First half marathon and decisions, decisions, decisions...

Well, I did it on June 4, 2011.  I ran my first half marathon.  It was hot, humid, and not really fun.  My time was a lot worse than I wanted, and the double hill on mile 11 forced me to stop and walk.  I was disappointed, but I physically could not run up them.  I ran after that until about mile 12, where I had to walk for just a short stint.  What made it all worthwhile was seeing Notre Dame Stadium, running through the tunnel, and the most awesome part of all...hearing the Victory March.  As a lifelong ND fan, knowing I was running through the same tunnel so many of those football players and coaches I had seen on TV have run through, was an almost magicial feeling!  I ran across the finish line, grabbed a wet towel to wipe all over my head, and got in line to get concessions.  I stopped my heartrate monitor, and noticed I burned 1700+ calories.  Wow!!!

A couple of physical things I noticed about this run that were kind of odd...I was okay with not having to go to the bathroom during the whole race, something I was worried about.  When I finished, I had an incredible urge to tinkle; however, once I was in the bathroom, nothing much came out.  I also got cold chills at mile 12.  Keep in mind, it was a humid 85 degree day.  More or less, I was dehydrated.  One man in the Chicago 13.1 on the same day as our race (not too much later in the day) ended up dying.  Chicago black flagged/called the race off.  Our race was called maybe an hour after we finished (my friend Jess and I).  It was red flagged from the halfway point.  So, I know if I run in that kind of heat again, I shouldn't worry about having to go to the bathroom during the race.  I need to drink up!
Here's a picture I took of myself after the race...

loving the medal!

On a different note, I am not sure what I want to do with my body right now.  I have been stuck around 150 for 1.5 YEARS.  I am pretty happy with my body, and I definitely like what I'm physically able to do.  I get lots of compliments and called "skinny" a lot.  However, I always saw myself weighing 135-140 pounds and being a size 6, not a size 8-10 like I am now.  My husband thinks I look good now and not quite as good even five pounds ago when I was 145.  So, I think I might (not 100% sure yet) go to maintenance mode and work on firming things up and just other physical feats.  Bring on a more consistent strength program!  (I have done ChaLean Extreme 2x now, and while I loved my results, I think I'll go in a different direction for right now.  I'm just not sure exactly what that'll be.  I need to figure it out though.)

That's enough for now.  Later...