Vegas, Baby!

 

Last week, I ran a half marathon!  That is 13.1 miles, just for the record.  And I ran it in Las VEGAS!!  What an exciting moment :).  This has been a culmination of a years worth of work.  I started running about this time last year.  Several of my friends have been running off and on for years.  I would always blow them off when they asked me to join them, saying they were crazy.  But secretly, I always felt a bit envious.  And thought to myself - why couldn't I do that?  So, finally I bit the bullet!!

 

And what a year it has been!  I ran my first 10K in the spring.  And I did much better than I anticipated.  So, on I went.  I started "formally" training about 12 weeks before this Vegas trip.  But I have been running 3 times a week almost every week for 11 months!! And this is coming from the girl that had never ran more than two consecutive miles, EVER! 

 

My good friend Tania and I ran a 1/2 marathon in Fargo about 3 weeks prior to our Vegas trip to get ourselves geared up.  It was SOOOO cold that day!  And windy.  And the course was, well, kinda quiet...  My only goal was to not walk.  I didn't care other than that, and was anticipating finishing in about 2 1/2 hours.  Well, I did better than that!  I finshed that hummer in 2:06!!!  Yay me!  But that just opened up a whole new can of worms for me.  If I could finish in 2:06, there was no reason why I couldn't finish one in  2 hours. Right? :)

 

So, off to Vegas we go.  And I ran my heart out.  We ran the strip at sunset, down towards Freemont Street, and back up at dark.  They said about 30,000 people were running with me that day!  And you could tell, too.  There were sooo many people running.  And watching.  And cheering.  It was such a great experience.  I ran a few miles with the girls I came with, which was great to share with them.  Unfortunately, I didn't get my 2 hour goal - I finished in 2:09.  But, I didn't walk!  And I did the best I could.  So, a great experience all around!!

 

 

And now I can say, I think I have the bug.  I'm taking some time off now to heal up - I have a nasty case of Plantar Faschitis (or however you spell that) in my feet, and I have a knee that's a little krinky now.  But after the first of the year, gonna give it all a go again.  Already planning for the 1/2 in Fargo come May.  And I'll give it another best effort.  I'll get that goal yet!!