Lucky 13

For the past 4 months I have been training to run my 1st half marathon.  After about 200+ miles in training I felt pumped about race day.  I was so excited I could barely sleep.  Here are Jennifer, Jaime and I heading out to the race.  

  I have been training with the Mother Runner Training Team.  We snapped a shot before the race of 13 Mother Runners and 2 coaches.    Lucky 13!

 Since the bathroom lines were long we snapped another photo of myself, Maggie and Ellen.

 Mile 1

Mile 3ish

Mile 9ish

 So HAPPY to see my family cheering me on!

 Stopping for hugs & kisses

 I ran in honor of Martha McGarry and her fight with cancer

 My biggest fans

 After seeing my family I soared through the last 3.6 miles.

 I felt the love!  Look at these wonderful signs my family made for me!!!  Thank you Will, Isabella, Sophia, Eddie & Mary.  The signs were great!  Your support was the wind in my wings.

We did it!!  It was such a great feeling to finish the race .  Below is a photo of my running buddies Ellen & Maggie.  Maggie and I sprinted for the finish line which made for a fun end of the race.  We finished one second apart.

Here is another post race shot of Jennifer, Jaime and I basking in our half marathon glory!

 I learned a lot about myself in the process of training for the half marathon.  If I can to run 13.1 miles and enjoy it, than I can complete anything I set my mind on.  It was a wonderful run.  I felt very thankful to have no major aches or pains during the run and the ability to run the entire half marathon.  I am also very thankful for my family and friends who supported me on my journey.  For me, the journey to the half marathon was much more than just one race.  It was the experience of learning about myself,  making new friendships and getting my body back.  My goal was to complete the race in 2 1/2 hours and I did it in 2:28:17.  It was a great journey!