2:38:42.

What a weekend!!!  The race went wonderfully, and I really couldn't have asked for anything more.  I had so much fun hanging out in Disneyland with my mom (surprise!!!) and Caitlin, and it was a weekend I'll never forget.  I'm almost at a loss for words here... I don't really know how to describe the whole experience.  Those two days were an absolute whirlwind, and I honestly think it could be better narrated in photos than in words... and so I present to you the weekend in pictures!!!

The walkway down to bib pick-up... Had to get a picture with the race logo!

Got my bib - #4322!!!  At this point I was starting to freak out a little because I was placed in Corral B... pretty close to the front.

No trip to Disney is complete without Ear Hats!  I got mine embroidered to say "Kimi 13.1" on the back.... a bit of a gutsy move since I had it done the day BEFORE the race.

The night before... the costume is finished!

5:15 am pre-race jitters... I was ready to go!!

At the starting line with 12,000 other women (and only 900 men)... The women who were standing near me in the corral were so nice and encouraging!  I confessed to them that it was my first half and they assured me everything would be fine.  I never got their names, but they made me feel so much better!

My mom took this one of me as I ran by in Downtown Disney.... I'm just too fast for normal shutter speeds!  :)  This was during mile 5, and I was still feeling AWESOME and having so much fun!

Crossing the finish line in 2:38:42 (official time)!!  This picture is a little like Where's Waldo...  I'm in the bottom right corner, but you'll never find me.

I DID IT!!!

Here I am trying not to pass out... Soon after crossing the finish line and getting my medal, I started to feel a little dizzy and overheated, but it went away as soon as I ate something.  I'll have to remember to take a few more carbs during my next race.

Showing off my bling near the finish line... couldn't be happier!!!

I'm trying to order some of the official race photos of me running the actual course, so as soon as I get those, I'll post them up, too.  I already previewed them, and there are some great action shots!

Check out that bling!

As far as the actual run went, I felt pretty good!  I had tons of energy and was able to keep a pretty steady pace throughout the race (even on hills - thank you, Santa Monica Mountains!!).  I blazed through the first 10K without stopping in about 1:10 (which is actually a PR for me), but started to get a little side cramp around mile 6.5.  Over the next four miles or so, I interspersed a few minutes of walking but kept pretty even pacing.  And then I hit mile marker 10; at this point, I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or nervous.  I only had 5K left, and I've run that distance many times over.  At the same time, I had never trained past 10 miles, so I was in uncharted water.... As it turns out, I continued on that same pace until mile marker 11 when my glutes and hips tightened up - BAD.  With only about 2K to go, I just pushed it out as best I could and came across the finish line in 2:38:42.  I'm very proud of that time (I came in around 3600th place out of 13,000 runners and 10,000 finishers), but I think with a bit more training I could maybe get closer to 2:35.  We'll see...

You know, I really didn't expect to get this competitive.  Going into it, I said I was just going to run to finish, that I wasn't going to truly race.  Well, I lied.  Once I got out on that course, I wanted to come in as close to 2:30 as possible, and I pushed myself as hard and as fast as I could, and I'm glad I did.  I came away with a time I'm proud of and a good idea of what my body is capable of.  

I'd say the whole ordeal went pretty smoothly!  Not to mention, here I am three days later with absolutely no soreness to speak of!  I was definitely a little achy on Sunday and Monday, but I went for a short run yesterday to push some of the lactic acid out of my muscles and it worked like a charm... I'm planning on doing one more short one tomorrow and then it's back to serious training for the Princess Half on the 26th!!!  I'm going to go back to my normal schedule with weekend long runs, but I'm going to also try to throw in some speed work and hill training.... I'm trying to catch that 2:35!!!

Well, I must confess that I'm not sure where this blog is headed right now.... it was originally intentioned to just chronicle the road to my first half-marathon, but now I'm not so sure.  I made a special New Year's Resolution this year: to race 12 times in 2012, one race for each month.  Maybe those races will become the focus of this blog... I'm not sure.  All I know is that running has become such an integral part of my life, and one that has changed me in so many ways.  I have become stronger, happier, healthier, determined, and more balanced.... and all it took was faith, trust, and, of course, a little pixie dust.