NYC Half Marathon

Absolutely the most difficult thing I have ever done. On Sunday, March 21st, 2010, I ran and finished the New York City Half Marathon in 1 hour and 55 minutes. I encounter a lot of people, now that my running experiences have reached a little further outside of the "norm," who say, "Ugh, I could never do that!" or "Better you than me!" But that's just the thing about running 13.1 miles. I used to be one of those people. But you know what? YOU CAN. All of my training and racing over the past 2 years has been a trial and error of learning how my body works, how to eat the right foods, how to strengthen my muscles in the right way, and how to keep hitting strides I've never hit before. The prize comes when you're standing in a sea of people at 7:30 in the morning, and suddenly you realize, "I'm not alone in this." There is something spiritual, almost unnatural, about the human race, pushing their bodies to do things they weren't necessarily built to do. For we were created with minds that take power over our physical bodies. Somewhere around mile 10, after you've been 8 miles through beautiful Central Park and 1 mile through the infamous Times Square, the mind takes over. The crowds get bigger and the cheers get louder. Everything in your legs screams, "Stop!" Your eyes have only one task: scanning the road ahead for the next mile marker. And in under a half hour, the finish line is suddenly behind you!

My first thought when I crossed that line was, "how in the world will I do this twice in November?!" There was a time when 3 miles felt impossible and a 10K race was a milestone. The full marathon is on it's way, and I will remember this day, when my mind carried me further than I ever thought my legs would! I'm pressing on...