And now...the Half Marathon

I must admit - calling it a "half" marathon does make it sound easier than it is. Just like I said - just a "5km" race is BS - any race you do is awesome. You should be proud if you finish any running race. A half marathon is 21. 1 kilometres for crying out loud. Calling it a half is stupid.

Okay - so the training was done - it was race day. My buddy Graham came down to run with me with really did help me calm my nerves being able to talk and not just stand at the start line and thinking OMG I have to pee. The race started up at Saltfleet High School (the new one, not mine).It is weird to be around all the other runners and realize you belong. I will say this about the vast majority of runners - they don't care how fast other people go, how other people look, anything - they are there to support each other and encourage all. It is a pretty cool community. The race did end up starting about 10 minutes late - at which point I kept thinking:

HOLY SH*T I AM RUNNING A HALF MARATHON. I said that quite a bit that day.

I started out a little quicker than expected - about a 5:00/km pace but I felt great. We hit the Red Hill Creek Expressway at that pace and wow, what a beautiful run. It is crazy to think that wasn't there a few years ago - but the scenery around it is nice (weird for Hamilton). I was coming off the expressway and was under a 5:00/km pace which was probably too fast for me and the first thing I saw at the 11km mark was my little Kloe, then Emma, then Eri. After a quick kiss which was better than any energy gel, I continued on.

All was fine until around the 17km mark. The wind changed into a very strong headwind. And it was freakin cold. And that knee injury really started to hurt. Really Bad. However I was only 4.1 (notice I love the .1) km's left and I was going to finish. My pace slowed significantly but who cares. I was about to finish my first half marathon.

I can honestly say I had no finishing "kick", I don't really remember the last kilometre, I vaguely remember crossing the finish line, but I do remember looking up and seeing the clock around 1 hour 53 minutes. Crossing the finish line the first thing I do remember is seeing my wife which I promptly gave her a great hug, complete with the present of whatever was coming out of my nose and mouth all over her jacket.

I am very proud to say within 7 months of deciding to change my life for the better I did it - ran the half marathon. I felt (emotionally at least - physically it sucked) great. The awesome notes of encouragement I got via text, facebook, phone calls were so awesome. Even people who usually only make fun of me (yes, you AJ) actually congratulated me. I also said there that was it - I was not going to run any more long distance races...well I guess I lied. Thank you Eri for your awesome support - and having the greatest two cheerleaders in the history of the world always there cheering me on (Emma & Kloe) totally was the motivation I needed.