First and Not Last 1/2 Marathon!

So where to start... started doing the treadmill in November, started running outside in April and I hurt my back. It was sciatic pain, so I started walking with my neighbor Liberti around May. We started running again with Rachel and Tyra in June. Rachel talked to us about doing a half marathon in St george in the fall. I thought it would be awesome, but no way. We kept running, and running with the half marathon in the back of our minds. Sometime around July Liberti found a 12 week training program for beginners. We decided to to start training with exactly 12 weeks before the race. I think we said if we can make it to six miles we can make it! The first time I really struggled was 7 miles. My knee started hurting for the first time and I had to stop and stretch about a million times. 8 miles was better! We went on vacation to Lake Powell so I missed 9 miles. And my first run when we got back I hurt a muscle in the side of my foot. So I took a week off, but it still hurt. I decided to go to a pediatrist who gave me a tight brace thing to where over my foot that worked miracles for me. During this time I was really worried I wasn't going to be able to run the half. I told myself if I have to walk it I can at least do that. So finally on the 11 mile run day I was able to run. It was a hard run, my foot hurt, my knee hurt, and my pace had slowed down, around 3 and 5 miles I really really wanted to quit, but my lovely running partners Liberti and Tyra wouldn't let me. For my 12 week run they were both out of town so I had to run alone, I blasted my Ipod and went for it. Around 6 miles it started raining, by 9 it was pouring! I was soaked! My knee was killing me but went numb somewhere around 9.5 miles. At 10 miles a guy stopped to see if I was okay, and if I needed a ride somewhere because it was raining so hard! I told him no thanks only 2 more miles! Jeremy was in the car with the girls and he had doughnuts for the kids, and maybe on for me haha. So he drove behind me the last half mile! And I did it! Tyra trained for the entire race with us but was unable to do it because she had boutique that weekend. We are hoping to do one with her in the spring. On to the race, my origanal time goal was 2hrs10min preinjury, after my foot and knee problems I decided under 2hrs30mins would be great! We stayed at a friends beautiful home in Santa Clara which ended up being only a few blocks from the finish line. The race was early in the morning so Libertie's Hubby packed up the kids and picked me up and we headed to the highschool. We had to ride a bus to the starting line. Right when we got there we got in the porta potty line, so we wouldn't need to pee during the race. Then we enjoyed the loud music and tried to stay calm until it was race time! Iwasn't able to eat before the race because of nerves so I took a couple bites of a powerbar and it was race time. First few miles went by fast. I was running with Liberti, and I think around mile 5 I told her to go on with out me I felt like I was pushing it a little to hard and my knee was starting to hurt. Around mile 7 my knee was starting to hurt pretty bad. I took some ibuprofen around mile 8. Mile 7-10 were the hardest for me. By mile 10 the Ibuprofen had started working so my knee was feeling a little better. Mile 10 to the finish line were not too bad for me, I still had energy. When I came around the corner to enter the highschool I had to take one lap across the track. It was crazy to me that we ran through a beautiful canyon and then finished a lap on a highschool track! I finished the race in 2Hrs19Min. I felt good when I was done. A little onery :) and I am not sure why. I didn't sprint across the finish line, it didn't even cross my mind! I know I could have pushed it harder but I didn't want to push it too hard and have my knee hurt bad enough that I would have to limp accross the finish line or have to walk. I actually stopped at the drink station to drink water(next time I will grab it and keep running) I stopped for a few seconds to squat and stretch my knee once, other than that I ran the whole thing, no walking! It was an awesome experience. I actually would say I loved it and I want to do another one. Running has become a stress reliever for me. The winter and the hours of daylight have made running hard for me but when I can, I still try to run outside. I have come to despise the treadmill, and mentally I can't go over 3 miles on the dang thing, its torture! The Snow Canyon Half Marathon is one of the coolest things I have ever done.

The Girls waiting at the finish line.

Me coming to the finish line(I am wearing yellow)

My running partner Liberti is in the longsleeves, and the other two are my neighbors Chantel and Megan.

So we decided to take the long way home and take the kids through Big Rock Candy Moutain. We took the absolute longest way from St. George to Big Rock. We go out and hike a little(WHAT?! Hike after running 13.1 miles) I was tired and I couldn't bend my knee, but the kids loved it!

I was sitting on the ground, which made these next few pictures look awesome.