13.1

This weekend, Ben and I traveled to Wanli, a costal town north of Taipei, where I ran my second half-marathon. Kayt and I have been training together for the last several months, and have been long anticipating this race!



early morning at the race site,

located on the northeastern coast of Taiwan with a backdrop of mountains



Wanli, also known as Green Bay! Fitting, don't you think?



my biggest (& favorite) fan



at the starting line



...and we're off!

So, I read on a friend's blog about her race in a mile-by-mile "journal", was intrigued... and thought I'd share the same here:

(miles) 1-3... Kayt and I took off with the gun, and felt the energy of the thousands of people around us. We were loving the race atmosphere! We ran through a dark tunnel for about a mile and a half, only to be pleasantly greeted by the ocean and quite the variety of oddly-dressed Taiwanese cheerleaders on the way out... "加油,加油!" ("Jiayou" is a Chinese idiom... it literally means to "add oil." It carries the meaning of "Go! You can do it! Be stronger!")

4-6... began with me tripping on a road reflector and stumbling on my face, to the many "Oh! Oh!" of the nice Taiwanese around us. I quickly got up with nothing but a slightly bloody knee and a shrug as if it's something I do everyday (and if you know me, well...). We felt great, and continued to keep a steady pace as we ran along the coast and passed through the little town of JinShan. We cheered on the leaders as they passed by us on the other side (ha!).

7-10... we turned around and began heading back towards Wanli, excited to be on the way to the finish! Kayt and I were mostly quiet, listening to the constant patter of running feet, with an occasional, "You're awesome!" and "You can do it!"

11-13.1...we were feeling tired and trying to do the kilometer/mile conversion in our heads. Too much effort. We called Ben & Kalan at the 3k mark to let them know we were almost finished... and to watch for us. The second wind kicked in, and we picked up pace a little as we approached the tunnel again. We knew the finish line was right on the other side, and were hyped up. We thanked the Lord for the opportunity to run and for the light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as we saw the finish line, we sprinted to the end and soaked in the electricity of the atmosphere around us. I came dangerously close to losing my banana breakfast, but somehow managed to keep it in check for the masses of people around me. We'd made it!

sprinting to the finish...





Tired, but excited!



Overall, we had a great weekend. I enjoyed this half-marathon quite a bit more than my last one, and am thankful for a great running buddy in Kayt. Now we're looking at next month...