From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!

The River Run has officially been checked off the bucket list! YES!!!!! Ronnie and I ran in yesterday's run and we couldn't have had a better time. Ronnie finished with a triple Pilsung time (75 minutes) and I met my goal with a chip time of 2:14:36.

Saying this was the race of my life wouldn't do it justice. So, I figured I would share some of my highlights with everyone:

Mile 1 - The gun went off and the crowd erupted in applause. You could feel the energy in the air that this was gonna be a great race. There was a lot of bumping as people were trying to run past others who weren't running the same pace. A great start with a good time and off to the Main Street bridge we went.

Mile 3/5K - I felt like I finally hit my groove during mile 2 and hit the split I wanted to when I crossed the 5K point. Running through San Marco brought back some great memories, but this is where we first got a taste of how supportive Jacksonville really is of this race. One house was handing out ice cold orange slices. YUM!

Mile 5 - half way there! Again, running through the neighborhoods and seeing the people tailgate to cheer you on just lifts you up. This was where the half-way there Heineken stop was! Ice cold shot of beer was exactly what I needed.

Mile 6/10K - brought to you by my mom! I had gone through and synced music on my iPod that would help me run mile after mile. By mile 6, my legs were starting to turn to jello, my heel was aching, my hips were on fire. And then it came on, Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer." It was like my mom was right there cheering for me. Exactly what I needed to buoy me through the next few miles, because at the 10K turn, I saw the big Green Monster off in the distance. My 10K split was purposely slower, as I wanted to save a little for the bridge.

Mile 8 - 1.5 miles at a 7% grade. Welcome to the Hart bridge, aka Hart-break bridge, the big Green Monster. My plan of attack, march straight up that SOB and jog down the backside, but I had a secret weapon... Again, I had synced my iPod - Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird (LIVE)" was my theme song for the bridge. When I got to the top and looked out over the river and saw the view of downtown, I was overwhelmed. I had actually done this, there was only a mile left of this HUGE race, and I was standing at the top of this huge bridge.

15K - descending from the bridge and getting closer and closer to the finish line, I felt my legs and hips trying to give out on me. But this is where the mental aspect of the race came in. I had my watch going and knew I was going to be close to my goal of 2:15. This time it was the band at the turn for the finish line was my motivator - I heard them playing "Sweet Home Alabama" and switched off my iPod. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line. FINALLY! I crossed the line with a few seconds to spare to my goal. I collected my medal and went off to find Ronnie, who had been patiently waiting for me.