the Woodlands Half

Doing a little self-stalking, I realized I never posted about the half marathon I ran back in March. 

It was... awesome. I can't think of another way to put it. Considering the fact that my first "run" longer than a mile, EVER, was about 9 months prior, it really was "awesome" to see that my body could even do it. 

Like, kind of miraculous, even. The body is an incredible thing.

Of course, months of training went in to it. And it helped that most of the other people I trained with were training for the full marathon, so I was very well prepared. 

It also helped that my running partner was a cross country All-American in her college days. (Never mind the fact that she was 4 months pregnant at the time. Or the fact that she was practically singing through the whole thing.)

I've been so lucky to have such great running partners in both of the races I've run.

 I couldn't have asked for a better race. The weather was brisk. Another friend (also pregnant) ran the first half with us, but she stopped (to run the last quarter of the marathon with another friend. Seriously, who are these people?). We had so much fun and ran faster than I had ever trained. 

We finished in 1:53. 

The morning of, I told myself breaking 2 hours would be awesome, but probably not obtainable. Well, I beat it. 

I don't get proud of myself for too many things. But this, I'd have to say, is one of the few. 

The bummer about our speed, though, is that I didn't tell Greg to get there that early, and they missed me crossing the finish-line. Which was especially bummerific since, right around the end of the race, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped and we. were. FREEZING. Between my exhaustion and sweaty clothes, I don't know that I've ever been colder in my life. I was physically in pain from all the shivering. And truth be told, I was a little mad. The end of the race is supposed to be a party, and I was so miserable. So, we quickly grabbed our food and left the party.

With my adorable cheering section in tow.

I could go novelistic on you about my post-race thoughts, but I'll just leave you with this:

1. Training with friends is the way to go.

2. The Boston Marathon bombers...They ruined a really special day for a LOT of people...let's just say they better hope they never find me in a dark alley.

3. I have a whole new perspective on the Word of Wisdom and health.  It's more than not eating certain things or looking good in your jeans. It's about taking care of your body- this amazing gift that we've been given- and keeping it strong, to be able to do things, sometimes hard. To "run and not be weary" is not some arbitrary blessing. It's what comes by following this commandment. Because you must "run" to "not be weary." I like the feeling of knowing that my body is strong. And healthy. And can do hard things. I could definitely do better, but this has been a great start.

And now I'm going to go make some brownies.

Seriously.