I came, I ran (13.1 miles), I didn't exactly conquer...but I did finish!

My friend Julie and I (along with some other of our friends) ran the Kentucky Derby 1/2 marathon this morning.

We opted not to take the shuttle which means we would have had to been out the door by 5:30 am so Todd drove us to the starting location at 6:30 instead.

It was a rainy morning, perfect representation for Louisville spring weather.

Here are Julie and I at the start line about 30 minutes before the race. Unfortunately Todd dropped us off before we saw the line of 15,000 runners lined up behind it so that we could get a picture.

It took a good 15-20 minutes after the gun to get everyone through the start line. We were some of the very last to start since we were in line for the potty. Figured it was better to start late and not have our time affected than have to stop mid-race. The line was completely gone. It was somewhere around 2-25 minutes after the gun.

With that many runners it was only expected to see some fun running attire. This group was running for some cause. One of the Elvis characters was pushing a stroller up and down the lines with a boom box.

I had the best cheering section ever. Todd's parents came down which was even more special since today was their anniversary and they did not have to spend it watching me run. I love you guys! They surprised me somewhere around 8-9 miles coming out of Churchill Downs with posters and lots of encouragement. I was starting to get really tired at that point and hearing Todd's voice over the crowd did my heart good. For those of you who have been to events where loud cheering is acceptable (or not on occasion) you know how his voice stands out. It was great. They met me again right before the finish line. I was so grateful for their support.

Julie and I ran together until 10 miles, after that I still had her in my sights for pacing (Can I just say she ROCKED it today??) until about 11.5. After that I hit my wall and thought if I took another step I would die. It was so frustrating wanting to move faster and not having my body listen. That last mile and 1/2 ruined every chance of me keeping my pace, which up to that point we were sticking to fairly well. It didn't just ruin it, it shattered it into a thousand pieces. I felt a little discouraged when I was trying so hard to keep running and a man walking passed me :) I was worried that if I started walking I wouldn't be able to start back up, so I kept to my snail pace.
When the finish line was FINALLY in view my body miraculously started working again. Funny how that works.

The first thing Fisher asked me when he saw my medal was "Did you win?!?" Although my time wasn't what I was hoping for I am so proud of myself for following through with this race and finishing it. Maybe, when my legs aren't so sore, and my body is not so tired, I might just think about doing this again.

I wanted to put this picture up to remind me how chubby my cheeks are. Maybe by the next race they will have shrunk a little :)
And Julie- I was so proud of you today! You rocked it. You also kicked my butt. Thanks for pushing me and convincing me to do this race. It was definitely worth it.
I also have decided that marathon runners are insane.