Half Marathon in St. Louis

I got glasses on Friday. I guess I'm supposed to wear them pretty much all the time. I've gotten used to them. I look smarter when I wear them! Megan, Julianne, and I roadtripped to St. Louis...technically Belleville and spent Friday night and Saturday at Megan's parents' house. We had a lot of fun: we went to the spa, we dyed our hair, ate Megan's dad's delicious cooking and had many laughs. Sunday morning we got up at 4:15 in the morning, Megan's dad made me pasta with garlic and butter. At 5:15am we left for St. Charles, MO. The day of the race was the first time I saw the arch and the first time I have ever been in Missouri. When we got close to our exit at Riverport Drive there was a lot of traffic. It was a little crazy before the race. Megan and Julianne picked up my registration packet while i waited in the long lines for the porta potties. there were like dozens and dozens of them. and then i said goodbye to megan and julianne and was off to the race. I definitely started out slow so I could pace myself...I was running an 11 minute mile. It was going well, the first 6 miles was in a business district area, and then i ran on a highway on a bridge over the missouri river (that was cool). Then when I was 8.5 miles into the race my iPod randomly froze! So I had no music to listen to and I still had 4.5 miles left. But it was kinda nice cause it made me more aware of my surroundings and made me want to run faster, so I picked up the pace and quickened my pace to a 10 minute mile, and then finished the 13.1 miles running a 9 minute mile. I had so much energy at the end, I coul breathe so easily it was amazing! I finished the 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes. I finished a lot faster than I thought because the week before when I ran 12 miles, it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to finish. So i definitely ran faster. My hips were sore the last 4 miles, but hey--running is about pushing through the discomfort. It was the most amazing feeling in the world to finish that race! I think right now I'm on a runner's high, I can't wait to get back into running and start doing a speed workout to increase my speed for a 5.5 mile race at Allerton Park I'm running at the end of October. My dear friend Aimee from Mizzou was at the race, so I got to hang out with her and eat breakfast! Then we left. Megan and Julianne were more pooped than me, so I drove all the way home. It was fun, but by that evening my body was getting more sore by the minute. In conclusion, any one can run a half marathon if he or she wants to. I saw so many people of different sizes and shapes running that half marathon--anyone could do it. It was an awesome experience, I can't wait to run another half marathon! Here are some pictures from the weekend and there's a picture of my new look--glasses and dyed hair (I dyed it back to my original hair color).

Rach


15 seconds from the finish line!


I DID IT!