Redemption 1/2 marathon - I did it!!!

After the Cap City 1/2 marathon in May where I hurt myself, I knew that I needed to redeem myself by completing a run

and that time came this past weekend at the Emerald City Marathon

The conditions weren't ideal....

I hadn't trained as well as I had for the Cap City in May
I had worked a wedding the night before and didn't get to bed until after midnight
it had rained during the night resulting in debris all over the course
and I only trained indoors

... I pretty much had plenty of odds against me

However, it was not going to prevent me from trying my absolute hardest at this race!

I met up with my sister and her fiance right before the race began.
It was not the most ideal running conditions
humid and warm at 7am
however when the gun sounded we started out of the gate.

I never really get my pace until the first 3-4 miles on the road
Once we split 1/4 marathon and 1/2 marathon I knew that I had to complete it
I broke down the course by one 5k
a 1/4 marathon... which was much more tough than I realized
[the 1/4 path we ran last year was COMPLETELY flat, so I assumed the same for the 1/2 - ha!]
as soon as we got on the path for the 1/2 marathon and we were a mile in there was a sign
for a steep hill
GREAT! what in the world did I sign up for and didn't know!
I realized I just needed to push through this 1/4 of a marathon
after that, we met back up with the 1/4 marathon track and I knew I only had a little over a 5k
I just kept pushing as long as I could

I owe a lot to the MIT [Marathon In Training] 10:40 pace setter who saw me start walking around mile 10.5 {i felt like i was all out of steam} she looked at me, looked at my bib and said "Lindsey, what are you doing walking, lets go"
Holy motivational! Thats all I needed and I kicked it into high gear and headed towards the finish line

At mile marker 11.5, Justin, my parents and sister were there
[I'm pretty sure I was yelling at them "Woohoo... I'm still running!" ha!]

And just as I thought I was going to run out of gas again where I could see the finish line
I looked up and saw my Goddaughter and her whole family out there to cheer me on
{which is a TOTAL surprise!}

I finally am able to say that I successfully completed a 1/2 marathon in my best time yet!
2 hours and 20 minutes!
[I'm fully aware this isn't lightening speed, however, I set out to run a race to finish it, not to be the first person to cross the finish line]
My goal in May was to finish in 2 hours 30 minutes
so I take this as an accomplishment:)

After the race

Molly's adorable sign

I am so thankful Jason and Katie came out!

I am so thankful this run went well, I re-gained my own confidence back in running.
I'm excited for my next half marathon.... because I know I can do it!