2:27:39

That is how long it took me to finish the Dasani Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach. I called it my own personal St. Valentines' Day Massacre! Overall, it was a great race. The weather was almost perfect. It was cloudy and about 48-50 degrees. I would have preferred it be about 10 degrees cooler but you have to take what you get. There was a 70% chance of rain but it held off until after I was finished...thank god! The course was completely flat and was a 13 mile loop around Myrtle Beach and part of it was by the beach. It was better than Kiawah because Kiawah was not a loop, it was running 6.5 miles and then turning around and going back, very boring.

Before the race was a different story. I had a mini meltdown at the start line about 5 minutes before the gun went off. I panicked because I had not trained as well as I should have and I was NOT prepared to run 13.1 miles. My sister gave me a big hug and gave some words of encouragement. She told me to take my time and to walk if I had to. She also told me that it took courage to get out there and run when I have not run more than 3-5 miles since Thanksgiving because of my injury. And she was right, I could do it and I did. I did not walk and honestly that was not an option for me once I started because physically I knew it would be a challenge and I knew I had to get there mentally and I did. The first mile I kept telling myself I could do this and it was confirmed at mile 3 when Step by Step by NKOTB came on my ipod! There were drink stations every 2 miles so I broke the race down into 2 mile increments. Before I knew it, I was crossing the finish line! By then, I was glad to be done. I felt great until mile 9 and the next mile seemed to last forever. My legs were starting to ache and I soaked in sweat. Miles 10 and 11 were a bit better, my legs and feet were numb at this point. I hit the last drink station at mile 12 and then it hit me I only had ONE mile to go. I started to pick up my pace because I knew I would get to the finish line quicker and I just wanted to be done.

I am very proud of this accomplishment. I know I wasn't as prepared as I was for Kiawah, but I only added 5 minutes to my time fro Kiawah which is awesome considering how hard I trained for Kiawah and injury prevented me from training as hard for Myrtle Beach. I think my sister and I are going to make this an annual race for us. I can't wait until next year because I am going to beat my best time of 2:22:23 and get under a 10 minute mile pace. Watch out Myrtle Beach, I am going to kick your ass next year!

Today I am very sore. My legs were sore yesterday but I did stretch and get into the hot tub yesterday afternoon. My feet started to swell last night so I elevated them and they were better this morning. I could barely touch my toes this morning and after being in the car for 3 hours, I could barely get out. I worked out so I could loosen my muscles and stretch them out but my muscles are still very tight and sore. I am getting ready to take a cold water bath (helps with swelling and lactic acid buildup) and some Motrin and crawl into bed. Hopefully, I will be able to move better tomorrow:)