So, I completed the Nike+ Half Marathon yesterday!  I am so glad I didn’t get rained on at all.  Boy, did I luck out.  I strapped on my shoes with my sensor securley fasten, strapped my Ipod with the receiver onto my arm, and headed out the door.  I started out from the Lovingfoss house in Kelso around 9:15am.  Royal’s sister, Lisa, decided that she would keep me company for part if it.  She did the first 2.5 miles with me, over the bridge and down Ocean Beach Hwy to Lake Sacajawea.  There Lisa left me, but my great friend Pam was there waiting for me.  We did 2 laps around Lake Sacajewea together, which was about 8 miles.  The last 2.5 miles back to the house, I did on my own.  The last mile and a half were a little tough, as it was pretty much all up hill, but it was great to hear in my ear phones, “1 mile to go”, just as I crested the top of the hill of the bridge that goes over the Columbia River.  At the bottom of the bridge, I stepped funny off the sidewalk and tweaked my ankle, and then a couple blocks later, I almost got hit by a truck, coming down a side alley, that didn’t see me.  I tell ya, once you start running around towns, you become a much more cautious driver as you approach sidewalks.  This guy obviously doesn’t use the sidewalks very often.  Luckily, I saw him coming and slowed down before the driveway, because he drove right through my running path.  Then, did he back up, so I could keep going?  Nope.  I had to stop and wait for him to pull into traffic before I could go on.  Sheesh, people sometimes…  Anyways, I turned the corner and headed up the last quarter mile hill that leads to the house, took a left and ran the last 4 blocks.  I got to the house and my earphones said, “400 meters to go”.  Dang!  So I ran around the block to get my last 400 meters in, untill I heard, “Workout Completed!”  Yipee!!!  I felt pretty good, I was glad to be done, my legs were pretty tired, but it is the best feeling when you finish a race.  Granted, this was a race where you got to pick your own route, so there was no big finish line, no big crowd cheering you on at the end, but it is still something to complete 13.1 miles.  This was my 5th half marathon, and the only one I’ve ever trained for alone.  It made the training much harder, to not have someone dragging you out the door to do your long runs with, but it’s nice to know I can do it myself.  I’m taking the week off to rest my legs and then I’m going to go get a new pair of running shoes.  I think 1 year and 2 half marathons is enough for one pair of shoes.  I probably should of gotten new shoes months ago.  :)  Only 12 weeks to go until the next race! Phoenix Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, here I come!