derby festival mini-marathon

I have spent the last 20-21 weeks training for my first mini-marathon.  I started off with a goal of finishing.  I can remember my first run on the treadmill and feeling like I was going to die when I finished.  I couldn't run for more than one-two minutes at a time.  As I continued training, my goals changed.  I decided that I wanted to give it my all.  I sacrificed so much to train for this race.  There were many mornings I would get up at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning so that I could train and not miss out on time with Kaylea.  When we moved back to New Albany, it became a little more difficult.  I had to give up some family time on the weekend because I did not have the luxury of having the treadmill at my house.  I was nervous Saturday morning - the emotions from Boston, the thrill of the race, adrenaline pumping!  My new goal was to do 10:30 miles or better for a finish time of 2:18:00.  The race started and I really felt great.  I have actually never felt so good during a run.  I keep my times as I run and I was doing 9:45, 9:30, 9:50 miles.  I loved the course and seeing the people cheering you on as you race.  It almost brought tears to my eyes as we turned and headed down 4th street.  As good as I was feeling, I hit a wall at the 10 mile mark.  I think I mentally psyched myself out.  I had never ran a race more than 10 miles and I was tired.  This is when I wish I would have been running with a friend.  I stopped and walked.  I'm guessing I walked about 3-4 minutes of the race.  I finished in 2:14:20 with a 10:15 pace.  I was so excited and felt great.  My mom and Jordy met me at the finish line, which made me very happy!  It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment.