13.1

After four months of training, I ran my first half marathon in Singapore last Sunday. The Standard Chartered Marathon consisted of a full marathon, a half marathon, 10-K and 5-K fun run. The total number of participants totaled 65,000. It's a huge event.

The half marathon had roughly 15,000 participants and our race started at 6:30am on the bridge leading to Sentosa Island. Four of my running group buddies participated as well, so we started the race together. Thankfully we were advised to start close to the front of the pack because about 1 mile into the race, the path narrowed down so much that we were barely running. But the runners behind us were completely stopped. Not exactly the ideal situation if you care about your finish time! There were plenty of complaints about the race course after the event and one can only hope someone listens when planning next year's event.

I did enjoy running through Universal Studios and laughed when runners stopped to have their picture taken with Kung Fu Panda. It helped make the race feel so very Singaporean.

I was thrilled the race started before dawn because it made the heat less of a factor. So I was surprised by the number of competitors I saw struggling in the second half of the race. After running along a highway for a few miles, I was relieved to approach Marina Bay and know the finish line was only a few kilometers away.

2 hours and 14 minutes after I started, I crossed the finish line. The "12 Weeks to Your First Half Marathon" training plan worked. But I wouldn't have wanted to run any further. Our running group all finished well and were pleased with the accomplishment. And I was happy to find my family after I finished to receive hugs from my biggest fans.

My time was a little slower than I had hoped but when I received my results I was excited to see that my time was in the top 5% for women and the top 6% in my age group. Thank goodness for all those people in front of me who lost time with that Panda photo op!

For now I'll enjoy some downtime during the holidays and then training will resume for the Bangkok Half Marathon in February. I truly enjoyed running this fall because of the great group of ladies I met along the way. And as I completed those 13.1 miles, I thanked God that my body was healthy and strong enough to get the job done. So very thankful.

 Amy and I after the race (with Elizabeth!)