(please excuse my grammar. thank you very much!)
I can’t stop thinking about last weekend!
It was one of the best ever. 
I ran my first half marathon and I finished strong.
No IT pain, just a fun race!
 Surprisely I was able to keep my pace around 10:00, much faster than I planned – my legs are sore today but it was worth it!
So here it goes…

My parents drove from CT to our apt and we waited Elthon (my dearest husband) get back from work to hit the road. But before that I had to take Colby (our dearest puppy) to my great friend Pamella – who would take care of him for the whole weekend. Thank you so so much Pam! We left home around 3:30am, yep, we were all tired already.
We drove 6 hours to Richmond, VA to pick up my brother who was also running the race – the 26.2 miles!
My brother and I went to a runner store in Richmond to buy Clif gels and a race belt.
We had breakfast at Panera Bread then we continued the trip to VA Beach.

We arrived in VA Beach around 2pm on Friday and went straight to the Expo Center to pick up our numbers and goodies.
Then we went to the hotel – beachfront hotel, oceanview room. Ahhhh! I needed that!
We went to the beach but the water was too cold – but it was good for my legs. I’m crazy I know.
Friday was my mom’s birthday so we went out to celebrate as soon as my sister-in-law arrived. Yummy salmon! Happy birthday mom!! Thank you for everything! You are the best and I love you:)
Elthon did that. Cool, right?! It says happy birthday Elza in portugues.

Our Saturday plans didn’t happen exactly like we planned but it was a great day.
 We enjoyed the beach in the morning, it was a little cold and windy but it was good enough to just sit there and relax. Then we ordered to go from Pizzeria. Yummy pasta and pizza! We just stayed in to rest.

Sunday arrived. It’s race day!
My alarm played ‘Day Tripper’ at 5:15am.
 I eat a chocolate chip Clif bar and started to get ready.
 Put my make up on – aham!!! I wear make up to run. Don’t you?
Brother and me, the runners + hubby and dad,  the photographers walked to the start line.
It was freaking windy and cold. We wasn’t excepting that but since I’m from the north and where I live is always windy I was ‘okay’ with it. But my brother was like WTH?!!!

I warmed up with my brother/coach and drank 16oz of Cytomax. Gotta love that stuff!


I was feeling pretty anxious!!

The race started at 7am.
My training was based on a 10:28 half marathon pace but I thought I would try to run with the 2:15 hours pace group. That’s an avg 10:18 pace. 
We were at corral 3. I started a little behind them, didn’t want to push too hard at the beginning. The adrenaline was helping me keep my pace around 10:00 and I kept going.

I don’t remember exactly what ‘happened’ or what I was thinking and feeling at each mile so I can’t give a detailed mile per mile report. 
I was just having fun, enjoying every minute and not thinking about anything else but to keep a good form and just run.
I was very focused. No music helps me concentrate on my form and clear my mind.

Stopped for a few seconds to make sure my IT wrap was at the right place and then I had to run a little faster to reach the 2:15 group. It took me a while to reach them but when I did I actually passed them and kept going. I was feeling so good I was surprised with myself. But I focused again on my form and held the pace a little – to tell you the truth I was very concerned about my IT starting to acting up. The IT pain is a killer and I knew I wasn’t going to finish if it started to hurt. I kept praying for no pain and a good performance.

I didn’t stop once to use the bathroom which is a miracle – only a very quick stops at the water stations for two sips of water.

 I had 3 Clif gels (strawberry with 25mg caffeine) – 1 10 minutes before the race, 1 at mile 5 and 1 at mile 10.

I thought about my brother during the whole time. The full marathon started at 8:15.
 I ran half of their course so the miles signs were there. Mile 20, 24… Oh my!!
 When I was at mile 12 I saw the mile 25 sign and I kept thinking about him, sending good vibes!

Saw dad and hubby at the finish line and was able to blow them kisses and smile to the camera!

I finished the race in 2:11:45 – avg pace 10:00 – garmin time.

I’m so glad to be a member of the 13.1 club! My car already has a 13.1 sticker! Ha!
It’s a personal victory! Last year I couldn’t even run 5 minutes, look at me now!
If I can do it anyone can!!!!

After I finished I hugged everybody and we took some pics. Then we went to the hotel room to rest a little before going back to the finish line to wait for my brother and Jonatas.
I eat a banana, drank Lean Body and eat a bag of little pretzels. I hate pretzels.

My brother had IT band problems and couldn’t finish at the time he planned but he finished. Even with the pain – you runners may know exactly what’s this pain. It’s awful! You can’t even bend the knee. He’s a hero for finishing in such pain! He’s feeling much better today and already register himself to the Marines Corps Marathon in Nov.
 Jonatas our friend finished strong too. So proud of these two! 
They are my two inspirations!! They helped me start training and everything… they are always answering my questions. Thank you guys so much! I couldn’t do it without you!
After a little celebration on the beach brother and I went to the pool and whirlpool to stretch and relax the muscles. Then more pasta at Pizzeria. Hummm!
Ice is always good!

It was a pretty intense and FUN weekend!!!!
The only not so fun thing was driving almost 7 hours back home. But we got to get back to reality, right?

A HUGE thanks to my family who supported and motivated me during the training!
 You guys made the difference!
A special THANKS to my brother who called me everyday during the training months to ask how I was feeling, how was my run, to say ‘don’t skip’ the interval run, screw the craps and pms and just go run… He’s the BEST brother ever!
Another special THANKS to my awesome and FUNNY husband who took the whole weekend off to come with us, having you by my side meant a lot to me! It made everything even more special
Thanks to all my friends that even not understanding why I run for hours then can’t even walk or go ice skating… they are there wishing me good luck and asking how’s my training. Thanks for being my friend!

The runners and their spouses! (thanks Paty for this pic)

Yay!! I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!!

What’s next??