Fooled you, fooled you!

I did it, bitches!

I. Did. It.

Ran 13.1 miles (ok, walked some of it too).

The ugly stats:

Final time of 3:02:31 (I'm taking off 10 minutes that I had to wait for a potty in Windsor)

Overall place: 4583 out of 11058 (not dead last!)
Gender place: 2500 out of 5560 (still not dead last!)

The experience was INCREDIBLE! I will do that again next year, you bet. The highlights:

1) Standing in a crowded corral sharing my nervous feelings with a younger runner on her first Half as well;

2) The smell of fresh tortillas cooking as I ran through Mexican Town;

3) Running across the Ambassador Bridge as the sun was coming up over the horizon;

4) Having a guy yelling "Welcome to Canada! Tim Horton's is around the corner!" as I came to the other side of the bridge;

5) Running the first half of the marathon with NO WALK BREAKS. My first break was the aforementioned potty break around the halfway point in Windsor;

6) The guy dressed as Mr. Incredible in the full costume running near me;

7) Running through the tunnel. Yeah, it was like running through a locker room after football practice, but the downhill run to the center of the tunnel was much needed;

8) Seeing Mr. Gravity at 12.5 miles. I had to walk miles 10-12 due to my hip flexor cramping up, but as soon as I saw him I had the strenth to run to him;

9) Mr. Gravity took my hand and walked with me for half a mile towards the finish;

10) Turning the corner and seeing that finish line. I ran strong for that last .3 miles and gave a fist pump as I crossed the finish line!

The entire experience was one I will never forget. It will always be my first time, and now I have something to beat next year. Oh running....I love you again!

-K