Mommy and Auntie's Half Marathon

At Christmas, Staci said hey... let's do a half marathon. I laughed at her.  At New Years in Colorado, she said it again and Auntie jumped on board. We didn't find a race because I was dragging my heels. I thought there was no way I could run 13.1 miles. After all, I've hated running my whole life.

Then about 12 weeks ago, Staci found a race. In Chandler. I took the bait. And I found a few amazing other ladies crazy enough to do it too. So 10 weeks ago I downloaded a program for beginner runners and started training. I kept logs. I gave up drinking (gasp). I asked for help. I cursed. I tried to eat smart. I got an early season tan. I joined runner blogs and pages. I smiled. I slept like a baby as the miles piled up. Eventually... I broke through and I started to want to go running everyday. I found a wonderful friend willing to wake up insanely early to ride her bike with me while I ran on Sunday mornings. She talked to me. She made me laugh. She carried my water. And she pushed me farther than I thought I could go. At some point a few weeks ago I reached the point where I knew I could do this and that I would finish. I started to dream about seeing my kids at the finish line and wonder if they'd remember this later in their own lives.

A shot of us at Mile 3 or so...

And another shot of us at Mile 4.5...

 And at the finish line... Lindsey...

 
 Auntie...

 Mommy and Miss Staci...

I didn't finish the way I wanted to, but I finished. And I learned. And crazy Staci stayed by my side like she always does. And now I want to take the lessons I learned and do it again... faster.

So thankful for my support crew: Vince (and the kids) for driving halfway across the state to join me, for sharing Staci with me and for holding my stuff, Avery (and the kids) for coaching me during training and always pumping me up, Susie (and the kids) for getting up insanely early on Sunday mornings to keep me company on my long runs and for showing up on race day to cheer me on, and most importantly, Miss Jill for getting up at the crack of dawn to come over and watch my kids and then for bringing them to the race to see me finish. It's truly amazing to have such great friends.