I finished my half marathon this morning! Not only did I survive, but I finished over a minute faster than I'd trained for. My goal was to finish in under three hours. My training pace would have me finishing in about 2:45, but I finished in 2:43:44, which is especially impressive when you factor in that it took me about three minutes just to get up to the start line once the horn blew, because it was so crammed with people and I didn't even have room to start running until I was a good 25 yards past the start line. So here's all the proof you've been waiting for:

Right before the start... it was only 35 degrees out, so I wore the jacket until the last possible second, then handed it off to my husband.

"Running" down the chute to the finish line. I was barely moving at this point....

Almost there....

I made it!!!

Happy, despite being near death. Showing off my metal and the flowers my sister-in-law brought me.

At lunch with my husband and some friends after I survived the race. Wearing my race shirt and showing off my metal again.

Here's a link to a little video of the start and finish:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/gallery/image/89502-half-marathon-video/

@@JamieLogical

I am so very proud of you! You're so damn inspiring!

I'm a little veclempt right now, not gonna lie.....

@@JamieLogical

I am so very proud of you! You're so damn inspiring!

I'm a little veclempt right now, not gonna lie.....

When I found my husband at the finish line, I hugged him and started sobbing uncontrollably. It was so emotional! I was proud, and exhausted, and in pain, so happy to see him... It was very overwhelming.

this is crazy good! Thank you for sharing your experience with us! How do you feel?

Edited April 25, 201610 yr by Christinamo7

Awesome!

@@Christinamo7 My quads are very stiff and sore. There were some MAJOR hills. My fitbit says I climbed 33 flights of "stairs". I have a little spot of chafing on the top of my left breast where the top of my sports bra hits, which was a little disappointing, because I used Body Glide there. But no blisters and no major pains. Just sore and tired.

care to educate me a bit? what happens now, do you take time to rest, when do you start to run again? what is the recovery like from something like this?

care to educate me a bit? what happens now, do you take time to rest, when do you start to run again? what is the recovery like from something like this?

Just walking for the next day or two and then very short runs starting Tuesday or Wednesday. Slow ramp up the way I had to "taper down" my training this past week. Won't get back into a real cardio schedule again with running and cross training until next week.

That is amazing! You should be sooo proud. Thank you for sharing this JamieLogical .You are inspiring!!!!

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

So, what's next?

You must feel like a million!

So, what's next?

You must feel like a million!

On May 2nd I start my 20 week training plan for a FULL marathon on September 18!

OMG.. YOU'RE IN ROCHESTER NY?! I live here too!

Amazing!! You're such an inspiration!!!

OMG.. YOU'RE IN ROCHESTER NY?! I live here too!

Yep! Next time you'll have to join me!

@@JamieLogical unfortunately I have a pretty severe knee injury that may make it impossible for me to ever take up running, which makes me incredibly sad... I used to adore running. I was VERY fast. I'm actually having surgery to construct a new ACL and shave a large tear in my meniscus. The surgeon says running is pretty much never going to be a good idea for me, even after this surgery, because I won't have enough of a meniscus to protect the bones. :'(

@@Cervidae That is do sad! Maybe you can just come to cheer the runners on, then.