Finish Lines are Dreams with Deadlines

I want to cry.

My knees are screaming inappropriate invectives at me. Every second step feels as if tiny pins are stabbing my foot, sending sharp pains into my back like perverse acupuncture. The sun is rising higher and higher, the temperature with it. My sun screen, which started melting off an hour ago, has mixed with the sweat from my forehead and is burning its way into my eyes.

I'm loving it.

The pain barely registers through the cheers of strangers shouting "Go Nikki!", "You can do this!", "Keep going, the finish is just around the corner!" My parents are also just around the corner, making it even harder to keep down the ball that has formed in my throat, dampening my ability to breathe.

Nine months of preparation, countless runs, and 13 miles have brought me to this point, with that ever elusive .1 mile to go. A few minutes more and it'll all be over, the medal will be around my neck, my knee will be iced, and my face will be beaming. I want to reach the finish line so bad but I'm not ready for it to be over. The euphoria of running down Main Street USA, taking the obligatory photo in front of King Stephan's castle, being cheered on by entire troops of boy scouts and high school cheer squads, seeing myself on the jumbo screen at Angel Stadium, these special moments are still alive and are carrying me through just as much as my legs are. I've had possibly more fun in the last three hours of this race than in any other sporting or fitness endeavor I've ever participated in. Every second has has brought me happiness, excitement, encouragement, bringing me that much closer to the finish line and what I set out to do all those months ago.

I don't want it to end but I can see my parents now, waving and taking pictures. I smile and wave back, fighting back tears of pride, joy, and struggle. This last dose of encouragement is more than enough to carry me home.

Less than a hundred feet away is the finish line. And victory.

***

My official stats:

Overall Time: 3:23:37

Overall Place: 12890 / 14836

Gender Place: 7827 / 9341

Division Place: 1637 / 1848

5K Time: 44:34

10K Time: 1:30:37

15K Time: 2:20:58

I'm pretty darn proud that I finished ahead of ~2,000 people. It was never about finishing with a particular time, it was just about finishing. I had to walk a little bit, my knees were giving me a lot of problems, and I probably walked about 2 miles total. Now that I've finished a half marathon and know what it takes, I really want to run a complete half. I enjoyed this one so much but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do another one. I decided to take some time and think about it, since I'd have to be much more diligent in my training if I want to run an entire half. A couple days ago I found myself researching the San Diego Half Marathon - I think I'm sold on it! I would much rather run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disney, but it sold out before the Disneyland Half even occurred. That just means I'll be ready for it in 2014.

I thought I'd want to take a break from running once this race was over - the mental stress that I put on myself weighed me down more than the physical stress and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to put myself through that again. It's been 10 days and I'm already itching to lace up my shoes, the only thing preventing me is the plantar fasciitis that I developed on the half. I've got to give my foot some time to heal before I head out again but I am very much looking forward to it.

Now that I achieved my goal - completed a half marathon and developed an enjoyment of running - what's next? While my foot is healing, I don't want to lose momentum so I've decided to do a . . . . 30 Day Ab Challenge!! These challenges are very popular and I'm always last to jump on trendy bandwagons, but better late than never! I'll be starting it soon but if there is anybody who wants to join me on this challenge, I've located a good workout and I'd love to have others join me. Everybody don't jump up at once now. ;-)

Happy Trails!