Running around

I have some good news about this weekend: I didn't die. For me, this is a big deal. 

We went to Dallas this weekend for my fourth half-marathon. It was such a fun weekend! My dad and Nancy came up from Victoria to hang out with us, so that made it even better. 

We stayed at a hotel with a pool as basically an apology to Mia for taking a long car ride. She thought it was fantastic - maybe the best thing ever. She also enjoyed jumping on the beds in our room. 

So no matter how the race turned out, at least Mia got to do that. At least she's not old enough to remember that the whole building smelled like smoke and it's probably a hideout for prostitutes. 

Somehow I have no photos of us kicking around in Dallas with my parents. We ate some delicious food, including pre-race pasta. If there's anything I'm good at, it's carb-loading. 

I'm going to be honest: this race wasn't the best. The temperature was barely above freezing and it was windy. I took this picture of myself waiting at the start line. Clearly, I was no impressed with you, Dallas.

 

It took 30 minutes - 30 minutes! - for the crowd to cross the start line. Finally the pack made it through the gates, and my dad snapped this picture. Obviously, I was happy to start warming up. 

  

Lord knows I'm not the fastest runner, but this race was a real challenge. The first 8 miles was uphill. Eight. Miles. Uphill. Up. Hill.  How can this town be all uphill? Is it just one giant slant?

I wanted to quit. My shins hurt. It was cold. No hills ever went down. Then I thought about the logistics of quitting. I'd have to basically stop somewhere random, call my parents and then wait for them to pick me up. In the meantime, I'd get colder and colder. To warm up, I'd probably have to jog in place. In that case, I might as well just keep running. I decided just to finish the stupid race.

Then the clouds parted, the land flattened and the last five miles were lovely. I stashed my hoodie in a bush and enjoyed the rest of the run.

 My dad documented my finish. Weirdly enough, I felt so good at the end, I think I could have run further. (What?!) Not, like, another 13.1 miles further, but maybe another few miles. It was crazy.

 

I set a personal record by 4 minutes! I have no idea how that happened. Seriously. How did that happen?

It was really special to see my dad and Nancy at the finish line. It meant a lot that they came. Leigh and Mia weren't able to make it in time for the finish. (Trying to find parking at the Texas State Fair and then getting a 3-year-old to cross 30 miles of parking lot is no small feat.) But we found them just a few minutes after. I saw this smiling face running to me ...

... and then running past me. She wanted to hug Nancy. Whatever. Thanks for the congrats, Mia.