I did it!  I fucking did it!  I joined the Dark Side…errr….I mean I completed the Disney Dark Side Half Marathon!!!!!!!   I ran a half marathon!!!!!!  Check that shit off the bucket list.

I was nervous in the days and hours leading up to the race, since it was going to be very early in the morning, and the weather was going to be warmer than what I typically ran in.  Was I going to have to take a pre-race shit?  Or even worse, a during the race shit?  I was concerned about refueling and water and how often I should do them.  I had practiced on my training runs, but I still didn’t feel supremely confident that I’d pick the right time to tank up.  Maybe I’d wait too long and have my energy just circle down the drain, never to be recovered.  Or I’d not wait long enough, and then be waterlogged or dealing with side stitches during the race.  How long was it going to take me to finish?  Would I even finish?  I had NO idea what to expect.

I have to say, I surprised myself.  The longest training run I’d done was 10 miles, so not the full race distance.  As the time and the miles dragged on, I was expecting to have moments of “What the fuck was I thinking?” or “I can’t do it!” or “I won’t be able to finish!” or “This was another ‘bright’ idea!!!!” <insert sarcasm here>.

That never came.  I was so shocked that I didn’t have all this negative self-talk.  Instead, it was positive and encouraging!  Shocker right?  I kept saying to myself, “You’ve trained for this.  You can do this!”  And I could.  And I did.

When I saw the finish line, I was expecting to well up with tears and start bawling.  That didn’t happen either.  It took me 3 hours and 13 minutes.  I was hoping to get done in 3 hours, but in reality, I’m just thrilled I was able to finish.  I felt so elated and ecstatic that I set this big goal for myself, methodically approached it, and then I ran off and did it!  I fucking did it!

Watch out world.  Who knows what is next for me.