"I can never be a runner"...and other lies you tell yourself...

Today I completed my second half marathon. I had signed up for the Louisiana Marathon last March, having never even run a 5K. Today, not only did I complete it running the entire route, but I blew away my last half time by 22 minutes! Today I finished in 2:09:48. The route was on/near LSU's campus and it was ABSOLUTELY beautiful. I wish I could have stopped to take pics. It of course was insanely cold, with race time temp at 29 degrees. I decided to brave the cold and run with no long-sleeved shirts or jackets. It was a wise move as I got warm fairly quickly and apparently everyone else did as well. People started shredding clothes, gloves and hats about 2 miles in. It blew my mind that they just threw them on the ground. If someone followed the pack in a golf cart, they could have had quite an extensive athletic wardrobe. 


One of the most fun things about doing a race like this is the signs you see along the way that the people cheering on their fave runners are holding. Here are a few of the memorable ones:


"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon."
"Pain is temporary, pride is forever!"
"Most of LSU is still hungover and you are running a marathon - #winning"
"Free Hurricanes"
"Stop reading this sign and run!"
And here was by far my favorite -

Here is a pic of the Louisiana Capitol (the start line), seconds before the gun...

And here is a pic I snapped after I got cleaned up after the race:

I cannot state enough that I NEVER could have imagined that I would be here this time last year. I also cannot recommend "Couch 2 5K" enough. It really, really, really works! Oh, and I also think that if you want to get started running and want to make a goal for yourself, sign up for the 2013 Louisiana Marathon. They have a great early bird deal going on for next year. The race date for 2013 is Jan 20th. I am probably going to sign up this week! It's a truly beautiful course and the race is incredibly organized. Challenge yourself!


Janel