When I left off I was coming up Central Avenue through the Old Northside and beaming with pride for the historic neighborhoods that I live in and how many people had come out for the race. As I turned on 16th Street I saw more and more people from Herron-Morton Place that I recognized and they started yelling my name and cheering for me. It was SUCH a confidence boost to have a cheering section that I wasn’t expecting. When I ran past Herron High School they had their band out front playing and there were a ton of people as you turned from 16th Street to Pennsylvania Street.

Coming down Pennsylvania I saw Rod standing and cheering with our dog sitter (who also lives in our neighborhood) and it was really great to see people I knew out cheering. I was just grinning like a crazy lady through my neighborhood because I was so excited to see everyone and just have the great crowd support.

I kept waving and cheering if I saw people out and that really kept my spirits up, it also kept me motivated and enjoying the party atmosphere of the race. I felt lucky to live in one of the neighborhoods along the race route and also lucky that so many neighbors had come out to support the runners.

I even started to overtake the racewalker guy who I had been behind for a couple of miles because I was so excited to power through my regular running route! I usually run the opposite way through the neighborhoods though so it was a little tough realizing how much downhill I normally run. After passing the 10K mark I had my Clif Shot Gel in Mocha (and proceeded to get it all over my hands - yeah brown gel on hands looks gross) and felt revived. It also was tough crossing over Fall Creek and running along Fall Creek Parkway with no shade and lots of wind. It was really hot and when the half-marathon split off from the full marathon I was glad that we were going to be running in a neighborhood with lots of trees again!

Running through Meridan Park was both really cool and really tough. It was miles 7 through 10 and it was a lot of uphill, rough roads and very few water stops. It was really awesome though because there were a ton of neighbors out with music, dancing, yard signs, chalk decorations in the street and even kids handing out water to the runners. It was also really motivating for everyone to be out giving high fives and encouragement. I was really impressed with their neighborhood’s presence and getting to see another historic neighborhood proud of their urban living!

There was also supposed to be Shot Gels in this area and I never saw them, I didn’t see all the water stops I was supposed to see in this area either but since I brought my hydration belt along I didn’t worry about it at all! I’m glad I wore the hydration belt because it kept my anxiety in check and I didn’t have to worry about catching water when I wanted bloks or gels. When we exited Meridan Park we had our steepest incline of the race up until that point.

I was just glad that Rod was there cheering me on and I could see one of my favorite spots in Indianapolis, the Children’s Museum. I just wish we could have run past the side with the Dinosaurs breaking out of the dome!

I first tried to walk up the hill and when I saw Rod I pushed myself to move a little faster. It was SO rough after doing 9 miles to get up that hill. In my mind I also knew that I was getting close to the point where I had stopped in my training (11 miles). Coming down Meridian Street was really rough because there was a lot of uphill and just straight aways with 20 to 30 mile per hour winds blowing against us. It would have been nice to not be running into the wind but I didn’t have a lot of choice on that.

When I was on that stretch of Meridian Street I was also passed by the three winners of the full Marathon and I was just cheering like CRAZY when they went by - I was SO excited to see them and that they were finishing strong. The winner didn’t even look like he was breathing hard at all! When we crossed under I-65 and you could see the Monument looming ahead it was so rough knowing that you had another mile and a half to just keep powering through. My feet really started hurting at this point and I was just trying not to get blown over!

At this point Rod was cheering for me and I was just trying to keep my head down and my mind on my music. I know for my next half-marathon I need to have some of the songs from the beginning of my playlist at this point to keep my energy up. I really could have used a little Party in the USA or Round Round to keep me running! Instead I started losing steam to Fleetwood Mac’s “Edge of Seventeen”. That won’t be on my playlist again!

When I finally made it to the mile 12 sign I teared up a little inside, realizing that it was the first time I went 12 miles in my life. I had walked a little but I had made it to 12 miles. I kept pushing through and when I got to the circle there was no water at the water stop, just powerade. I decided to keep running until I was past Rod and my mom over by the state house and then maybe I’d stop for a little water before I got to mile 13.

At this point I’m not going to lie, my feet were killing me. I had blisters on both feet and I was regretting my decision to not wear my new shoes (I had worn them on a few runs before the race). I also knew I was SO close to the end but I couldn’t push through, I had to walk and get a little water to keep me going. I walked around the corner to New York Street and then as soon as I got through to West Street I realized there was a huge hill at the end before you turned the corner to the finish line. I walked a little of the way and was like SCREW IT, I’m pushing through this! The crowd noticed me pick up and all these people kept cheering for me to finish strong and were telling me “YOU CAN DO IT, FINISH STRONG!” That was all I needed to haul ass and pass a bunch of people around me.

You’ll notice in this pic that you can see a bunch of half-marathoners behind me, I pushed through and passed all of them all the way back until the lady in the purple top! I was on FIRE! I knew I wanted to taste the victory of finishing and I just wanted to be able to stop! I started tearing up and told myself I couldn’t stop.

When I got closer to the end I threw up my arms because to me, no matter if my gun time was 2:43, I had finished 13.1 miles and in my mind I was a champion. I started tearing up when I went through the finish chute and was just dazed and confused. I couldn’t believe it, my journey was over and I finished! My goal time was 2:40 going into the event and I blew that away with my official chip time of 2:38:55.1!

I was really glad that I packed a mini cooler with ONE coconut waters and a EAS Myoplex Vanilla Cream shake. I grabbed a banana, bottle of water and a powerade zero in the finish chute but I wasn’t really finding any cookies or bagels I wanted (or could eat). It was good to have the Coconut water because it instantly hydrated me after my long run and I just felt really good. Since I had it in training it was perfect for my after race drink!
I loved getting my “bling bling” for the first time and I’m SO proud of it! I’m not going to lie, I wore it while watching football on Sunday and also Saturday night when we were watching TV. The ribbon is really cool and I just am so proud of my first half-marathon. I know I need to work on some things when I do my Mini-Marathon training starting in January but for the next week I’m just reveling in my finish! I’ve got a massage on the schedule for today and I’m off work so it’s my last day of relaxing before it’s back to the grind.

Thanks for all of the support and well wishes, it really meant a lot to me these past few days!