Finally ran that half-marathon!

OH MY GOODNESS!! I had an entire post typed out and it's gone!! Well perhaps this is meant to be because I feel like the original post was a bit of a Debbie Downer.

My half-marathon was this past Sunday in New Orleans. The event was the Rock-N-Roll New Orleans half and full marathon.

Me and Rich before the start. That bulge in my pocket were gloves and GU gels! ha!

Me and my sister!

 The highlights:
* I ran with my sister who is VERY athletic, but had not done a lot of running training.

* Our time was 3 hours and 48 minutes. Yes, we finished upright, but a lot of walking was involved (because of me) and this is actually a POOR showing for a half marathon. Especially after five months of training.

* I am pretty disappointed because I struggled more than I should have considering all the hours upon hours of "training."

* I walked a lot more than I wanted to walk.

* My sister's WALK is faster than my RUN.

* We saw a lot of inspirational people including former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason being pushed in a wheelchair. He has Lou Gherig's disease, but that dude, he sure crossed the finish line.

* But we finished with our hands high in the air together. I completed one of my fitness and bucket list goals and to that I say "Cheers!" and "screw you streetsweepers and water station trucks weaving in and out of us slow runners!"

* I came out uninjured except for my knee locking up AFTER the race.

* We had Rich, my sister's boyfriend, my Dad and his girlfriend come out to support us.

* Me and Rich got to spend the night in New Orleans, which was the first time we both left Emily overnight.

* We had some good New Orleans food.

So there you have it. It was fun, frustrating, disappointing, interesting and a whole lot of HARD WORK. I did consider never running again, but I already paid money for a half-marathon in December.

So I've put aside my moping. I'm giving myself this week and maybe next for my body and soul to recover. And then, IT'S ON BABY, IT'S ON! The next training will be both easier and harder because I know what to expect. And I need to train harder.

My intensity will be along the lines of the look on this monkey's face.