cross it off

this weekend i ventured up to 8,700 feet and ran a half marathon. it was:

1. so rad
2. not as hard to breathe as i was worried it might be
3. perfect weather with cool temps
4. phenemonenal scenery

and i actually finished in a pretty good time. now, not to say i finished in the front of the pack. quite the contrary. but i haven't been feeling quite like myself the last couple weeks and was worried it would be a bad day, and i just wouldn't be feeling it, despite my pretty good training for this one.

but i woke up feeling pretty good, ate a bowl of scrumptious oatmeal for some fuel, stretched and warmed up among 200 other people as though i did this every weekend, and when the start blast sounded, set out on my way. not a great first mile, but pushed through it, and then really found my stride and rocked that pavement like nobody's business. one foot in front of the other was no problem... until about mile 10. then my legs started to get tired and hurt.

thank goodness the views were so stunning; i ran through those huge rocky mountains which provided not only great backdrop, but a great way to keep my mind off the running to literally just enjoying life and how good it is. super cheesy, super true. it was that stellar. wish i could have taken some pictures along the way.
sorry, too worried about finishing...

i ended up crossing the line 30 minutes sooner than i told hank to watch for me. not bad for an old lady, eh? and if i'm honest, crossing the finish was not very climactic - there was no music, no one even cheering and clapping, you just kind of crossed... and that was it. sort of lame. doesn't deter me though. still glad i did it.

clearly, beth is too. she was really excited for me... not.

and now, i can cross it off the list.

complete half marathon? check.