12247. Corral 12: The Dirty Dozen.

I actually did it.

 I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 12 minutes and achieved the biggest goal I have ever set for myself. I crossed the finish line at LP Field, got my medal, found my momma and immediately burst into tears. I have 3 purple toenails, two extremely bruised/blistered toes, and an awesome sock tan line. It's an amazing feeling knowing your family's proud of you, I still think my dad is shocked I actually did it. But the best feeling in the world is being proud of yourself. I will cherish my race bib forever. I will always remember looking behind me from the starting line at the 30,000 people waiting to run. I can still hear my momma yelling "RUN LINA, GO LINA GO!" I can still feel my feet kicking my butt sprinting that final .1 to the finish line. And still tear up when I think about finally seeing momma and Joe and the looks on our faces. April 28th, 2012 is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. There is no way to put all the memories and emotions of it into words. All I can say is the next time you're on Broadway in downtown Nashville, just imagine it being empty at 7am and running down it along with a couple thousand other runners with blocks and blocks of people cheering and yelling and whistling at you with signs and bells and shakers, and then maybe you'll be able to start to imagine what an incredible life moment running the Country Music Half Marathon is.