13.1

On Saturday, April 13th, we ran a half marathon.

13.1 Miles.

I've been asked many times since that day, how it went....am I sore...did I really run the whole thing...what was my time...etc.

I love it that people are so interested in this.  In running.  I love it that we received so many texts, Facebook messages, and phone calls to wish us luck in our race.

I've always been a 'runner'.

It's something I do for fun (well, it's the only thing that burns calories the way I want to).  And, it felt so good to accomplish this half marathon with two of my close friends.

I'm grateful for my husband encouraging me to do this.  Well, actually, I'm grateful for all of our husbands for their awesome encouragement!  (Even if they do still need some training on cheering!)

To answer some of your questions: We trained for 10 weeks.  I finished in 2:15 (two hours and fifteen minutes) - 15 minutes faster than I thought I would finish.  I ran the entire race...in fact, 2:15 is around a 10 minute mile pace.  My fastest mile was 9:27 (believe it or not, it was the last mile of the race!) and my slowest...well, we won't go there.  He he.  I was really sore on Saturday (I hobbled all over the place and slept...a lot!), right after the race...but, by Tuesday, I felt great.

So great, that I was considering running another half marathon the following Sunday.  (I didn't, but I really wanted to...Brandon was going out of town so I didn't want to push myself too far and feel icky while he was away.)

It feels good to be at this point.  At the point in my life where I am comfortable with my exercise routine, and wanting to do more.  It's funny when a five mile run doesn't seem like enough...or that one half marathon is too small of a goal.

I need this in my life.  Not only to feel good about myself and to be a healthier person for my family, but to teach my boys that exercise is important...that making time to take care of yourself is important.

Whatever your goal is this year (I've seen a lot of them on Facebook!), stick with it.  You CAN do it and once you've reached your goal, you will feel so good about it.

I mean, just look at us.  We are ready for the next one!  Anyone up for 'Running with the Cows' on May 11th?  Go ahead.  Do it.  I know you're up for the challenge!

13.1