memorial half marathon 2011 (and a 2010 recap)

Well, it's done.  I have registered for the memorial half marathon.

Last year I didn't post a whole lot about my running/training experiences leading up to the half.  I have never been an athlete and certainly not a runner.  It was a new adventure for me and Colt was there pushing me every day.  Race day was so surreal for me because it was my first race ever ... and I was about to embark on a journey of running 13.1 miles, a distance I had never run.  My training got me to 10 miles and then adrenaline was supposed to carry me the rest of the 3.1 miles.

I remember rounding a corner at about 6 or 7 miles feeling really great.  After 10, I was definitely feeling it.  Seeing the finish line was the craziest feeling in the world.  My dad, Sara, and Reese were waiting for me and it was wonderful.

Will I ever run a full marathon?  I'm not sure.  It would be great to accomplish, but until I can devote real time to it, I can't commit to that.  What's funny about teaching vocal music is that a lot of times, it's misunderstood for being an easy class where we sit in a circle and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle."  It's a beast of a subject and, as I've said before, makes for a lot of 12-14 hour days and takes up a lot of weekends.  Because of this, training for a full marathon is simply impossible.  A half marathon is doable and, like last year, I didn't really start training until musical was over, which will be March 6th this year.

Last year I ran it in 2 hrs 37 min.  I plan on maintaining a faster pace this year and just being more prepared overall.

So, who's with me??