Finisher Medal (Bad Picture - taken from my iphone and I happened to be shaking from being wet and cold)

13.1 miles later I finished my half marathon! I ran the Santa Clarita half marathon on Sunday, November 6th. My official time was – 2 hours and 31 minutes. Not too bad for my first race post-baby! It was a cold and rainy Sunday morning in November but I was prepared after months of training. I had all my gear on and I was ready to hit the streets of Santa Clarita. It was a relatively flat course and most of the race took place on paseos which are trails (not streets) in the community. I actually ended up racing with my Mom who didn’t train with me but she is a natural athlete who does primarily triathlons these days so she was able to catch up in her miles and race it with me. I took a few pictures before and after the race with my gear. It was actually a very emotional moment for me to cross the finish line because I remember just a few years ago I wasn’t able to run without awful pain in my hips and knees.  I finished strong but hope to beat my time on my next race.  For those of you who have ran distance, you know that there is nothing like a ‘runners high’.  I felt amazing that whole day in spirit but by the end of the night I was feeling it in my legs and I could barely walk up and down the stairs in my house.  I will take the next few days to do some walking and recover before I begin running again next week.

Start line at SCV half/full marathon approximately 46 degrees and raining

Mile 5... and still raining!

Mile 10... And we have sun!

Mile 12... 1.1 to go!

Week 1: 2 ½ miles

Week 2: 3 ½ miles

Week 3: 4 ½ miles

Week 4: 6 miles

Week 5: 6 miles

Week 6: 7 miles

Week 7: 8 miles

Week 8: 5 miles

Week 9: 9 miles

Week 10: 5 ½ miles

Week 11: 10 miles

Week 12: 5 ½ miles

Week 13: 11 miles

Week 14: 12 miles

Week 15: 3 miles

Week 15: 7 miles

Week 16: ½ Marathon – 13.1 miles

Mid-week I would do 1-2 training runs that varied between 2 and 3 miles each.

Next week I already start my training for the Tinkerbell ½ marathon at Disneyland which takes place on Sunday January 29, 2012. This is a race that I am participating in through Team in Training… (more to come about TNT in future postings) Please visit my fundraising page if you haven’t done so already and donate to the cause… http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/tinkerb12/nhankk