Day 70 - I Made it

Everything about today was perfect...great weather, family and friends for support, bathroom visits out of the way early.  If you remember I had 4 goals:

1) Raise at least $1000 for Girls on the Run
2) Run the entire time
3) Cross the finish line sprinting with a smile on my face
4) Beat my 2010 half time of 2:10:44

I was well-prepared to run about 8 miles.  In fact, if the last 5 miles were as smooth, energetic and FLAT as the first couple, I would have done awesome, but that wasn't the case.

One of my good friends turned 30 today.  She suggested I dedicate a mile to her.  This morning I said I would do mile 9 in her honor knowing it was the end of a few miles uphill and that I'd only have a few more miles to go.  I ran all the way through mile 9 and the last 4 were not so good.

The hill that was in mile 9 can not be described unless you ran it.  I've run a few hills in my time, but this one was ridiculous.  I kept telling myself to keep those legs pumping and I'd be good.  I wanted to RUN that whole race.  At the top, I had to take a break and walk.

The last four miles followed in the same manor.  I'd run as long as I could and had to take a break to walk.  This course was TOUGH!!!    A friend from work met me with about 2 miles to go and ran in with me.  A much needed boost to help me finish.  So, here's how the goals went:

1) I raised $1,597 for Girls on the Run - mission accomplished!
2) I did NOT run the entire time :(
3) I did cross the finish line running faster than I had been for the previous 4 miles and was smiling because I was finally done
4) I ran 2:12:08 which was a minute and a half slower than my previous half

Overall, I'm totally proud of myself.  This was a challenging run and I'm glad I did it.  It has motivated me since after Christmas and given me something to work towards.  Husband did awesome in his first half - 1:42:14, but we knew that would happen!

We've got a few 5Ks planned and I'm going back to the 10K at the Klassic to attempt to beat my time from last year.  Thanks again to everyone who helped me meet my SoleMates fundraising goal.  The best part of the run today is that I helped sponsor 10 girls who otherwise wouldn't have been able to participate in Girls on the Run.