My First Half Report

Hello everyone,
I'm back from the Myrtle Beach & I'm proud to say I finished the 13.1.  The weather was ideal for me, cool, overcast and it didnt start raining until after I finished.  The crowd was huge with tons of volunteers and supporters.  I started out at a  good  pace and didnt stop at all until mile 4 to grab some water.  I didnt have any problems whatsoever until I got to mile 9 then my legs were starting to get really heavy so I stopped and stretched for a minute a continued on to mile 10 then I stopped for water & streteched out again.  Between mile 10 & 12 I was struggling and starting to slow down I actually ended up walking probably about a half mile as I was talking to a lady who still had to go the whole marathon distance at that point I knew I didnt have much further to go so I started running again slow and before I knew it I was coming up on the finish which motivated me to dig in  and I got the biggest thrill of hearing the announcer say my name as I finished.  My husband and youngest son got to watch me finish but I didnt see them it was so many people.  I met up with them a few minutes later.  As for my time I went in with the goal of finishing under 3 hours, I knew with my training and if all went well I should be able to finish around 2:45 my "pie in the sky "goal would have been 2:30, this is what I ended up with Finish time 2:48:01 Chip time 2:44:03 Pace was 12:50.  I was a bit upset because prior to the race I read over the rules which clearly stated no headphones, IPods, etc. so I did not have my Ipod however I saw loads of people with them and never saw anyone say anything to them.  I feel like if I would have had it I would have done a bit better timewise but it's good to know I got through it without it.  I got a great finishers medal placed around my neck from a Hooters girl, why can't they have Hooter guys??? I plan to do this same race again next year and hopefully at least 1 or 2 more halfs before then as far as a full yes eventually I would like to be able to complete the 26.2 but not quite ready to committ to it.
I have my first sprint tri coming up next month & some other 5ks, 8ks & 10ks I'd like to do this spring.  I thought about all of you during my run and how far I've come to do what I was doing & how much more I could be capable of accomplishing.  Thank you all for your support, encouragement, wisdom & advice. This is truly a great forum to be a part of.