I wake up at 6 a.m. And I'm so nervous and tired because I didn't sleep that well. Prom was going on in our hotel last night and kids were running up and down the hall at all hours (Well, I don't really know what time it was because I went to bed at 9 p.m., so everything seems like all hours). Plus dreaming that I got lost during the race didn't help my nerves!

As I head over to the Blue Cross Arena, I plan to get a bagel with peanut butter at Tim Horton's but it's closed! I can't believe it. There goes my plan for breakfast. Luckily I'm able to snag a banana at packet pickup. I get my race number and shirt. I'm so nervous and slightly sick to my stomach. But then my parents, Jim and his parents are there so I feel a bit better.

With about ten minutes to race time, we head out to the start line. It's pretty chilly out. But before I know it, the countdown to race time begins. Since I'm slow and in the back of the pack, it's kind of a funny start. We start off with a slow, zombie-like walk almost. It looks like a sea of slow moving people. But finally, we get up to the start line and there's enough space for us to start to jog. And we're off. I can't believe I'm actually running a half marathon right now. Wow!

The first three miles go by really quickly. I have a great pace, and I feel awesome. As the race passes in front of the Susan B. Anthony House, there are tons of people dressed up in period clothing, cheering for us. Some have musical instruments. It's awesome. It really keeps you energized to have people cheering along the way.

At mile two and a half, I see my family, Jim and his parents cheering for me. That gives me the next boost in energy I need to keep going. It feels awesome to have such great support. I am still feeling pretty good.

Around mile three and a half, my hip and leg start to hurt a bit, so I join the group of people who are doing the Galloway Run/Walk/Run method, and I have to walk a little bit. I figured I'd have to walk, but I didn't think it would be so soon.

But regardless, I'm able to keep a good pace through miles three, four, and five. They have these "pace racers" running in the race. Basically, they have a funny hat on so you can see them, and their pace posted on their back. That way, you know what pace they're running at. What a great idea. It makes me feel good because I keep pace with the two hour and 30 minute pacer up until mile five or so.

Miles seven, eight and nine seem to take forever. I have to do the run/walk/run method more and more often. I'm still running the majority of the time, so I feel okay about it. But I'm really starting to drag. This seems a lot tougher than my long runs.

The run itself is a great course. And it's really neat because around the aid stations, there are tons of people cheering, and some people playing musical instruments. A bunch of the neighborhood organizations came out to cheer us on and chalked the road with inspirational quotes to keep us motivated. And they did their job because every time I saw someone cheering for us, it made me want to keep going even more.

Random funny aside here. Before we enter the cemetery portion of the run, there's a volunteer directing us where to go. With the volunteer is a red-headed man, who looks just like my brother, who lives out of state. He looked so much like my brother that I was just staring at him. He probably thought I was a crazy person! I thought maybe my brother came home earlier than expected and wanted to surprise me on course. Alas, that wasn't the case, but I would have bet my life it was my brother. And then I spend the next half a mile laughing at myself for how crazy this guy must have thought I was.

As I hit mile ten, I get a sudden burst of energy. I've never run into double digits mileage before, so I feel awesome. I start pushing myself again, and I feel great. But that energy dies out after half a mile or so. My legs are screaming in pain. But I'm almost there. I have to keep giving myself a pep-talk that it isn't that much longer, that I can do it.

At the aid station around mile 11, there's a man yelling that he's got ice cold beer. I thought he was kidding, but he was dead serious. He's actually handing out beer at an aid station! How funny is that? I didn't have any because honestly, my stomach probably couldn't have handled it. But that gave me a little laugh that kept me going.

As I hit mile 12, the only thing that's keeping me going is that I'm almost done. My hips and knees are killing me. I'm so wiped out. I don't want to walk at all the last mile. I want to finish it on a run, so I push myself. At mile 12 and 3/4s, I see my dad, Jim and his dad cheering me on and that gives me the motivation to continue on. I know I have the energy to keep going. I'm so tired, but I'm pushing through. At this point, I know I can do it!

Just before mile 13, I see my mom and Jim's mom and that gives me the last bit of energy I need to finish the race. I start sprinting for the finish line with my family cheering me along the way. As I get closer, I'm in a dead sprint. My legs are on fire and I'm honestly not sure they will be able to keep holding me up. But I think of our running workouts with Y coach Kevin Collins, and I know those sprints and short intervals are paying off now. I just push as hard as I can, passing a few people along the way. Before I know it, I'm across the finish line!
My legs are screaming as I finish, but I did it. I get my finishers medal and work my way over to my family.

I can't believe I did it. I actually just ran 13.1 miles! Wow! I don't have any words to express what an accomplishment this feels like. But I can express what my legs feel like. I can honestly say my hips and knees have never been in as much pain as they are right now. My whole body hurts, but it doesn't matter because I did it! Not only did I finish the race, but I beat my projected time by more than 20 minutes. When I first started this journey, I was worried, I wouldn't finish in the three hour cut off, but I did it in two hours, 36 minutes and 33 seconds. I can't believe it! I'm still in shock. I am so proud of myself and so is my family. It feels awesome to have them there at the finish line with me and the support is amazing.

Once my race ends, we take some photos and get some food at the post-race recovery zone. I head over to the hotel to shower. I literally stand in the shower with hot water blasting my legs for ten minutes. They start to feel a bit better after that, but they're still sore. My family, Jim, his family, and I all head out to get lunch and celebrate.

As the day goes on, my legs start to get stiffer and stiffer and in more pain. It hurts to go up and down stairs, to sit and stand. My body hates me but my mind is so happy with what I just did. My head feels incredible, while my body struggles to recover. But I did it. And that's all that matters.

Reflecting on the race after the adrenalin has worn off, I'm in awe of what I just did. I can't believe it. After having done this, I really feel like I can do anything. Last year at this time, I probably would have had a heart attack if someone told me I was going to do a half marathon ever! When I started running last February, I couldn't run more than five minutes at a time. After starting Kevin Collins running program, I was finally able to run 15 minutes straight, but it was still a struggle to run more than 30 minutes at a time. And I just completed a half marathon!

This was probably the hardest athletic thing I've ever done in my life, and I've done a lot of sports in my life. It was definitely harder than my first degree black belt test, which was six hours of grueling combinations of kicks and punches, forms and fighting a partner. But I was 13 when I did that and in much better shape. So I'm going to say this half marathon was hands down hardest thing I've ever done. I am so proud of myself, and I know I can do it again. And because of this, I know I can meet any challenge I put myself up to.