Ogden Half Marathon

So, now that I am starting to move again; and feel like I can start to function like a normal person...I will give you all the full marathon/half marathon update!

Brandon and I both had a very restless night before the race, so 4 a.m. came way to fast! We got up and got ready to go. We arrived and waited for Jens, Daryl, Rachel(my best Colorado buddy) and her sister Sammi. Brandon and Jens loaded first and I went to meet up with Daryl and Rach, and Sammi. We couldn't find Rach or Sammi, so Daryl and I loaded the bus and headed up the canyon. The trip seemed WAY longer than 13.1 miles and I was getting nervous! I had given up hope of being able to find Rachel and Sammi-bummer. Just as we unloaded the bus I spotted Rach! WOoHoO! Well, we got to the start and had almost and hour and a half to just stand and wait. It was cold, but they had a bunch of fires for us to stay warm, but there were way too many people so we didn't get a whole lot of warmth!

All four of us started at the same time, but it wasn't long before Daryl and Rachel were off in the distance. Luckily Sammi and I ran at the same pace. It was awesome because when I wanted to slow down or walk she pushed me, and when she was having a hard time I pushed her. It is so nice to have a running partner! I hate running alone...

I was excited to see the first few miles fly by, it sure didn't feel like I had been running that far. The water/aid stations were great! My favorite was the one with gum and another one with watermelon! The watermelon came just when I needed it! It was so refreshing and tasted sooo good! I always chew gum when I run, but I had forgotten mine in the truck, so I was happy to see gum along the way! :)

We celebrated every mile marker with a WOoHoO and a wave of our arms! I even ran like Pheobe on Friends, just to loosen up for a minute.. I was so glad to have someone to share the race and the experience with! The last two miles were hard! The last mile seemed to stretch on FOR......EV.......ER!! It felt like three miles rolled into one. At the end, as I was coming in..I saw my parents and my kids! It was just what I needed. I stopped and kissed Kyleigh and Cooper and then went on to finish my race! Sammi waited for me, she was so awesome! She said there was no way she was going to finish without me:) I couldn't have asked for a better running buddy. Maybe we will have to plan more runs together... Here are some pictures of us running and then after the run.. I finished in 2 hours 18 mins. 36 seconds..... I was super excited! I just wanted to finish the dang thing, and I ended up with a personal best! My training run of 11 miles, I ran between 11 and 12 min. miles. During the race, I ran 10 1/2 min. miles! Way better than I expected! Maybe I can be convinced to continue to run, and maybe to do another race ;)