SoJo Half Marathon

Back in March, you may recall, I ran a half marathon. A few weeks later, my older brother, Thomas, called and informed me he was going to run one. Considering he was a running rookie, just like I was a year ago, I was beyond excited.

The next few months involved lots of phone calls and texts between us and his wife, who was also running (She is no running rookie, but was picking it up after a few years of it on the back burner (For the record, she's also the best wife in the world.)). I tried to give him all the tips I had. His first run's goal: run for 2 minutes, walk for 2 minutes; repeat. He could hardly do that. He settled on run for 30 seconds, walk for 2 minutes. I think he said his first mile took about 18 minutes. He persisted, and he continued to get stronger and faster at an incredible rate. 

The closer to the race it got, the more I wanted to be there to run with them. Finally, one night after talking to him on the phone, Greg said I should do it. Plane tickets were purchased within minutes and my training for the race began. 

The big day was this past weekend. 

Thomas was a c.h.a.m.p! We ran the entire race, only slowing down at the water stations! He finished 8 minutes faster than the goal he set last week, and probably 30 minutes faster than the goal he set on training day 1. We averaged just over 10 minutes a mile- 8 minutes faster per mile than his first. He's seriously my hero. 

If there's one thing Secors do really well, it's support each other. Not a game, match, performance, meet, whatever, went by without Secors cheering (and eating snacks from the snack bar). 

My mom and dad drove from California and Kristen and Scott drove from Boise. They cheered us on from about 5 stops and driving in between. Alissa (SIL on Greg's side) also brought her cheering squad to the event. It was so amazing to have everyone there. 

 If there's another thing Secors do really well, it's go out to eat. Like, gold medalists in that event. 

Apparently, buffalo check and khakis were the boys' dress code and Jimmy completely missed the memo.

 The girls' memo: be awesome. We all got that one.

 We ate at Cafe Madrid in Holladay. It was absolutely incredible. If you're ever in the area, you must check it out. We ate like it was our full-time profession and left stuffed to the brim. 

It was was of the most fun weekends I've had in a long time. My family loves each other probably more than is considered "normal," and we have so much fun together. Greg, aka best husband ever, was was champ at home, too, taking the kids golfing and to Six Flags. Obviously, the kids weren't wishing me home any sooner. That's what we call a win win, folks.

I just wanted to share this last photo, taken just 8 months and over 50 pounds ago for Thomas. I seriously could not be more proud or impressed. 

Nor could his co-workers, apparently. The Groupon for SLC right now is for the SLC Marathon in April. He signed up for the half again, as did 15 of his co-workers (who've never ran before in their lives)! Because. of. Thomas. How cool is that?

Good work, team Secor!