WE DID IT!!!

So, in all my excitement, I forgot to share one of the bestest, funnest, most proudest moments of my life. And that would be completing my very 1st half marathon...the NYC Half Marathon on March 16! On my own two feet. Without needing to be pushed, pulled or dragged over the finish line! Was it a top 3 finish? HA! Not even close, those guys were home sleeping by the time the clock stopped on my timer tag. BUT...I finished! And here is a quick (or not so quick) rundown of the events of the day. Sorry, for the blogging delay but my runner's high took a while to entirely leave my body and now I'm now knee-deep in training for the Brooklyn Half. 

Before race day, excitement and running jitters grew while attending the running expo to pick up our race day bib #, t-shirt, goodies as well as do some much needed shopping. Well, maybe not NEEDED, when your running sock drawer has grown from half a drawer to 2 drawers. But let's not get into that right now. And yes, I did buy numerous pairs of new running socks that day. Don't judge. One fun aspect of the expo was that there was a large wall where runners could add pictures, quotes, messages, wishes, anything our little hearts desired! As this being my 1st half that I would actually be able to run in, it was great to put on paper, I mean dry wall, why I was running. BTW, you'll be seeing a lot Kat, my BFF and running buddy, in this post. 

Now we were all set! Training done...check! Carb loaded...check! Outfits picked out...check! Good night's sleep...almost check! My nerves kept me up tossing and turning most of the night but those same nerves is what gave me the energy and adrenaline needed to get me to that starting line that morning. Which by the way was SO COLD. Mother Nature did not have pity on us lowly runners and the throw away clothes were definitely worn. And we're (almost) off!

Things were great once we took off! We were ahead of pace, feeling great, and were pretty positive we were going to PR...at my 1st half no less! Central Park was getting crushed! I have a love/hate relationship with Central Park. It's beautiful and fun but, those Harlem Hills...UGH!! Not a fan. However, once we he hated Harlem Hills were behind us and we left the park, the course was all flat. And we would be golden, right?! Well...maybe not. For some reason, that's where the issues all started for me. On a side note, I didn't take many (any) pics as we were running because there was so much to take in all around us, but I did manage to snap one of the surrealness of running through Times Square. Even this jaded NYer had a WOW moment. Pretty cool, huh?!

At some point around mile 7ish, I took a misstep in one of NYC's lovely potholes. Then my knee starting hurting. By the time we got to mile 8.5, we were no longer ahead of our pace and no longer confident we were going to beat our estimated time. In fact, I was having bigtime negative thoughts if I would even finish. Thankfully, Kat kept talking me through the crappy moments. And then at mile 9, I got a major boost when I saw the Hubs and Mikayla on the West Side Highway. Of course, I was too emotional to take a pic of my daughter's sign she had made, but the Hubs took some of us hobbling along...

They gave us both a happy dose of energy and for the next mile, I felt good again. Then at mile 10, the knee pain came back. I looked at Kat & she looked distraught...her knee was hurting too. WTH?!! I know we decided to wear matching knee socks, but not matching knee pain! We pushed each other along, this time encouraging each other to just finish. We WOULD finish! The last 2 miles were horrible. We didn't notice the people cheering or the photographers, which we're usually hamming it up for. I wanted out. We pretty much walked the entire underpass leading to the South St Seaport, trying not to cry. Mostly out of frustration because this is not how I imagined my 1st half to go. 800 yards to go...400 yards to go...might as well have been another 13.1 miles at that point. Once we saw the arrows pointing to the corner filled with flags leading into the finish line, whatever tiny bit of adrenaline that was left over kicked in and we were able to run to the finish line. I heard the Hubs yelling 'Go Cari! Go Kat!' and the tears started to flow. I DID IT!! WE DID IT!! 

The clock didn't matter, personal records didn't matter. All that mattered was that we finished! We had set this goal and we completed it. It was rough, it was tough, it was frustrating, it was exciting, it was emotional...and I can't wait until the next one. And I got shiny bling as a reward! Woot Woot!

After our obligatory post-race posing, we headed to the medic's tent for some much needed ice and taping up.

Then we headed off to find the Hubs who had brought us warm coats and the promise of food!! 

Once we had eaten our weight in mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers, we headed home where Mikayla was super excited to see my medal and asked if I won...even though she had seen a gazillion people running ahead of me on the highway. Love her confidence in me, though! 

And here it is...TA-DAH!! My very 1st half marathon medal! Ain't it so purty?!! 

 Even with all the bumps in the road to the finish line, both literally & figuratively, this race needed to be what it was. Rough. Now I know I can push through my own fears and negative thoughts and have more in me than I thought. It can only get better from here!