I completed a half marathon?!?!

yes, i did... i know it sounds unbelievable...especially if you know me, but i have the finisher's medal to prove it...

let me start at the beginning. last night i had a race day nightmare... i was heading to the start line and realized i had no where to store my wallet, so i had to run home and drop it off...but that wasn't the worst of it...then when i finally got to the finish line, everyone had already taken off and the race officials were gonna make me pay! I had to jump 5 feet 7 inches in order to start...so here i am, jumping like a fool, trying my darndest to get where i'm going and finally i can go... fade to black (i wake up).

I'm up now. Its race day. I can do anything. Oh yes i can. Atleast this is what i'm telling myself after the nightmare last night! So i get up, shower and get dressed. My shirt reads: SUADI in the front. Thats an acronym we made up quite a while ago....Shut Up And Do It. *this phrase will get me far today*...on the back i have my name with a crown, cuz i'm a queen, but thats entirely different post lol

So we're off.... speeding down the highway because we're a little late. We get to our location and park in the parking garage...i dont even want to TALK about that hassle....

So we line up, we're walking to the start. Go Us! We're going to do this! Well truth of the matter after about the first mile and a half...Chantyl was on her own. They were gone. So i turned on the radio and went to task. Wow, this is not so bad i thought when i got to the 5 mile marker. Hmph, who wuddathunk it could be so simple. I took heed to Betty's advice, start off slow and then slow down..... Not to much sooner i caught up to the girls who were taking a restroom break. At this point I was really really really jamming. They were doing the top 40 countdown. My jam "billionaire" came on and i was off again.... i hung out with the girls for a while and then something happened around mile 8. My hip starting hurting like nobody's business....

Slow down Chantyl. Thats a 12 yr old injurt screaming at you. You cannot afford to mess yourself up again.

SO once again, i'm alone. But i'm not worried. I'm gonna finish this race. Even if i have to crawl to the finish (who-da thunk that was going to be intriguing a little later).

Somewhere between mile 10 and 11, i get a glimpse of one of the girls...sure my hip hurts but i think i can meet up with her, so i pick up my pace (and trust me that's a super duper slow pace lol)..... boy was that a bad idea

I got a ton of simulataneous cramps in my right calf....so here i am with a sore hip and i dont think i'm gonna make it. i pull off the path to stretch (and say a little prayer). Its not helping. My calf is done.

Maybe i need to be done. I think i need to be done.

A race staffer came to my aid to see if i needed to end this journey. I told him i was fine.

So The last 3 miles or so were the slowest i've ever walked. The crowd still cheered me on "come on chantyl" "lookin good chantyl" "you can do it chantyl"

So i said, I need to SUADI. Once more, I channeled my inner LCF's Betty and Gina. Gina has a saying about what "winning races". And i took that to heart.

Now the sign says "1.25 miles to finish". Woo hoo...Woo hoo. My feet are burning, my calf is still cramping, my hip is saying "YOU WILL NOT FINISH THIS"

i wondered if i could drop to the floor and just roll to the finish. Maybe i could channel my inner baby and crawl.

SUADI Chantyl. I walked across that finish, they crowned me with my finishers medal and this huge sense of accomplishment came over me. I was hurting. I was in pain. But i finished. I won.

I Shut Up AND DID IT!

Of course, at this moment i'm too aware of my soreness to say another half marathon is in my future, BUT i'm sure there will be other races!

-Chantyl