Half a marathon is better than no marathon at all

That's the first part of the Triple Crown, with the LaJolla Half in April and the America's Finest City in August yet to go.

I honestly don't feel like 13.1 miles is that far, because I've been training for it. I also don't think that I should've had as much trouble with it as I did. Man, it was painful, mentally and physically. At about mile 7, I seriously wished I could just stop. But I DIDN'T! I kept pressing forward and crossed the finish line faster than my last 1/2 marathon, a little over five years ago. I even had enough in me to kick the last 100 meters, arms pumping, knees lifted.

At the risk of it seeming trite, I have to express my gratitude to Heavenly Father for giving me a strong body and stubbornness to push through tough things. He also blessed me with the time to be able to train for this as well as a great support network. Oh, and for making such a beautiful place as Carlsbad, California, and providing us with the perfect weather this morning.

Thanks also goes to:

RMB for getting up at 5:30 with me to drive me to Carlsbad, hanging out for 2.5 hours with nothing to eat or do but still having a good attitude about it, and for giving me that last jolt of energy at the end.

Disturbed, the Marley family, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and the Magliozzi brothers for entertaining me--particularly Disturbed for giving me a push at a critical juncture.

The good people who make Cytomax, and the inventors of the iPod and the Garmin wrist GPS.

My current coach, Lee Ann, and my past coach, Ramon. Lee Ann planned out pretty training runs the last two months, and Ramon taught me to "Behave!" That means that you don't waste energy charging up hills, being exuberant with your movements through the aid stations, and high-fiving people along the route.

Jeanette for yelling, "You're not tired!" at o-dark-thirty, three days a week.

Past running partners Jaime, Amberly, Jane and Melissa. Remembering runs with them almost made me forget about the pain I was trying to push through.

Running water for hot baths and showers. (Nope, Steph, I didn't have the courage to take a cold bath. I'll regret it tomorrow.)

In-n-Out for making such a yummy post-race meal.

Gee, I thought of so many other things to be grateful as I was playing the Grateful Game miles 7 through 13, but I guess I'm too tired right now to remember them.