13.1 = Done

Nike Women's Half Marathon - Crushed!

Anyone who is FB friends with me already knows this, but I think it's post worthy, on Sunday, me and 5 friends completed the Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC. And, it was an amazing experience.  In other news, we were not actually posting updates while we were running.  Nike did that for us.  :-)

I'll start by saying that I was somewhat strong armed into participating.  Everyone knows I enjoy a good workout. This is not news. Also running and I have become better friends over the years. We certainly aren't besties, but we aren't enemies like we used to be.  13.1 miles is a lot of running though.  More than I've ever done.

But this race was the first of its kind on the east coast and a portion of our race fees went to LLS, my charity partner for 2013.  The race was through DC and the course took you around the monuments.  I love DC and I've always wanted to run around Linc.  So, from the get, this one had appeal.

Really though, my FOMO (don't joke people, it's REAL) strong armed me into signing up for this race. See also: the finishers prize was a Tiffany necklace given to you by a soldier in a tux.  Ummm where do I sign?

Once we signed up, we weren't automatically in.  The selection was by lottery and we didn't know if we'd get in.  Well, we did. Last December, we were lucky, and I got an email saying that our team was in.  If you are thinking wow, that's not good luck, that's exactly what I was thinking. Yikes, It. Just. Got. Real.

I'm not one to back down from a challenge and once committed to something I do it.  So, I really had no choice.  With my eye on the little blue box and a guilt-free pasta dinner in DC the night before the race, training started in January.

And, readers, here's what I'll tell you...

1. The training wasn't horrible.  I did a mix of cross-training and running.  It wasn't so time consuming that I felt my life was dedicated to training. See also: we won the Super Bowl during this training time, so I was kinda busy.  You like how I work that in every chance I get? #stillnotold
2. Committing to this run in public (http://lifethoughtsquestionsanddreams.blogspot.com/2013/01/13.html) didn't afford me the opportunity to back out. So, knowing I had to do it helped motivate me.
3. I allowed myself to buy a few new pieces of workout apparel.  My 30% UA discount for the Nike Women's Half was well used.  And shopping always make me happy...even if it is for workout clothes and a new sports bra.
4. The team of girls I ran with, simply put, ROCKED.  We had a blast! So much so, that I'd do it again. That's right...I'd do it again.

As far as the race went, it was truly great. An amazing and super fun experience.  I will say that when we woke up at 5:00 am, I wasn't exactly thrilled to be awake and even less thrilled to be freezing my parts off waiting for the start.  But that quickly passed.

Once we got into our race corals, the magic happened.  We were standing in the early morning sun on Pennsylvania Avenue looking directly at the Capitol Building. Fun pump-up music was playing. We were surrounded by 14,999 other women and a few good men with the same goal in mind...finish this 13.1 together.  We raised over $6,000,000 for LLS.  That's right $6 million!!!  Runners had their inspiration for running plastered all over their bodies...we were running for different things and we were running for the same things.  So many of us were running for Boston. We were running for those affected by blood cancers. We were running for our mothers, sisters, brothers, friends, cousins or people we've never met.  We stood united listening to our National Anthem prepared to tackle a goal each of us had set months and months ago.  We were ready.

The start was slow because there were so many of us, but we plugged along dodging and weaving the crowds.  The signs along the entire race route, mostly made by men, (My faves- the first at about mile 4- read, "Do you believe in love at first sight or should I move to mile 12?" Another, "This is way better than match.com 15,000 hot girls to choose from.") were hysterical and totally entertaining. Our team had decided to split up if necessary as not to hold any of us back. About 4 miles in, me and my teammate were still side by side.  We didn't speak it, but mentally I think we both committed to finishing together. She, a seasoned marathoner, offered me words of encouragement, a couple of key check-ins and tips on going the distance. We celebrated each passing mile with smiles and a very spirited high-five.  We felt great and at about mile 8 we decided that we were going to air it out a bit about 1/2 a mile from the finish. We were finishing strong. We knew it.

And, that we did. We crossed the 12 mile marker knowing we crushed that race. When saw the finish line within eye-sight...it was still a 1/2 mile out (it looked a lot closer), and we turned it up a bit. We crossed the finish line with strength, determination and huge smiles!! It was a blast!!!

Really nice swag for this one!

We felt great! We felt successful, accomplished, empowered, loved and prideful.  We celebrated with our team, shared memories, feelings and funny sign sightings.  We have a common bond that we will always share.  A feeling of accomplishment and pride that we made history that day. It will be forever with us.  We then enjoyed the rest of the day in DC....sharing a few beers and a burger.  Girls Rule! I'm just sayin'!! 

Our ROCKING Team minus my sis and her bestie

I highly recommend this race to anyone who even has an inkling of wanting to do it.  Know you can do it. Know you will have the support of over 15,000 other women and you, too, will crush it.  Know that little blue box can be yours.  A well-deserved and well-earned memento that will remind you and others that you are a dedicated athlete with the perseverance to finish something you put your mind to. It's one of the best feelings ever.

Fun. Determination. Success. Happiness.

Join us next year, won't you?

xo~