I FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!

I just completed my first half marathon!!!!!!!!!!!

That feeling when I crossed the finish line was one of the best feelings I've ever felt- a huge sense of being overwhelmed, glad that that it's over but at the same time sad, intense pride, astonishment, and probably a few other emotions simultaneously. It will take a few days to sort them all out.

I ran the entire 13.1 miles without stopping, and so that was a big accomplishment, especially given that I've been having knee pain for awhile, and also considering that the day before I slipped and fell down some stairs at my sister's house which left a large swollen bruise on my ass that I had to run with. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, though, since it seemed to have resulted in my not noticing the knee so much.

After about 30 or 40 minutes, though, my pain receptors stopped attempting to inform me that I was in pain, which was nice while it lasted. The last few miles my knee decided that enough was enough, but I just ignored it the best I could, knowing I only had a few more miles to go.

I ran a pretty slow pace, but today wasn't about time, it was about proving to myself I could run a half marathon, and I succeeded in that.

It was so inspiring to see all of the other Team in Training members run with photographs or messages written on their jerseys about the cancer patients or survivors they were running in honor of. It's nice to be a part of something that big, especially when I thought about how each one had raised thousands of dollars for cancer research. It's good to be a part of something like that.

I can't wait to run my actual TNT even in Austin this February so that I can let everyone know about my honored hero, M, who survived leukemia.

I wondered if I would still want to keep running after I found out what a big race was like; suffice it to say I am officially hooked.

More race details to come............