I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, folks just as the title says, I did it!

I got my sorry rear end out of bed at 4:45 this morning and Caleb and I drove all the way downtown. We battled the lines at the porta-potties. We stood in the throng of roughly 17,000 runners all crammed into one teeny-tiny space waiting for the horn to blow for about 40 minutes.

The coolest moment (besides crossing the finish line, of course) was listening to the National Anthem and watching the gigantic flag waving over downtown St. Louis (although it would have been cooler with the Gateway Arch in the background, but they didn't really ask for my input).

Then the horn blew.

And 4 minutes later, I finally got to cross the start line.
My original game plan way back in January, when I signed up for this thing, had been to finish in under 2:30. But 9 days ago I ran 13.1 miles in right at 2 hours, so I knew I had it in me to do better than that. So I tried to stay with the 9-minute mile pace group. But they were running slower than my music made me want to run. (By the way, my major song of choice that I listened to--several times-- was Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked.) So I passed the pace group, and I never looked back.

I felt great. The weather was perfect--sunny, a very gentle breeze here and there, but not so strong that it made running difficult, fairly cool at 60-something degrees for most of the race.
I hit the halfway point at just under one hour (and ironically, the very next song on my iPod was Livin' on a Prayer--oh, we're halfway there, oh-oh livin' on a prayer!). I was starting to feel a bit tired then, but I felt like I could keep my pace for the majority of the remainder.

Then came the hills. There weren't any major hills in this race--at least not steep inclines. No, there were just mile-long slow gentle inclines that made you want to kill yourself. But did I stop and walk them? Nope! I kept powering through. I trained well for these hills, thank heavens.
I hit a wall around the 9-11 mile marks. It was here where there were a few of these hills, and the spectators cheering people on were sparse. The sun was getting higher and hotter. But I had my goals--I wanted to finish in under 2 hours, and I didn't want to walk any of the race. So I kept on running, and I kept hitting the back button on the iPod. Seriously, I think I listened to Defying Gravity so many times that I owe Idina Menzel a thank you note after today.

I finally crossed the finish line at 1:56 and something seconds, according to my unofficial stopwatch. I'm not completely sure about my time, because I forgot to start my watch right away when I crossed the start line, and then again I forgot to stop it right away when I crossed the finish. I think both lag times were pretty much equal, though. I tried looking up my time on the Go! St. Louis website, but it isn't there yet. But I do know I was under the 2 hour mark and that I didn't walk except for a few steps when I was trying to get away from a water-station without tripping on anyone else, so that doesn't count.

Here's a link to my official results. The chip time is my official running time. The clock time is the time that was on the clock when I crossed the finish line (remember--it was 4 minutes after the horn blew before I actually got to start the race.)

Here are some photos from my big day:
This is me about 3 minutes after I crossed the finish line, once Caleb and I were able to find one another again in the madness. Please forgive how awful I look--I had just finished running 13.1 miles, here.

Caleb and me after I ripped my shoes off and stretched a bit (no, I did not run in flip flops!).

My baby sister and me after she finished.

After the race, Caleb and I stopped at South County mall and splurged on some Asian cuisine (it was fattening and fabulous!). Then we picked up the kiddos at our friends', Mary and Kyle's house, where they spent the night (thanks, guys!). Now we're home to spend the rest of the day resting, relaxing and stretching our tired, achy legs! (And maybe I'll have to give my self a little pedicure, because believe me, my toes need it after this morning!)