These Shoes Are Made For Walking

So, I completed my second half marathon yesterday.

When I signed up for this race (Lewis and Clark Half-Marathon), I was all about training for a second one. I had such a good experience with the first that I was sure I could recreate it on my own without having to raise a bunch of money. WRONG! I've been so tired I couldn't manage to get myself up and run in the mornings.

Knowing this I went into the race with the intentions of running as much as I could and then walking the rest. Easy, right?! Wrong again! I started out strong and made it to the end of the first two miles in spite of an uneasy stomach (which led to an unscheduled bathroom stop on the way to meet my ride). Things went downhill from there. I got a side cramp, I was still worried about eating/drinking for fear of the stomach rearing its ugly head, I was too much in my head and started to doubt I could do it...

Let's just say that I finished. The last two miles felt like I was walking 15 miles and I was near tears for the last 4 miles but I made it. I am so happy that I finished in spite of myself and managed to only come in about 11 minutes over my previous time.

The problem is that I'm super sore...like way more sore than the last one in which I JOGGED a lot of it. And to top it all off, I have two enormous blood blisters on the inside edges of my heels. We're talking quarter sized. And they hurt. So wearing shoes feels like I'm dying. I'm trying not to get up at all if I can help it.

Moral of the story: TRAIN for a race and make sure to break in your running shoes before the race so you know exactly where to put moleskin.

Oh, and if you are wondering if I'd do this again...yes, I'm crazy and I'd do another...but I think I'll wait until next year.