13.1

CHECK CHECK CHECK!!  Last weekend, I ran my very first half marathon.  Surprised?!?! Because I am.  I never in a million years thought I would run one of those.  NEVER.  Even after my precious husband got into running them and then got into doing triathlons.  I was always happy being the spectator and cheering on my man.  Last summer, my sis told me she was going to do the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville and wanted me to do it too.  So, I thought, what the heck...it'll be a good think to check off my bucket list and I signed up.  I started training in September...mind you, I hadn't run further than a mile in the past 6 months.  This was going to be some feat for me.  I found a training program online and started my work.  I did lots of training on the treadmill at the gym (I'm one of those that actually likes a treadmill...and air conditioning...and a tv!) with some training outside.   About 3 weeks before the race, I did a 10K and it was HARD.  But, I felt confident in how I finished in that race and in my training to that point...good thing, since the countdown to race day was on!



 

Last weekend, the whole fam headed up to Nashville for the big event.  We got all checked in at the Expo then headed to the Opryland Hotel to meet up with my parents and get settled in for the evening.  BTW:  I hadn't been to the Opryland Hotel since high school and I had totally forgotten how AWESOME that place is.  We ate at Solario (the Mexican restaurant) and I might have had a little bit of gelato, too!  Saturday meant an early wakeup call (4 AM!) and RACE DAY! 

 

The weather was gorgeous, the crowd was energized and we were excited.  Reed was in Corral 1 so he started at 7 AM and finished in 1:30:30.  AMAZING.  Basically, he was finishing just as Sis and I were starting (we were in Corral 35).  We finished it, though...whew! I was slow...2:50:09 but hey...it's my first one! It really was such a fun experience...one that I definitely want to do again!