if you're going to run 21 kilometers, you might as well do it in prague.

several months ago i started training for a half marathon. ME! sweetpagene, who just 2 years ago couldn't run more than a minute at a time without taking a five minute walk break. (seriously.) starting in october i went for runs five days a week. (note: i use the word "run" very loosely here, it's more like a slow jog, or even a brisk hobble.) by the time february rolled around, these runs consumed my life. if i wasn't running, i was busy thinking of ways to get out of going for a run. slowly, i noticed my endurance improving and i nearly cried for joy the first time i ran 9 miles without stopping. (pretty much took me all day, though.) finally april 1 arrived and several of my colleagues and i boarded the easyjet flight to prague. (and i got to miss school. woot!) we spent that afternoon poking around the city.

i'd heard that prague was such a beautiful city, but i believed that about as much as i bought into the hype about paris. but, oh my word, prague is beautiful! i mean, if there's one thing i hate, it's taking pictures of buildings, but i just couldn't stop myself!




and because i can't just stand there and take a normal picture.








can you see the terror in my eyes? the impending doom? it's there, hidden beneath that cheesy grin.

kaycee, me, blair. blair ran, too.

travel buddies, none of whom were running the race. see? i won already.

and then, april 2 dawned lovely and clear, the perfect day for running...until the temperature hit 80 degrees! yikes! i hadn't trained in that kind of heat. i was so nervous all morning, afraid my knee would give out, afraid my bowels would give out, afraid my mental stamina could not match my physical stamina. the first 10 miles were great. i killed it. i had a dance party with my ipod, i was loving the atmosphere, the sunshine, the crowds, and seeing two of my students jumping up and down and shouting my name, (but cursing the heat, the cobblestones, and the tram tracks) i grinned at each photographer i passed.

and then. THE WALL. i'm pretty sure that my brain sent a message to my legs that said, hey wait a sec. you have never done more than 10 miles before. what's up? stop! i kept plodding on, but my pace got slower and slower until finally i walked for 2 minutes. so sad. i alternated walking and running for the next 2 miles, dying of thirst, boiling under the cruel czech sun, until GLORY!!! THE FINISH LINE IS IN SIGHT!!! that gave me enough motivation to knock out the last mile.

i did it, i reached my official half marathon goal, which was: don't die.

(and i did it before they stopped the official timer at three hours.)

i limped to the drink station, i limped to get my medal, and i limped the three blocks home where i took a hot shower and fell asleep immediately. (bad idea, i was sore for three days.) (later, i had a steak. it was nice.)

sure, it took me nearly three hours. sure, most of the time i looked like a crippled buffalo. but i did it. and because of that, i am as happy as can be. see how happy?


what's next? you ask. a full marathon? yep, right after i finish poking my eyes out with these sticks.