Lincoln Half Marathon - May 2012 - FIRST 13.1 - 2:08:57

Flashback to December 2011.  My friend Sarah (the rockstar who ran her first half in Norfolk) and I had ran a fun little 5K together back in August...

And decided it was time to think about a half.  13.1 miles.  What?!  Sarah had already accomplished this, she knew exactly what she was in for.  I had NO CLUE.  

The Lincoln Marathon is a BIG DEAL.  It is the largest marathon in Nebraska.  It always sells out, they cap out at 10,000 total runners (although rumor is this will be increased in 2014?)  If you want in, you have to sign up early.  Like December early.  I remember the night I submitted my registration.  I sat in my apartment, entered all of my info, paid my dollaz, and then instantly wanted to puke.

Spring race training in Nebraska can be tricky.  Luckily, this was a fairly mild spring, I trained my little tail off, and was ready to go.  The sense of accomplishment after completing my first 10 mile run was incredible!

Onto the RACE!

Sarah and I at the expo

The race expo is held in downtown Lincoln.  We sported our Husker gear of course.  The expo is big, and I really had no clue what to expect.  Packet pick up was very organized, we buzzed through with ease and were soon carrying our official bibs in our bags!  We walked around, did some shopping, and then headed to supper to do some awesome carb loading!

Looking very awake and ready to go!

Sarah's sister, and my good friend, Rachel went with us to be our driver, official picture taker, moral supporter, bag holder... the list goes on.  I'm SO grateful that she did that for us!  She loved the bright and early wake up call.  We stayed at the Super 8.  Standard joke remains about this awful stay.

Rachel and I at the finish

 

 

 

All done!

The coolest part about the Lincoln Marathon is the finish.  You finish by running into Memorial Stadium, and your lovely sweaty face is plastered on the big screen.  This was my first half, and I was still a bit of a running virgin, if you will... I saw this time on the clock (2:33)

Yeah, gun time Brittnee, not your chip time.  I was pretty happy when I realized my actual time was 2:08:57!  My goal was under 2:10.  I really just wanted to finish.  I'd never ran 13.1 miles before, I really had no clue what to expect.  This race was an unbelievable experience.  Crowd support, music, great aid stations.  I was so shocked by the scenery and support.  I really enjoyed the course.  Finishing in the stadium is amazing.  The post-race food was amazing.  It was pretty congested of course, but I managed to find a banana and some water and make my way back outside to find Ben.  

We hung around at the finish and took lots of pictures.  By the time we walked back to the pickup, I was done for.  I still couldn't believe I'd actually ran my first half!  I told everyone it was a one and done deal. HA...