the half marathon

When I signed up to ran I hoped to run in 2:20.  I thought that was pushing myself, as I was running an 11 minute mile and needed to take occasional walk breaks so I was averaging more like an 11:30 min/mile.  In my training I had gotten to where I was running faster than 11 minute miles but when I run more than a few miles I have to add walk breaks and those make me average about 11 min/mile.  We went down Saturday to pick up my number and hang out at the expo.  On our way home I took a good look at the bridge and got really upset, thinking there's no way I can run that.    I rode downtown yesterday morning (at 5:30) with a couple of girls from the gym and we hung out before the race.  They are both quite a bit faster than I am so they were seeded in a different start group.  I love the energy surrounding a big race - there were over 19,000 people registered for all the different events, so there was a big crowd.  It was cold (28* when I left the house and sunrise wasn't until like 7:45) but I was dressed appropriately.  People actually overdress and along the route strip down...so you see all sorts of clothes, hats, and gloves along the run.  The clothing is collected & donated to a homeless shelter after the race, so that's kinda cool.   Anyway, I was feeling good - the start was slow because it was really crowded but I hit the first mile marker in less than 10 minutes.  Then came the bridge.  The ramp up to it and the climb up were hard, but I kept running.  I was slower my 2nd & 3rd miles, but they were mostly uphill and it was still pretty crowded.  The view crossing the bridge was AMAZING.  No matter what you think of Detroit with the sunrise reflecting off the river the skyline was gorgeous.    Once we crossed over into Canada we had a wide road so the crowd thinned out.  Miles 4,5,and 6 were pretty easy and I hadn't taken a walk break yet.  I finally decided that I should walk for a minute just to save some energy so I walked through the next water station.  Got to the tunnel...that was HARD.  It is only 2 lanes so it was crowded again and it was HOT!  I struggled through the tunnel but finished my "underwater mile" in right at 11 minutes.    When I got out of the tunnel I was watching for David because he was planning to be there but I didn't see him.  I got my cell phone out of my belt & called him, but he hadn't gotten there yet.  He thought the race started at 7:30 and knew I wouldn't "start" until about 15 minutes after the official start time.  It actually started at 7:15 so I started around 7:30 (we didn't communicate about that...I told him 7:30 and he thought it was the race but I meant when I would probably start).  So he hadn't gotten to the tunnel yet and had to find another place to go watch.    Shortly after I heard someone yell "go kaci" but I didn't know them.  Then I remembered our names are printed on our bibs!  A couple of other times people yelled for me...that was pretty cool that they didn't know me but yelled for me anyway.  This is the first race I've run where they put your name on your bib.  I was wearing a GT shirt as my outer layer & a couple of times people yelled "Georgia Tech" or "Yellow Jackets" too.  I love good crowd support!    Anyway, I got to the water station between 11 & 12 miles.  By then I had decided I should walk through every water station, to give myself a little break and to make it easier to drink.  About the time I threw my cup down I saw David, with the camera, and I was WALKING!  I quickly started running again and then he brought the kids to the curb so I could give them hugs & high fives, then I went on.    I passed the 12 mile marker & was getting really tired, but I was determined to run to the finish line.  I got there finally...that last half mile seemed to last forever!  But I finished...in 2:08:49!    I am pleased with my run.  I am really sore today but it's totally worth it.  I have said I want to run a marathon and I'll admit yesterday's race has me questioning that dream.  I'll admit...I don't know if I can handle twice the distance I did yesterday.  I definitely have a long way to go to get there.