One foot in front of the other

Whoa, nellie......it's finished. The last several months have been dedicated to training for this.....and I crushed it! With a finish time of 3:45:21, I stomped on my goal of 4:00:00. What a fantastic accomplishment!

I arrived at the start line about 40 minutes before the horns blew. I was giddy with excitement and terrified of standing in the wrong place and being trampled by runners. I watched the marathon walkers start their race and watched in amazement at all of the shapes and sizes. After they began their journey, the half marathoners began to line up. I kept moving back, looking at the people around me, assessing whether they were walkers or runners. I finally found a good spot and got ready.

Just as the horn blew for the race to start, I got a bit emotional and had to fight back some tears.....I was really doing this.....really.....no turning back. In the front of my mind, I knew I could do it, but in the back....was this little voice.....saying.....hey, you.......your longest walk was 9 1/2 miles......are you sure you'll make it to 13.1? It took about 5 minutes for me to actually cross the start line....and then I was off, and never looked back.

The first 6 miles were a piece of cake - there was great music along the course....at one point I almost busted out the dance moves in front of one of the music tents....instead I just shook my bootie a little. We headed into Stanley Park at about mile 5, then at the half way point, I was ready to be out of the park and at mile 9 (also the biggest hill I've EVER walked up)....I was DONE with nature - I wanted OUT of the park and to look at something other than trees. Not that trees aren't great....but GEEZ - I'm walking a freakin' half marathon, give me something to look at! Mile 10 marked the point of my body starting to wear down - my hip flexors and back started hurting and all I wanted was to be on flat ground, heading toward the finish. Geoff was a fantastic trooper, standing in the rain, waiting for me at mile 11 - and it was just what I needed to get through the last two miles....a high five and a smack on the butt.

I'm convinced that the last mile was measured in some freaky Canadian length - it HAD to have been the longest mile I've ever walked.....but it was also the greatest feeling knowing that I was about to complete a huge goal.

A flood of emotions were happening after I crossed the finish line......first and foremost being - HOLY CRAP, I JUST FINISHED A HALF MARATHON! Next, realizing how much pain I was in - my feet were throbbing, and I had some shooting pains coming from my legs into my back.....and I was convinced I would wake up Monday morning and be paralyzed. As I was ushered through the chute to get my timing chip clipped off, a "blanket" wrapped around me, water, and then waited to get into the stadium (into the airlock, waited in a mantrap, and then into the stadium - very strange....like we were entering a spaceship), it was surreal. I had done it, 13.1 miles. An amazing feeling. I was asked by several people if I was now hooked.....um, let me think about that.....no. Not hooked. At all. Who knows - I may do another one, but for now, since I've mastered horizontal, I'm going to move on to the next challenge. Vertical. :-)