRST HALF-MARATHON!!!!!
Round 2 in 2011?? We'll seeee!
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