I Did It!

I completed a Half Marathon yesterday, and I ran the entire thing! I'm so proud of myself for not stopping even after I cramped up and the pain started showing it's ugly head... I just kept running! I actually finished it in 2 hours and 15 minutes- right where I wanted to be (my super crazy goal was 2:10, so I was definitely pleased with 2:15)! The run went pretty well- I started out nice and easy, felt really good at the three mile marker where I got to see my Mom and Ben :). Then around mile 4 I got a sharp pain in my left calf, which is swollen now and really tight. I might have pulled it, I'm not sure. But it went numb and I was good to go around mile 5. But mile 7 or so brought the overall fatigue. I was soooo glad to see my Mom and Ben again at mile 9 (right where the big hill started). I needed that extra little motivation because I was about to stop and walk- but I kept going! Right around mile 10 is when the STUPID endometriosis really kicked in. I felt like my uterus was going to fall out. Bastard. I got really bad lower abdomen cramps, then some sharp pains, then the grumbling. I thought I was going to have to sprint to a port-a-potty but the lines were ridiculous and I really didn't want to stop. So I just kept going and man was it uncomfortable! For those of you with endo- you know what I'm talking about. Don't want to go into details, but endo comes with some not so lovely "bowel" problems usually. I think having stage 4 endo might contribute to that- I'm not sure.

Anyway, I kept on going and tried to think of other things. That was pretty easy with the race atmosphere. It was the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon- so they had live bands playing at every mile marker. And there were 30,000 people running that day. SO lots of people watching while I was running. Plus, I made an awesome playlist that kept me rocking the whole way.

So when I saw Ben and my Mom for the last time it was a half mile from the finish line and I had to take off. I sprinted the last half mile and finished at 2:15. It felt great to finish strong, but man am I paying for it now :) Having a little trouble walking, my left knee is swollen, my left calf is worthless, and my hips are on fire. I've got a hot stone massage at 3:00 today that will be phenomenal!!!

Yay for achieving some athletic success once again. It feels good, and I've missed pushing my body beyond my comfort zone. I might want to make this a habit... ;)