From the official 1/2 Marathoner! [1:56]!

February 15th, 2009 I ran my first 1/2 Marathon!
The Mercedes Half in Birmingham, Alabama.
13.1 Baby! :D

Words can't even describe... It was absolutely AMAZING!!!

Here's my story:
The night before I didn't sleep at all.. I felt like a giddy kid on Christmas eve. I went to bed at 9 but was still tossing and turning at 12:30. Somehow I got up at 5, ate 2 pieces of toast and 2 cups of coffee and was picked up by my best friend who ran it with me. It was amazing.. I don't even know how to put it into words. There were sooo many people, it's just awesome to be around thousands of people who have the same passion for something as you do, you know? It was a pretty chilly 40 degrees, but when we lined up at the start line it felt like a perfect 72 degrees because of the body heat radiating from all the anxious runners. The course was really cool; we ran by the Alabama theatre, a bread factory that smelled like heaven, past the UAB dorms, through the famous '5 Points', by a golf course, and over a couple hills. I didn't stop or walk once! I also didn't take any water or gatorade because I was afraid of getting sick. I probably should have, and it probably would have helped, but I didn't want to risk everything I had been working for. The first 5 miles were the hardest, but after we passed #8 I was breathing fine with no cramps or anything, and it was at that point I knew I'd be able to finish it. The best part was the very end, after we passed mile 13 I looked at my friend Katie and said "c'mon girl!" and we sprinted the last .1 to the finish. It felt absolutely amazing to finish it strong. The crowd helped alot too, because we weren't allowed to have our ipods, which totally sucked because half the race was psychological. Our time was 1:56; 8:50 pace per mile!!!! :) I was pretty excited because my goal was to get it under 2 hours without walking. We got 2 shirts and a Mercedes medal for finishing. Then her parents took us out for breakfast to my most favorite restaurant in the universe (and pluto) : Cracker Barrel! We were about to eat a hole in the car on the way because we were ravonous and it took a good 15 minutes to get there! I talked the waiter into making chocolate chip pancakes even though they weren't on the menu, haha. We didn't even shower before, so we stank it up and ate like pigs. (Two biscuits, three chocolate chip pancakes, chocolate milk, and coffee) Best. breakfast. ever. Then I came back and took the longest shower of my life. The end. :)
I would definitely do it again! There's one in Nashville, TN in April that I reaaaallllly want to do, it's part of the Rock N Roll marathon tour thing. We'll see.
Have a fabulous rest of the weekend!
~CheetahGirl