13.1 Baby!!! Officially certified half crazy



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I ran my first 13.1 Half Marathon  in Honor of a fallen Hero,

Army Staff Sgt. Nigel D. Kelly Died June 25, 2011 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom. He was 26 years old, from Menifee, Calif.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died June 25 in Kunar province, Afghanistan. I was so humbled and honored to be running for a fallen soldier. This was first half Marathon and I couldn't think of a better way to sacrifice myself after all our veterans do everyday.



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Pictures of me and my bff Connie. We had so much fun at this race. We laugh, talked, cheered other on and got a lot of compliments on our shirt. We heard "you'll have preserved the sexy", "you go black girl" and "hey I read about y'all in Runners World". "Keep up the great work"!!! Kudos to Ashley Hicks and Toni Carey on sticking with their vision. Been in Runners World put BGR on the map. BGR actually gave me a kick in the behind to finally get out their and want to run races, because now i know am not along! My unofficial Garmin time 13.23 miles in 3:13:35      Official race time 13.1 miles 3:24:48



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I not only ran for a great cause ; I also received a lot of goodies for my hard work. In honor of commemorating the completion of the Soldier Half Marathon, I received a Finishing Dog tag Medal and was presented with the distinctive Soldier Marathon coin. I also received a gym bag, T shirt and a army wrist band. <----Pic to the left!! :D

                                                              

 Overall reflection

As my first official half marathon this was and will be my most memorial one. I was excited, nervous and didn't know what to expect. My bff and I decided that we will go at her pace and then she agree to let me pace at the end. She said this is "BGR ,not black girls run fast"..lol. We laugh, talked and enjoyed the run. She fussed at me for wanting to stop so, we can go to the portal pottie.humph heffa worried about her time. WTH have I created..lol..They have pictures of us laughing and smiling the whole time. I can say I couldn't have picked a better person to run  and share this journey with. The weather was cold and chilly. But perfect at the same time.



We all had the opportunity to choose the name of a fallen soldier to honor with our run. Sharing this event with many soldiers who were running, veterans and family for their fallen friends was such a privilege. It was also emotionally. The choice to choose and having a Fallen Heroes bib was very thoughtful and it kept the race in perspective for us. The soldiers and volunteers along the course were encouraging and give this race that something extra. I think this was more than just a race, a fitting memorial for Fallen Hero's of the Army.



We showed up and showed out when it came to the hills. Was not expecting hills but we made up in our mind we will take it slow, keep going and conquer it. There were drill SGTs at the first killer hill and they were AWESOME!! Perfectly placed!! They not only inspired us to push forward and charge the hill but they made us laugh!! "Yelling you better run and make it up this hill, if you don't make it drop and give me 20". I told him if i drop and give you twenty I will not be able to get back up..lol There were a lot of encouragement from soldiers, line up during the course of our run.



The battalion commander was out giving high five saying thank you for your support. It was an awesome feeling. The runner were friendly and we got a lot of people who admire our shirts! My bff and I even assisted a marathon runner who was cramping up near the last three mile. We saw him limping and his leg had stiffen up on him. He had caught a charlie horse and was in so much pain. But he was still trying to run. We ask was he ok and I ask him did he want to lay down and I can  try to massage the cramp out. He agree and I start working on his leg and then his right leg start cramping. My bff start massaging the right leg. All he kept saying was" I got to make it". "I got to make it" I assured him he would and he took off afterwards.

We thought about him the whole weekend wondering what happen to him. Guess what I looked up his bib number and come to find out he finished ..now get this he finished a full marathon 26.2 miles in 3:18. Talk about an awesome pace. Hell we was only doing just 13.1 miles and it took us 3 hours and some change..lol I'm glad he made his goal. I text my bff to let her know that our assistant did some good. We forgot about our time we just went into help mode. Which I guess seal the military motto Never leave a fallen soldier behind.

As you can see, this was my first half and it made a big impression on me. I felt like I could conquer the world. It made me realize no matter what I'm going thru or facing, I can do anything I set my mind too. I felt so empowering. It made me think about a lot of life decision and confirmed that I will be okay. I'm stronger than I think I'm. You see running is truly therapy!!! This race set higher standards and I look forward to running it again next year. I know my time will be faster!!!!

A perfect weekend,

~Shelia~