Holy guacamole, I still have a bit of a hard time believing that Saturday was real. It will hands down stand as one of the best days of my life.
So let’s rewind a bit to the expo, and I’ll do my best to convey what an absolutely AMAZING day it was!
My sister and I traveled down to DC on Friday to go to the expo and relaaaax.
Epxo!
We had a lot of fun trying out samples of everything, and looking at all the awesome products. I bought a few things but tried not to go too crazy!
We got back to our uncles’ house, and ordered dinner (delivery, baby!) and watched The Emperor’s New Groove on Netflix. Perfect evening!
I also made sure to lay everything out so that I wouldn’t be freaking out about trying to find everything in the morning.
Sparkly! Flat Lindsay ready to go.
I am so lucky to have such an amazing Mom. She got into DC late after going to work, going to my brother’s baseball game and then coming to support us at our race. She really is Supermom!
I was nervous when I was laying down to go to bed, but knew we had an early wake up call (5:30 AM!) so I tried to get to sleep as early as possible. I laid down around 9:30, but I don’t think I actually fell asleep until at least 11, and woke up a few times during the night. I think it’s safe to say I had a case of the nerves!
I got dressed, and ate an English muffin with peanut butter and banana on top and a tiny glass of Diet Coke. We all have our vices 
I had hydrated pretty well the night before, and knew that I would have to pee if I drank too much water.
We got to the race start around 6:30, and I was taking it all in.
Dark before the start!
We got a lot of pictures beforehand, and Peach and I got our Dtags on (and I saw a few on the course, which made me sad for the people who’s had fallen off!) and I tried to relax.
Peach & I before the start.
I couldn’t believe it when the National Anthem started (it felt like it came up so fast!) and then we stood still for awhile. When we started moving up, I was sad to say goodbye to my Mom but knew I would be seeing her in a few hours!
Madre got this picture of us in the crowds! I was obsessed with waving for some reason on Saturday.
We finally crossed the start line around 8:05 I believe, so my watch was about 30 minutes behind every clock I saw.
I’m always impressed when people can remember exactly what happened every mile, because it’s all such a bundle to me, but I’ll do the best I can.
I have never been more happy to sit down!
I have to say a big THANK YOU to my friend Jodie, who ran with me the entire time, and kept pushing me to keep believing in myself. I couldn’t have done it without you!!!
Miles 1-3 were very hard mentally for me for some reason. I’m not really sure why, maybe because I knew I had so much more to go? These miles, and the last 1.01 miles were probably the hardest!
They had the line of police cars and such with their lights on very close behind us, and that’s when I started to panic. There was no way in hell I was getting swept off the course that early. I kept turning over my shoulder to look at them, getting more and more freaked out. Finally, Jodie saw me doing it and said something to me that helped carry me through the race:
“Don’t look back. Everything important is in front of you. Keep looking forward.”
Oh my goodness, did I need to hear that. I wasn’t going to get swept without a fight!
Mile 3 is also when I started fueling, which I think helped immensely. Maybe it was a placebo effect, I don’t know. I hadn’t planned on fueling until at least mile 6, but I’m really glad I started when I did!
I also had to pee from pretty much mile 0.5 until I finally stopped between mile 3-4 and that really helped too. I know a lot of it was probably nerves too, but also keep in mind that I have the bladder of a toddler. When I have to go, I gots to go and it’s all I’m going to think about! Having that off my mind helped a lot.
I made up some serious time between the 10K and the 10 mile markers (and I am planning on beating that 10K time in Hershey next month!) and I’m so, so, so happy that I did. I was a little worried after the 5K that I wasn’t going to make it in under 4 hours, and I let those negative thoughts creep in. Thank goodness for Jodie!
Jodie started to feed into my competitive side and start picking people for me to pass. I needed that carrot in front of me, as she put it! That was so helpful, and I kept saying I was eating them for breakfast (like that freaking mountain at Mile 6 – ate that for breakfast too!) She’d pick a person, I’d say “They’re done” and then I would pick it up and keep going until I was way past them. This is where we made up A LOT of time, and I’m so glad that we did.
I fueled with these guys from the amazing people at Cytomax and ZOOMA! 
I made the game time decision to bring these in the morning because I only had 5 of the Gatorade chews I had tested on my stomach previously. Not too much bothers my stomach (you know besides being a passenger in the car and trying to read…) so I was happy with my decision to use them. And they were nice and warm every mile because I didn’t bring my fuel belt and instead stuffed everything in my bra, including the $20 my mom gave me in case of an emergency. You’re welcome cashiers, for the sweaty $20 you will be receiving sometime soon
I remember at Mile 7 or 8 there were little kids blowing bubbles and cheering, and I freaked out. They were adorable and I waved really big and shouted “Thank you!!!” as loud as possible. They got big smiles on their faces, and that made me happy. There were also kids I gave high fives to around mile 10 I think? Loved that!
These are the kinds of text my poor Mother receives from me. Seriously, NO YORKIES at all on Saturday?!
The signs, and the people, my goodness they were amazing as well! I remembered all your advice to just enjoy myself, smile, and take it all in. I liked the “Milk Was A Bad Choice” and Free Beer a lot. I also loved the signs made by kids for their parents. Amazing!
Because it was St. Patrick’s Day weekend, of course there were people out supporting and drinking. At one point we ran down a street (Between mile 8-9?) that reeked of beer and my stomach turned. The guys were pretending to hand out beer cups like water cups and I made a disgusted face at them and they laughed.
Whenever there would be a crowd of people, I would put a big smile on my face (no matter how I was feeling) and try do something funny or cool. At one point I put my arms out and pretending to fly, which made them cheer really loudly. I told Jodie this would be the closest I would ever be to being a celebrity, and I was loving every single minute.
Mile 9 was where they handed out Gu, and I tried it for the first time. No. Just no. The taste wasn’t bad, but I couldn’t handle the texture. I actually said out loud “Nope. Ew.” as I threw it away, which made the people around me laugh.
I made sure to take water and Gatorade every time it was available, and felt really good. Around mile 11? I started to hurt. I had been on my feet for hours, and my ankles were hurting. I told Jodie that everything from my legs down hurt, and she told me to only think about everything above my legs then. Man, she’s amazing.
Jodie and I!
When we hit mile 10, I knew we only had a 5K to go. I told Jodie, I’ve done these before, I can do it again! At this point, running actually felt better on my legs than walking, but I was exhausted. Decisions, decisions. I did my best to keep up my run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute routine, but walked when I needed it.
When I saw the 13 mile sign, for some reason my brain thought I had another mile to go like a dumb dumb instead of 0.01. Thank goodness Jodie set me straight by saying, “Remember when you said you were going to spring the finish? Let’s go!”
I gave it everything I had, and left nothing there on the course. You can see my joy (and my exhaustion!) in the pictures at the finish.
Splits from the race!
This had been a goal of mine for SO long, and sometimes, I still can’t believe that I actually did it. I kept saying to my Mom “I can’t believe I actually did that!” I still can’t believe it. Of course I wore my medal to work…. and class.
The course photos are awesome, and I’ll definitely be buying some of them. You can tell how much fun I was having the entire time, and every time I saw a photographer I made sure to smile big. There also may or may not be a picture of me jumping around mile 11. I never said I was sane. I can’t wait to share them with you all, but I feel a little funny posting them here since they’re copyrighted (not that anyone from MarathonFoto reads my blog!!)
Seriously, it was an amazing day. I couldn’t have asked for a better running partner, better supporters, better course support or better weather. Everything came together for a trifecta of awesome, and I am so so so thankful!
Peach and I! She ROCKED the half!
My legs are feeling pretty good, though I have a bit of pain in my knee right now (Monday) which I’m hoping is just because I slept on it funny, because I didn’t have that pain Saturday or Sunday. Yesterday, I relaxed all day, went to the library to get some books to read during my 2 week school break (which starts Wednesday after I turn in my assignments for one class!!!!!) and of course wore some of my gear.
Pink Run Happy hat, and the Rock & Roll shirt my mom and sister surprised me with at the finish line. 
I can work these (and my medal) into my daily wardrobe, yes?
You’ll also all be happy to know I had a cupcake after the race. It was my only request!
Mr. Froggy was delicious!
Hands down, it was a perfect, magical day. I thought of you all, and everyone else I dedicated my miles to. Thank you for everything. Big hugs!!!!
I’ve got sore legs, but a very happy heart. Life is good!!!
Tell me about your first half marathon!
Do you have fun with the race photographers and make funny faces?
Again thank you all for everything!! <3