I ran my first half marathon yesterday. It went surprisingly well. We had to get up at 4:30am, a time that no one should ever have to be awake at. Of coarse Violet had to wake up at 4am to nurse, making 4:30 come that much quicker. It was the third time she had woken up to nurse that night. I think I had almost 6 hours of sleep, although it was broken up. We had to be at UBC by 6:30, and it poured rain the whole drive out there. Colleen and I waited in a twenty minute line up to use the out house while it continued to rain. We barely made it to the starting line in time. I think it stopped raining within the first few minutes of running. It was a beautiful running route, looping around UBC campus and down marine dr. We ran through tree lined neighbourhoods, past gorgeous houses that were overlooking the beach. The spectacular views really helped make the run more pleasant. The temperature also helped. It was overcast with a slight breeze, which kept me from getting to overheated. The first 10km came fast, and around 12km I passed Colleen's husband Jason, and my Christopher and sweet Violet holding a cheering sign. It really gave me a boost to see them, especially Violet looking so cute, with a kissy face. The last 4km seemed to take longer, and I really tried to pick up my pace as that's when my hip started to ache. Coming up on the Burrard bridge Stanley park still looked so far away, thankfully all the spectators cheers helped the short remaining distance end quicker.

 All in all it went so much better than I thought it would. Thanks to Imodium and a Tylenol/ ibuprofen mix I didn't have any major issues. I felt good when I finished and didn't worry about my less than fast time, because I had fun. Besides it was only my first, and I plan to do more and improve my time in the years to come. I will mention that Colleen rocked it at 1:56. That girl is a superstar, and an inspiration to me. oh yeah, and it started to rain again as we headed back to the car post race.

My hip hurts this morning, and my IBS or whatever it is, won't give me a break. I'm starting to feel nervous about the half marathon this weekend. How am I going to get through the run in a reasonable time with these issues. I hope there are lots of port a pottys along the route. I'll be stocking up on Tylenol for the hip and Imodium for the other problem. I need to not be so obsessed with my time. It is hard to let it go though. I just want this to be a fun, positive experience, and to get through it without an injury. I hope that's not to much to ask for.

it's about time

I've been meaning to start one of these for a while. Can't wait to use this as a sounding board, a show-off-my-kids board and everything in-between.