A Run to Remember

I did it! I completed my first half marathon - 13.1 miles. I'm going to be honest. It was 45 degrees and rained the entire time. It. Was. Miserable. Miserable. After months of training, it was the worst payoff ever. But it was amazing! I did it!

Leigh snapped this picture at the midway point. No, I'm not in pain. I'm just complaining to him and our friend, Kay, that it was god-awful cold.


Here I am at about mile 9. This picture made me laugh out loud. Notice the guy passing me. He's walking and not even wearing running shoes. My speed is blinding.


Here I am at about mile 10. I ran for Vilakazi and for Chip Fields, the wife of a former coworker who died in the Oklahoma City bombing.


And the finish line! Hooray! I ran the whole 13.1 miles!


And here I am with my running buddies, Megan (in the red) and Darla (in the silver superhero cape like me). That's Megan's husband, Andrew. They stayed after they finished - waiting for two hours! - just to see me finish. I saw them at the finish line and got a little emotional. Our other running pal, Susanne, had to leave for the Thunder game. It was so great having them encouraging me the whole time. It meant the world.

My biggest encouragement came from Leigh. He's the one who watched Mia whenever I needed to go out on a training run. A faster wife would spent less time out of the house, but training took a long time. He always looked after Mia and took care of everything that needed to be done. And he was out there in the cold and the rain, cheering me on for miles. He's the best.