Post Half Marathon

I am alive and I'm not sore anymore :) The half marathon was an absolute blast and though I thought my knees would NEVER be the same, just two days afterward I can walk normal and my knees feel back to their same old selves. Running that 13.1 miles was the most enlightening experience of my life. While I was running it was almost surreal, I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing it and that I was accomplishing one of my goals. Visualizing the finish line kept me going and I didn't allow myself to walk.

This was the longest that I had ever run in my life. Around miles 8-10 I had the worst stomach cramp but I made myself keep going and I tried everything to make it go away. Finally after drinking some extra water it quit hurting. Then at mile 12 there was a short moment where I thought I wasn't going to make it but then I reminded myself that I was almost there and that I couldn't stop now. I saw people walking and I just told myself "what's the point in walking when I made it this far." My final time was 2 hours 26 minutes and 44 seconds. I was proud of my time but I realized that in my age group I was 30th out of 36th so then I started feeling like I could have been faster.

I would love to run another half marathon but I'm up in the air as to when I would like to begin training again. A big part of me wants to keep going and spend the next 13 weeks training for my next one but another part of me wants a break. There is a half marathon close to us on October 6th so if I decide to do it my training would begin next week. I'm definitely taking this week off because I need a break, though I've had some cravings to go out running today, lol. I'm afraid that if I don't have a goal then I'll just let other things get in the way of my running. Plus I want to try to work on getting faster and working in cross training. I love the way my body looks right now so I'd really like to keep on going and pushing myself even more.

I have a few things to consider so I'll keep you posted on my decision.