My Half-Marathon

I DID IT!!!

Saturday morning was the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, which I have been training for since January. I was one of 35,000 participants in this year's race, up in Indianapolis. It's the largest half-marathon in the country. The weather was gorgeous.

I was assigned to start in "corral" S (yes, we were herded kind of like cattle) and it actually took me a full 20 minutes to reach the starting line once the race began. But you have a chip tied to your shoe that counts your actual time once you cross the line.

Chuck was there to cheer me on (these are all his pictures). He caught this picture of me VERY close to the beginning - as you can see, I am still smiling and looking comfortable.

He was smart because he stood right next to a giant Obama sign, so it was easy to pick him out in the crowd on the sidelines. There were a lot of spectators.

I also wore an Obama bumper sticker on my back, but it fell off in the first mile. I didn't want to wear my Obama t-shirt and get it all sweaty and gross.

It was a bad sign when I started getting tired around mile 4. I was feeling how I expected to feel around mile 8 at that point. I was walking through the water stops (which were plentiful, thank goodness!) but my goal was to run the entire way other than that. So I kept on chugging along.

Around mile 6, the course enters the actual Indy 500 race track speedway. Or, as I now call it, the Never-Ending Asphalt Loop of Death. That was the most miserable 2 and a half miles I have ever run. The track is so big that you couldn't see how close you were to completing it. It just kept curving and never ending.

I really wanted to walk after that. But I knew I would be really mad at myself if I did. So I didn't.

It was nice because all along the course (except on the speedway track) there were live bands playing, and people cheering and ringing cowbells and holding signs. People would even say your name because it was listed below your number on your bib. It was really fun. (Except for the whole pain/exhaustion part.)


Chuck was about a third of a mile from the end to take my triumphant picture. He was waving to me, and the lady in the pink shirt to the left thought he was waving at her. I am just to the left of the guy in the red shirt.

You'll notice that everyone around me is walking. But I am not. I am running in my little shuffling baby steps to the finish. (I was okay when the speed-walkers passed me, but a little demoralized when the regular walkers started passing me!)

It felt so good to finish. I can't even describe it. First of all, because I had been running for over three hours and I was sick of it, but most of all, because I actually accomplished it. I never thought I could have done that. It took me 3:11:48, about half an hour longer than I expected!

There were lots of goodies at the end, of course. Have you ever seen 35,000 bananas in one place?

You can see pictures from the local TV coverage HERE. (Including shots of the Never-Ending Asphalt Loop of Death.)

Thank you to everyone for your support as I made my "improbable journey" (as Barack says) to the finish line!