I accomplished something huge in L.A. this weekend. The completion of my first half marathon. I also found closure to some questions I had when I moved from CA 4 years ago. It wasn't my initial plan, but worked out htat way and to my benefit. I exceeded my completion time by more than 1/2 an hour. I finished in 2:51. This was just unbelievable to me. They started us with a wave start. Lisa had entered to do the mini which was 3.5 miles. She was able to run almost the first 2 miles with me and then our course changed. We were so excited and I just remember dodging people and trying to get around everyone as much as we could. I had my ipod on but I could still hear the bands singing. I remember an older cover band playing "Don't stop believing" and the runners singing and screaming along to it as they ran past. The course had great sites and entertainment. As I was running after Lisa left I was texting with my best friend Cristy and Brett and I even managed to reply to some cheerleaders on my facebook. Sooner than I expected I saw the 5k banner and couldn't believe when I looked at my watch. My disbelieve was then confirmed when Brett text me "OMG 11 minute mile!" My fastest 5k down at 34 minutes. I always kept it under 40 min. I knew this posititioned me well and on target. I was about to text Lisa which I knew was waiting on the side lines and then I saw the 6 mile mark...already! I spotted her on her phone and she saw me. She started running on her side of the rope and said "I'll run with you as much as I can until they kick me out!" The crowd started cheering at her ambition and support and eventually she swooped in when the rope ended and we were off. The course was so cool. We ended up going under a tunnel and everyone was screaming to make echo noises, including me. It was cooler under there and we moved quickly. My GPS lost signal. We were feeling good about our time and I told her we could walk a little and rest after the tunnel. Then the bridge came. Oh my, so not expected. It looked like a monster from far away but getting over it seemed to take an hour. I think it was between mile 8-10 somewhere. Going uphill I tried to focus on the pretty views of the mountains and the tall buildings. We snapped some pictures and tried to keep hydrated. We then made friends with an older lady and she was asking us how long the bridge was, and no one knew but we kept going. I saw some guy on the course running past us with no shoes on and no socks. He had a pretty swift step too. Amazing. A lot of the runners were in costume and you can see gloves and butterfly wings on the course left behind. My right outer foot started hurting and kept getting worse as we continued. All I remember is seeing mile 10 and rejoicing as we went downhill. My plan was to run the last 3 miles but my foot was not having it and I don't feel they had enough water stops after 10 miles. I was so thirsty. Thank goodness I had gu left still. Lisa was just pushing along and listening to her music but I could tell she had enough of that bridge that went over the L.A. River too. I glanced down at my watch and it said 14 miles. I was like, What!!! How annoying. I guess going through the tunnell twice my watch got confused. Finally it said 13 miles and that .1 mile was a bitch but we ran the rest of the way in hope of a good picture. The clock was off by 30-40 min becuase that's how long it took us to get to the start line. But I wasn't sure what my completion time actually was. I looked around and felt disoriented and remember lisa saying "Man, never again!" She was my hero for running the rest of that way with me. That was 10.5 miles she did that day, and just for me! We took our pics, stretched and my toes were cramping up so we drank a lot of water. I looked over and saw the stage was empty so I assumed Bret Michaels had already performed. He was to go on form 11-11:30. I didn't anticipate finishing before then anyway. All of a sudden I see him take the stage and my heart stops! Then I get a text from my friend Kristian and he tells me I finished in 2:51:43. I tell Lisa and rush closer to the stage and pain in foot in all I jump up and down to the 4 songs he decides to perform. The absolute best feeling in the world. This was a huge accomplishment for me. I had my doubts a week before this run and thought I couldn't do it. But I did it and had so much love and encouragement from my family and friends and all the updates on facebook and text messages I received really kept me going. I changed my life that day and the memory I shared with my sister Lisa will never be taken from me. My mom and dad were so proud. Yvette and Brett were so shocked and happy for us too. Tears were all I had. I can't wait for the next one.
