One year ago...

One year ago, I ran my first half-marathon.  Up to that point I had run exactly one race: a 5k that wasn't even a timed event for non-chip-timed participants, and I was not privy to the beauty of time chips at that time.  Over the past year I've run four half-marathons, one 2.5 mile race, one 5k, one 10k, and two legs of the Sawtooth Relay. 

I've learned quite a few things over the past year, especially:

The importance of using bag check or why it's ridiculous not to, really.  Jamie and I didn't check a bag at the Indy Monumental for our first race, mostly because we had no idea we would need to.  It now seems ridiculous that we finished running a race when the temp was never above freezing and still had to walk back to our hotel.  It was SO cold and we were sweaty and our clothes were literally freezing to our bodies.  It's such a glorious thing after a race to have someone hand you a bag of all of the smart things you thought to put in a bag prior to heading to the start line.

and 

I'm not fast, but I've become faster without much effort.  I really haven't done any tempo training or much hill training over the last year but somehow I've shaved a minute per mile off my time for my half-marathon races.  How crazy is that? 

and

I want to run when I'm old because seriously, how cool would it be to win an age group race because you're the only person in your age group running?  That happened this summer at the 10k when the lady in dead-last place won in her age group because she was the only woman in her 60s running.  That's inspiration, people.

I've learned a heck of a lot more, but those are my big three that needed to be shared on the one year anniversary of my first half-marathon.  Today I'm celebrating these accomplishments because let's face it, I feel proud and happy of myself.