The Half Marathon Experience .

After a year of preparation, i finally got to run the half marathon. I did not train for 13.1 miles but finally managed to finish. More than the finish it was the experience that i cherished. I did not sleep well the previous night  so was not sure if i would finish. The best part of the run was i got to see those localities of Atlanta that i would have otherwise missed. I started very cautiously, 1 mile into the race i wanted to pee , 3 miles into the run i wanted to poop. I thought this was the end of it , my race is over. I slowly got into my zone... moved with the crowd and was totally immersed into the race.
It was early spring ... the race started at 7 am ... there was gentle breeze ... perfect weather for running ... there was some early blossom on the cherry trees ... with the wind the petals were gently moving in the air just like the scene in Kung Fu Panda where master oogway bids his final adieu to po ... it was surreal but true ... back to the race ... i got hydrated in every water station ... sometimes it was water ... sometimes power aid ... finally after 8 miles i decided to pee ... i lost 12 minutes waiting outside for my turn ... then i felt light and continued ... i maintained a constant speed of 5 miles/hour.  After 11 miles my body was not cooperating ... but the crowd was awesome ... the best part of the race was the crowd... the signs ... funny banners ... cheering ... loud music ... just  awesome. I managed to pick up some speed and finally inched towards the finish line ... on the way i did pose to every possible photographer on the way ... this was my chance to show off  ... after 13 miles and 176 yards i managed to cross the finish line ... i felt good ... received my finishers medal ... it was truly a great feeling ... i was tired ... happy ... excited ... dehydrated ... palpitating ... all at the same time ... but in the end i felt i did achieve something ...

planning to take rest for sometime ... then start training for my next race....