First Half

Most of "Walnut Creek Running Club" group, pre-race (and pre-dawn).

Last Saturday I accomplished a goal of mine!  I ran my first half marathon.  I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hrs 12 min (10:05 min miles).  Not too shabby for a girl who was once afraid of running!

This goal had actually started brewing a couple of years ago.  I started the training, but then found out I was expecting Juliana and had to switch to a different exercise.  (My body does NOT like to run pregnant.)  So, fast forward two years and FOUR more races...it was FINALLY my turn!

Of course, I couldn't have done it without some awesome running buddies!  (Honestly, who would ever want to run without friends??  Solo training alone would make me want to poke my eyes out!)  It was an amazing experience and I'm so grateful that I stuck with it (the training, that is).  Here's a secret:  the race itself isn't hard.  It's the training beforehand that really proves you.

Some of us girls--all smiles!

About half way through the training, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it.  Blisters, dehydration during the long runs, and stomach problems were really getting me down.  But, my sweet mother and Harvey came to my rescue and provided me some money for some new shoes (apparently, after running more than 5 miles your feet can swell an extra 1/2 size-1 size).  Good to know, right?  My new shoes are AWESOME.  I also ordered a hydration belt--also AWESOME.  With both of those, plus more than my fair share of prayers, I was now ready to tackle it all--and the runs became sooo much easier!

Love that reflector-ware glare!

After months of training, the big weekend finally arrived!  Our race was the Waddell and Reed Kansas City marathon, half marathon and 5k.  (We chose this one b/c it was on a Saturday.  All of the big races around here are on a Sunday...boo.)  This was a BIG race.  There were 12,000 runners and the city closed a lot of major streets in downtown Kansas City.  It was AWESOME to run with that many people and to be cheered on throughout the streets by complete strangers!  There was water/gatorade stations every 2 miles and there was also plenty of live music to keep us bopping along.  One of my favorite moments was around mile 6 and hearing a couple of guys playing some Dead (and doing a great job of it too!)

Here's Janene, looking awesome, down the final stretch!
She ran her first marathon!

The course was great.  There were a few big hills, but the biggest ones were in the first 5 miles.  Miles 10-13 were pretty much all flat or downhill; great planning on the race creators' behalf!  But, to our credit, we were well prepared for the hills.  Training in our neighborhoods and around town gave us PLENTY of hill-running opportunities!

Since we had all trained so hard, most of us had our families come down with us for the big day!  Yup, my whole family, plus my mom and Harvey, all drove down to see me finish the race.  It was tough to travel with all of the kiddos, but worth it to share this accomplishment and big day with them!  I think Cubby deserves a medal of his own for getting the kids dressed, fed, and down to the finish line before I finished!

Here are Jenn (blue shirt), Jessica (pink), and me (far right, white shirt) trucking along!

Such a, um, stellar picture of me running...no idea when they took this, but it looks like I was power-walking, which, ahem, I wasn't.  Just caught me mid-switching of the feet, I guess.

Here's Jessica, just ahead of me, looking tough!

Here's Liz, the gal who started us all on our paths in distance running!

Here are Marjorie and Mike, finishing the marathon hand-in-hand!  Aren't they the cutest?!  Such an amazing couple!

Slowing down after our big finish!  (The clock doesn't reflect our true time...there were so many runners that we didn't get up to start line exactly when the timer started.  We were all chip-timed for a more accurate time.

Here's me with my finisher's medal!  Yeah, I'm proud of myself for sticking with the training and doing well in my first long race.

One of my favorite parts of the race was, naturally, the END of it!  Mostly because I could stop running (my knees and quads were a tad tired by then...absolutely no desire to do the full at this point!), but also because I got to see my family cheering me on at the finish line!  It was REALLY crowded, but as I ran by, I could see Emily's smiling face and hear her yelling, "Go, Mommy!!!"  She later told me how proud she was of me :-).  It was a happy moment for me as I hope to be a positive role model to her by having set a goal to do something hard that made me stronger and helps me to stay healthy!

Jenn, Me, and Jessica--my training (and racing day) friends!

One more finishers picture, with Liz (and all of of food stash that they give you at the end :-)).

Overall, it was a difficult, but amazing experience.  (Anything worth doing is usually difficult, right?)  I am so glad I was FINALLY able to complete this goal!  I will definitely plan on doing another one!