Tiff's Half Marathon

I have had "run a half marathon" on my bucket list for 2-3 years, and after I delivered Lily I decided there was no time like the present, so I started busting my tail when Lily was 4 weeks old. It was hard getting my old bag of bones working out again, and I had several injuries that made for a long road.  I ended up riding the stationary bike for most of the winter, always wanting to poke my eyeballs out when I walked into the gym.
I ran my first 5k in July 2012, and I seriously wanted to die! I didn't know how I was ever going to run 4x that distance, but I kept plugging on.  In March 2013 I ran another 5k, and this time it was much better.  Just after that race I started the 12 week training program for my Half, running 3 miles on Mon, cross train Tues, 3 miles Wed, 5 miles thurs, skip Fri, long runs on Sat.
My left leg was really, really bothering me in Mar, Apr, and early May, and I was trying everything I could think of to stop the pain.  I bought new shoes, did my RICES, got a blessing, rode the bike, ran on grass, etc, and nothing worked.  I honestly couldn't even run 2 miles without my leg killing me, and didn't know how the heck I was going to run 13.1 miles in June! I finally bought some compression sleeves as a last ditch effort, and oh. my. word!! Miracle!! the compression sleeves completely alleviated the pain in my leg. Seriously an answer to lots of prayer and worries.  I did one 9 mile run on the course 3 weeks before race day, but that was the most I had been able to run.
I had serious jitters all week long, just anticipating race day.  Then on Friday morning I showed up with girl issues. Early!! I'm NEVER early! ugh. I was so frustrated.  I don't ever work when I'm on my period because I never feel well and am always exhausted, but I didn't really have a choice this time. Dang body.  The night before the race I tried going to bed at 9:30....yeah right. I slept from 10:30-midnight, woke up, couldn't sleep, ate some cereal, finally fell asleep around 2 AM, then woke up at 3:44--one minute before my alarm was supposed to go off.  Cory drove my sister and me up the canyon and dropped us off around 5AM.  We went to the bathroom, stretched, laughed, tried not to be nervous, and otherwise hung out until 6AM when it was go time.
I knew I needed to start out slow through the first couple miles, so I was really concentrating on taking it slow. My Ipod kept saying I was running like a 10 min mile though, and I was thinking, "what the heck?! I feel like I'm running soooo slow!" finally at the 2 mile mark I realized I had been running for 28 min! Grrrr! My pace needed to be 12 min miles, not 14 min! I was frustrated because my Ipod was not working correctly (Cory told me after the race that it was inaccurate because I was going downhill....that would have been good to know before the race, hello!) but just decided to listen to the music, run like I knew how, and git 'er done.
Miles 3-7 were good.  I was feeling good, I took the hill at mile 3 like it was nothing, and I think I made up some time that I had lost in the first couple miles.
At mile 8 I was starting to feel it, but I got an orange at the aid station and that helped me for awhile.  At mile 10 I was talking myself through it--only a 5k left. 5k's are for pansies, you can do this! etc, etc.  The self pep talk helped me through to mile 11, and by that point I could see the finish line way off in the distance. Somewhere along this time I kind of took note of my body.  My legs were seriously just moving on their own. I was totally on auto pilot, just putting one foot in front of the other, although my legs weren't tired. My quads, hams, and calves held up great!  My lungs felt awesome too, but my body was bone tired.  I was hardly using my arms to run at this point because I just didn't have the energy to move them. I kept trying to move my arms, but inevitably I would stop again because I just didn't have it in me.
I made it to the 12 mile mark okay, and then it was down to the last 1.1 miles.  Seriously, I swear that finish line kept moving farther and farther away from me, not closer! It felt like I ran an additional 6 miles in that last mile, no joke. But I was so close I could taste it, and I knew I was going to be able to finish, to run the whole thing, and that I was finally going to meet my long-awaited goal. I started to cry a couple times but quickly got it together because I couldn't breathe and cry at the same time. 100 yards from the finish I spotted my sisters Kim and Tara, and they were yelling like crazy people, cheering me on. It was awesome!! Then I spotted my brother Todd and bro in laws Justin and Scott a bit down the line, and knew Cory, my girls, and my niece Crystal were there somewhere. I sprinted through the finish line and a guy there had to catch me because my momentum just about made me fall over.
I finished! I made it! I definitely shed some happy tears when it was all said and done. I worked really hard for 14 months with this goal in mind.  In the process I learned to be Tiffany again, and not just a mom and wife.  I finally spent some time on me, and that was something I really needed. And, I freaking ran a half marathon, people! Wahoo!! I was so proud of myself!  My official time was 2:46, a little slower than I had hoped, but that's okay.  I finished and ran the whole thing, and those were really my only goals this first time around.

Me, my brother in law, Mike, and my sister, Kim.  Mike ran the full marathon in 3:45 and Kim ran the half in 2:06. They are pretty much rockstars and were my running coaches through all of this.

And, since I'm sure you're wondering, after my race I said I was never, ever doing that again, and that I would rather recover from childbirth then run again. But the next day I was wishy washy, and today I give you a resounding YES, I will absolutely run another half someday. It was horribly awesome. ;)
Oh, and I am 1000% sure I will never, ever run a full marathon. No thanks. A half is quite enough for me!