I came, I saw, I shamROCKED!

The big race was just a few days ago, and I am definitely basking in post-13.1 glory. :-)

We got to VA Beach around 2.30ish on Saturday. The expo was EXTREMELY crowded. I ended up buying two stickers for my car and two shirts. One says "Will Run for Ice Cream" and the other says "13.1 miles 'cause I'm only HALF crazy!" I love them both. We also got a free tech tee, which I wore on my run yesterday. It's nice. :-)

We drove around a little because our hotel check-in wasn't until 4. After we checked in, we went for a gorgeous walk on the boardwalk. It was divine to be at the beach again. We then got groceries for my breakfast the next day. The Harris Teeter was really close to the hotel, so we just walked there. We got Applebee's for dinner, which was super tasty. That night, we watched Despicable Me! It was so cute. I really enjoyed it. It was lights out around 10 pm, which meant it was "Battle Sleep" starting around 10.15.

I did not sleep. I was waaaay too nervous. The alarm went off at 4.45 and I slathered some PB and honey on a piece of bread (NOT TOAST), which was pretty gross. I almost puked in the sink after brushing my teeth. :-/

We left the hotel around 6.10... and about 5 minutes later, I realised I had left my watch in the hotel. Mr. Discovery was kind enough to run back to get it. We met back up and I got to the corrals. I ended up starting with a different corral than I meant to, but it didn't matter. Shortly after 7 AM, we were off. It was REALLY windy, which I was NOT happy about, but luckily it died down once we started.

Chillin' before the race

I must have peed about 12,000 time between lunch the day before and the race, but it still wasn't enough. I had to pee around mile 2, but every single porta-potty had a line and I wasn't going to risk my time by waiting in line for the potty.

Mr. Discovery snapped shots of the sunrise while I ran

Neptune palming the sea turtle

I felt really strong for the first seven miles. No aches, no blisters, no bad thoughts. I would have to say that throughout the race, I felt very mentally strong. I was just really happy the entire race. We got to run through a Naval fort, which was slightly interesting, but overall the race was really boring. There were two D.J.s and one band along the way and nothing to look at... at all. I saw the beach a few times, but really it was so far away.

Around mile 7 or 8, I got an aching feeling in my right leg and knee, but it wasn't that bad. I think it was from just being so darn tired from tossing and turning all night. I ran through it and everything ended up being fine. It never got worse, though it didn't really get better, either.

At mile 12, I called the hubs so he could look out for me at the finish line and so I would know which side to run on so he could snap my picture best. :-) I really picked up the pace the last 5k because I was pretty sure that I could beat two hours and fifteen minutes if I pushed hard. It paid off. I crossed the finish line right on the boardwalk at 2.14.23.

After we finished we had to walk FOREVER as they handed us water, t-shirts, hats, pretzels, bananas, and cookies. All of which I ate gratefully (well, except for the t-shirt and hat). :-)

I can honestly say there is little else that I am as proud of as I am of this race. I am hooked!