The Birth of a 1/2 Marathon

As I was running with my friend Mandy one day, she told me that the end of a marathon was similar to giving birth. It was all mental and you had to really focus.
As I get ready for this race, I feel as if I am preparing for birth. I’m resting. I’m pampering myself. I’m being very careful about what I eat. I’m hydrating. I’m nesting a bit, getting out all of my running gear, gazing lovingly at it, running my fingers across it and smiling. I’m packing my race over night bag…what shall I bring? The grey spandex shirt or the blue one? I’m putting together a running playlist to get me through the pushes. I’m talking about it a lot.
It’s my first big race. It’s a half marathon, which I know, is not a full marathon, but less than a year ago I couldn’t run a half a mile. This weekend I will run 13.1 together with my team and a marathon will soon follow, I’m already hooked.