Today I achieved something I never thought I could: I ran a half-marathon! I am seriously not a runner, and have lived most of my life believing I am incapable of all sporting endeavours…but when I went to watch the London Marathon in April this year I felt inspired by all of the people who were running; especially those who were far older or who had physical disabilities – and so I signed up to run the Nike + Run to the Beat, which took place today in Greenwich.
I have been training for a few months, and felt fairly confident that I could complete the distance (although I was, of course, terrified). My aim was to complete the 13.1 miles in under 2 hours 15 minutes and without walking at all. To my delight, I achieved this goal, finishing in 2:11:03 without stopping to walk, even up the horrific hills. It was tough, probably the hardest thing I have ever done voluntarily; physically and mentally it just hurt, especially in the last two miles.
at 7 miles; looking fresher than I feel!
over half-way!
I was lucky to have some supporters along the way who helped give me an extra boost of energy, and thanks to some cool social media/technology I was able to see messages from friends right when I needed it most. As I crossed the starting line my timing chip registered on Facebook that I had begun my race, and my friends could leave encouraging comments for me. Then, when I crossed certain checkpoints along the way, these messages were displayed on a big screen for me to see. Pretty cool! I only saw one message; it was during my last mile when I just wanted to cry, collapse and vomit all at once, and a friend’s message of encouragement flashed up on the screen. I nearly broke down with sheer gratitude right there and then, but kept going to the finish line, where I got to see my Dad, who had flown in from Australia this morning. It was an awesome way to finish!
finished at last!
Thanks so much to everyone who supported me, sponsored me and listened to my endless talk of running over the past few months. A special thanks to Brendan, Dad, Shannon & Lorinda for coming to see me. And to Christian; your message got me through the last mile, all the way from Oslo!!!
Awesome!!!! Yay for finishing your first half! That is awesome and it sounds like a great race to run…never heard of that much technology in a race before. Think about doing another one???? Watch out, they can get addicting. :)
Well done such an amazing achievement. I am definitely inspired to go for a half marathon next year.
What an awesome achievement!
congrats!
Wow! Nice work. Super Impressed.
Cool social media thing they had.