Half-Marathon

Today I ran my second half-marathon!  I don't have my official race time yet, but I think it was about 2:19.  I am THRILLED with this result!  It is six minutes faster than my last half-marathon and I figure being three years older, having had one more baby, and being less physically prepared than last time; it is a great accomplishment!

Back in January I set this goal for myself and in the spring some friends and I talked about running one together in the fall.  But, when it came down to it just Karisa and I were up for it.  We started running together on Saturday mornings the beginning of June.  We started with four miles and tried to increase it by one mile each Saturday.  Well, thanks to family visits and vacations neither one of us was as committed as we should have been.  The middle of July I realized that with the race just six weeks away I had to get my act together!  I did not want to run this and get a worse time!  So, starting on July 12 I became a faithful runner (for me this means just running three times a week with one run being long).  Because of my trip to Utah and Michigan I had to run 6, 7, and 8 miles alone.  But, they went well and I was encouraged that I could do that, especially on my own.  Karisa and I skipped mile 9, but ran 10 and 11 together.  We took last Saturday off, and then hit the course this morning!  John, Karisa's husband, became her running buddy while I was gone so he also joined in on the fun today.  

Here's a break-down of my experience today:

Miles 1-3:  Felt great, kept a ten minute mile pace.

Miles 3-6:  Dragged on, and on, and on!  Although this part of the race had the bulk of the hills, it was not too physically demanding for me.  I think I was just way too focused on our time, trying to maintain  our pace, and keeping an eye out for the next mile marker.  

Miles 6-10:  Flew by!  At mile 6 I asked the McAllisters to tell me the story of how they met.  I knew the jist of it, but hello, we had lots of time to kill!  

Miles 10-11.5:  We were getting tired, but it went by pretty quick as I told them the story of me and Richard.  Obviously not nearly as exciting as it only took 1 1/2 miles to tell.  :)

Miles 11.5-12:  Hard!  By this point we had run out of things to talk about besides our aches and pains and our zero desire to ever run a marathon.  

Mile 12-13.1:  HARD and I did it on my own.  At mile 12, despite my exhaustion, running uphill, and feeling the need to throw up, my legs just started running faster.  I put in my ipod, blasted the music, and waved good-bye to the McAllisters.  Although I was not as physically prepared this time, I was definitely more mentally prepared and I know that is what got me through that last mile.  As I turned into the church parking lot I saw Richard and the kids and that made me so happy!  I just had a short path to run on the grass and I knew I could do it!  It was so thrilling to have a crowd cheering for you and they announced my name as I crossed the finish line.  

The rest of my day has been filled with exhaustion, sore knees, a very tight Achilles tendon, and a great husband who has pretty much run our household today.  :)

It was a great run, I am happy with my accomplishment, and I might, just might run another one a few years down the road.  :)

Before the race; we look great!

During the race.  We got to run along two beautiful lakes and gorgeous homes.

The home stretch.

That is me way back there crossing the finish line.  Come to find out, I'm pretty sure that big clock is WRONG!  Can you believe it?!  They had a clock just behind it that was about 9 minutes off of that, and I think that was my official time.  Either way, it is still an improvement from 2:25!  I am waiting to see what it says on their website.

Cheering on the McAllisters.

After.  Still looking good, but TIRED!  Funny story, we all got medals for finishing.  At lunch today Marshall was looking at my medal and asked me if I won.  I said nope, that I didn't win.  He then replied, "Well why did you get this then?"  Richard thought it was hilarious.  :)

This is the second race I have run with Karisa and she always wants a jumping picture at the end.  I have yet to be successful in one of these pictures.  :)  I love that John is so high and even has his knees bent, Karisa is barely off the ground, and I am not even attempting it.  :)

A big thank you to these four kiddos who put up with A LOT of time in strollers this summer!

And last, but definitely not least, another HUGE THANK YOU to Richard who made all of these early Saturday morning runs possible!  He's great.