Our lives have kind of spun out of control since the race last weekend, hence no update on how it went! The Williamsburg Run for the Dream was by FAR the hardest route I’ve ever ran in my life, and there was no way we could have prepared for it living in flat Virginia Beach!

Back to the beginning

It was supposed to be rainy and miserable all weekend, but Sunday morning rolled around and it was BEAUTIFUL 70F… and most of the race was in the shade. I was in awe of the trees and the gorgeous terrain. We took the shuttle down to William and Mary pretty early (about 6:00am) after checking out of our hotel room. Once we got down to the race site, we could pick out the serious runners who were in their routine. We kinda stretched and I rubbed Tyler’s back and neck for a while… until it was time to get into our corrals.

At about mile two, the HILLS started. This is about when Tyler and I split up, since our paces were not matching up with the hills. At first, I was determined to not let them beat me… so I kept a pretty good pace, and passed the 2:30 pace group. There was even a brief moment that I considered trying to catch up with the 2:15 pace group! I felt like I was doing pretty good until mile EIGHT when they had us track back the hills we JUST conquered. Screw that. By that point I was in serious pain and started losing time… so I walked/ran the rest of the hills that lasted until mile 12.

All I can tell you in that I’ve NEVER been happier to reach the end of a race and pass under the 2:30 sign, which was my goal!!

To be honest, this is one of the things I’m most proud of doing!

When I crossed the finish line and heard my name announced, I wanted to cry. I’m pretty sure a few trickling tears may have slid down my face!

This race proved a few things to me.

First, that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. This is a huge reminder to keep working hard to complete my bachelor’s degree this fall. Just like this race, it’s a mind game. I had to work hard to keep my pace every mile, just like I have to work hard to keep my homework up to date every day.
Second,  if I can run a brutal half marathon and hit my goal time, I know there are people out there that can start the “from the couch to a 5k” training program. I know there are people out there that can run that 10k race they’re afraid of… and I KNOW you can start training for a half marathon.