Hello, Shiny Medal! I Did it!

I can now officially say I finished my very first Half-Marathon.

Thirteen point one freaking miles...done!

And you know, the extremely wonderful thing is that it wasn't as hard as I anticipated. Yes, ohmyword YES, it was a challenge. It was painful at times, it was tiring at times, the hills were insanely mean, BUT I overcame it all and completed it.

Here is my proof:

My beautiful shiny medal! Man, did I work hard for this.

My blood sugars were the hardest thing on marathon day. I woke up with a perfect number, had my normal breakfast, then, right before we were assembling in our wave group, I tested. Boom. Super high. I was fully pissed off and quickly bolused enough insulin to bring it down. Then, it was our turn to start, and I just ran.

I kept fully hydrated, and took water at each water stop. I tested again a few miles later, and my blood sugar had come down. I was feeling better.

It was clear to me that all my training fully prepared me to run the half marathon. I actually found running the 13.1 miles easier than my 12.5 training run. I think it may be because of all the Adrenaline. I absorbed all the energy from the other runners, and the charged atmosphere really fired me up. I love being around people, and this was all about that...on a grand scale! The name of my blog was absolutely apropos for marathon day! I was seriously running on insulin and adrenaline.

So, did I cry? I did start to tear up around mile 12 (maybe it was the Whitney Houston song that came on my iPod? I dunno...)...but, these tears were the kind that happen when you are overjoyed inside. And I was. I accomplished something very hard. I did something that took dedication, training, mental toughness, and physical endurance.

While running, I thought a lot about various things...so many things! One quote in particular kept rolling over in my brain:

       "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you."

I kept thinking about that, and it helped propel me onward. This half-marathon was challenging me in ways I didn't imagine I'd be challenged, and it was changing me in a wonderful way. Conquering this has shown me that there are no limits.

When Mark told me we were on mile 13, I was ready to burst. Could it really be that my legs had just carried me 13.1 miles?

We made our way to the tunnel going into PETCO Park, then ran in and crossed the finish line.

What a proud moment.

I did it. I really did. And if I can do it, you can too.