13.1

i am back! i did it! i ran my first ever half marathon, and 13 miles. let's not forget the .1 too! i had so much fun. disney does it up right! we had to be at the race very early (it officially started at 5:40 a.m., my wave started at 6ish), but we were there hours before. i got to be a part of disney half marathon history, by having it snow and sleet at the race! in florida!!! crazy, crazy! it was cold. i was shaking while we waited. once we got going, i was ok. sitting out for 2 hours in the cold (wind chill at 25 and dropping the entire day) was long, but the race was fun! warmed myself up quickly and was good to go by mile 2, having shed toss away clothes. choirs and cheerleaders and lots of family and friends cheered us on the entire time. in the parks there were character stops and photo op's. a definite magical memory despite the weather. i had so much fun! i had my camera in my hand 99 % of the time! afterward was hard, i got so cold i was shaking for hours later! not the florida weather we had hoped for! but it was so fun, i felt good during the race, and had a blast. it was fun to see my mom and aunt on main street in the magic kingdom, and at the finish line. running into the magic kingdom at dawn was so awesome. i didn't cry, i didn't have time to get upset. i did choke up near the finish line when i saw my mom and aunt (the chEAR leaders).....you guys deserve a medal for standing out in that weather just watching and waiting! I felt choked up over seeing them, and proud to have made it, and proud that I stuck with this whole idea and didn't give up, esp. when i felt like it was impossible, and for having done this (training and the race), alone, with no one else but me and a plan i found over a year ago. i'll post pictures later, but just wanted to say what fun that was! i am hoping to do it again next year, and hoping for warmer weather, it is florida after all! it was a great vacation, albeit the chilliest and coldest disney world trip we have ever had. fun none the less though! (i was able to stay a bit longer than my chEAR leaders, and by the end of my trip, it was back to normal temps for this time of year....highs in the 30's/40's were the norm on this trip, which is nuts....for florida!) thanks to all for the support and encouragement over the last months/year. i truly appreciate it and am so grateful. now onto the next half! official time 2:50:48. (which would have been less if I didn't "play" so much along the way!)