I am only HALF crazy :)

This past Sunday I ran my very first half-marathon. I signed up for one back in January. I ran in the Diva Half Marathon Series called Run Like A Diva. The one I ran was in North Myrtle Beach. I would not consider myself a runner. I actually used to hate running because I would get winded easily and it was just not fun. I like to challenge myself because overcoming a challenge is so rewarding. Last year I ran my first 5K and this past March, I ran a 10K. Back in January, my boyfriend's mom was talking to me about signing up for the half marathon with her, Corey's sister, and his cousin. I took a few days to think about it because at that point the most I had ever done was 4 miles. How in the world was I going to whip out 13.1? After some thought I decided to sign up and then immediately googled training programs. For the most part I stuck to it. I would run on the days that it said run and I certainly rested on the rest days :) but there were days for cross training too. At the time I did not have access to a gym so sometimes I would do a cardio workout I found online or walk the neighborhood with my dog. It helped too that Corey would run with me on the weekends. It is good (and sometimes frustrating) to have someone running with you and pushing you. There would be times on our run that I would want to stop and walk briskly. Nope, that did not work for him. He kept pushing me (within reason) to keep going because in the end I would be mad at myself for stopping to walk when I knew I could run a little further. Well half marathon day had finally arrived and I was really nervous. By then the most I had run without stopping was 6 miles but during the training I did go a total of 11 miles (combo of running and walking). The race started at 7am. The day before had been overcast and chilly. The weatherman was calling for rain all weekend. Luckily, the rain held off and it was beautiful on race day. I already had in my head that it was okay to walk some of the half marathon but I did not want walk the majority of it. When you line up, you line up based on how fast you can run a mile. We lined up between the 11-12 minute mile. It was a slow steady pace to start out. I will say that anytime I run, the first mile and a half to two miles is always the toughest because my body is trying to find its groove. Sunday was different. Once we started all of the nerves went away and I was very relaxed. All four of us started out running together and then slowly separated based on our pace. I surprised myself and ran then entire 13.1 miles!!! The only time I would stop was at the water/Gatorade stations to get a drink. I don't know about you but I certainly cannot run while drinking because I spill the majority of it. After each water station I would continue at my pace. From mile 10.5 to 11.5 was the toughest part for me. 13.1 miles is a lot of pounding your knees and ankles get. I did have to stop and use the bathroom at mile 11.5. They had porta-potty's set up throughout the course but the lines were awful. Luckily when I went, there were no lines. If I run another half marathon again, I want to run this one. Right before mile 13 they have a boa and tiara station. Volunteers are there passing them out to you as you run by and then once you cross the finish line, a fireman gives you a rose and your medal. I finished the race in 2 hours and 35 minutes! The part I loved most about the race was throughout the entire course there are people standing along the sides cheering you on constantly!! We would run through some of the residential areas and the homeowners would stand in their yards cheering for us. I did tear up throughout the course because of the overwhelming encouragement and I most definitely started to tear up as I saw and crossed the finish line. I was so proud of myself for not only completing a half marathon but for actually running the entire race. I really did surprise myself. Here is a picture of my medal. I am so proud of it!!

Is this real life???

I am SO behind on updating...as always. A little over 3 weeks ago, I graduated from The University of South Carolina with my Master's in Educational Technology. At times it still does not seem real to me that this actually happened. However, it is so nice to be able to come home from work or practice and NOT have any homework to do!! I have enjoyed the past couple of weeks being able to watch some of my TV shows when they actually come on and/or not have to do homework while watching. Although I do have a lot of catching up to do because my DVR is full! Graduation weekend was so much fun. Below are some pictures from the event.

We had a pinning ceremony the Thursday night before graduation. I had never heard of that for education, only for nurses. USC-Aiken and USC-Columbia join together for the Educational Technology program. All of my classes were through distance education but some of my professors taught at USC-A and others at USC-C.

These are some of my classmates from the program. This was the first time I had actually met (face-to-face) all but one of them from the picture. We had to work on several group projects however, we had to be a little more creative with how we "got together" because we did not live near each other. I did get lucky and end up living 5 minutes down the road from one of my classmates. We even work in the same school district let alone the feeder schools. I work at the middle school and she works at the high school. We would get together a lot to work on projects and to just make sure we were both remaining sane throughout the program. It was tough at times because it would require a lot of self discipline. You did not go to a classroom everyday, actually at all. When you had group projects you would have to find a time that worked for each of you, which can be hard and not always practical. There were times that I would get maybe 3-4 hours of sleep a night just because my days were so jam packed with work, coaching, and homework.

The Friday before graduation my boyfriend surprised me by sending my these beautiful flowers to work! It made my day! Corey has been so supportive of me while I was in the program. He would listen patiently as I would fuss or complain or get REALLY stressed out. He would always let me vent then would encourage me to keep working because I was that much closer to being finished (even if at times it was a year away).

My parents have always been my solid foundation! I know that no matter what, they will love and support me. They have been so encouraging throughout my entire life and will always be my #1 fans. I could not have completed these past two years without them. My first year of graduate school I lived at home. So they were able to witness first hand the craziness and nights I would stay up late at the kitchen table doing work. I remember numerous times my mom coming downstairs to sit with me while I did work. It was almost a since of security and encouragement to have her sitting there with me. She would not talk to me much just because she did not want to disturb me but it was calming having her there. My dad was my financial adviser and silent supporter. He would be the one that could tell I was getting tense or overly stressed and would come rub my shoulders or give me a hug. I am sucker for a hug from my daddy!

My brother loves me!! Even though at times he pretends he doesn't. ;)

For those of you that know my aunt she is one of the coolest, strongest women I know! She has been through more than I think anyone should have to go through yet does not let that keep her down. I was so happy to have her and my youngest cousin at graduation. Artie, my cousin, is 18 and will be graduation from high school next week. He will be attending USC Honors College. I cannot wait to celebrate his accomplishments next week!

Everyone needs a best friend! Kaitlin is mine. This picture is actually from a wedding we went to the week after graduation. The picture we took on gradation day was very blurry. Kaitlin and I met our freshmen year at Erskine. We were both education majors. She teaches Kindergarten in Charleston, SC. It is hard to believe at times that we have only known each other for 6 years. After all the things we have been through, good and bad, it seems like we have known each other our entire lives. She is the ideal best friend. It is hard when for 4 years of my life she was just down the hall from me or the next building over so all we had to do was walk to see each other. Now she is 2 hours away and with our crazy lives the past two years it was hard to have girl time. But even when things were crazy we made sure to talk everyday and make time to see each other. You always need your friends in your life!! Sorry for the long post but wow it sure does feel great to be finished!!