Day 90: Half-Marathon (and last day of P90X)

Today I ran my first half-marathon!

I ran every step of the 13.1 miles (my brother wouldn't have let me walk knowing I can run). I am so thankful that he helped set my (10 minute mile) pace. My goal was to finish in 2:10, but we actually crossed the line at 2:13:34 and 2:13:35 (with me following him).

I am really happy with this finish because let me tell you: Asheville is hilly! Correction: Asheville is mountainous. We literally ran up a mountain for about 2 miles (around miles 8-10 I believe) at a steady incline. That was definitely the most challenging part of the course! (Aside from the 45 degree -if not steeper- incline at the end of the last mile... can we say close to tears? Thanks so much to the woman who cheered me on right there. She really helped me feel like I could do it when I needed it most).

My brother kept me motivated and engaged the whole race. Every time we started a new mile, we dedicated that mile to someone (our list included: all three grandfathers in honor of Honor Flight, Michael Jordan, the characters of the television show Rugrats, President Obama, Amelia Earheart, Jimmy V, Tyler Hansbrough, a famous runner I can't remember (help bro?) and our parents).

Neither of us ran with an iPod, but we did have two songs in our heads.
1) Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
2) It's Time for the Perculator (I've just searched for the best YouTube video of this song/dance and think this version is best. Even though it's blurry, you can hear the music and see the dance well.)

My mom is awesome and had pieces of pumpkin bread with raisins in it waiting us after we crossed the finish line. I devoured that bread. It never even had a chance. I would've eaten my brother's too if my mom hadn't hidden it from me (he didn't want it at the time).

After the race, we headed back to the hotel for showers. Then we went back downtown for some delicious eats (Asheville is known for being a foodie town). We had sushi and pad thai for lunch. Then more walking and hanging out with my aunt and cousin. We made it back to the room around 6 for naptime. My dad woke us at 7:30 so we could make it to our dinner reservation on time!

More chowing down at dinner. I have never been more ravenous.