Half Marathon

I finally did it! The half marathon was last weekend in Kansas City, Missouri. My very supportive family came with me, even though Tyler should have been studying! We had a lot of fun being together and sleeping in a hotel! That was the girls favorite part of the whole trip. Annie is in love with staying in hotels and they both were excited that the "magic" sofa turned into a bed for them! We shopped at Target, ate at Olive Garden, and loved driving around the beautiful city (really, it is such a pretty city).
I got up at 5:15 so I could feed Barry and be ready for my friend Aimee to come get me. It was an early morning but I had been up most of the night any way so it was almost a relief to have to be up. It was raining when I first got outside but that eventually stopped. Aimee and her husband Tyler were the pick up van and were so kind to come and get us all (except Megan, stupid GPS). It was fun going together and being with the thousands of runners at the starting line. It was a cold morning and we all kept warm by staying close. It was crazy how many people were there and when we finally got going it was a nightmare trying to pass all the people going slower than us but we eventually pulled into a spot to run a good speed. I ran with Aimee for the first 11 miles and loved having the company. It was a hard race because most of the course was uphill. And when I say uphill, I am not talking about a little incline that you barely notice. These were tough hills.
Here we are at mile 7. It went right in front of our hotel so Tyler came out with the kids to cheer us on. It was so fun seeing them. Did I mention that I have an awesome family who supports me in everything that I do! Here are the kids all bundled up to cheer me on. I guess Annie wasn't to thrilled when I didn't stop and stay with them. Hallie was just excited that I was in a race. She is so happy that I won! I love kids and how simple life is to them.
When I got to mile 11 and kept telling myself that I only had 2 miles left and that I could do it. But I have to tell you, those where the 2 hardest miles I have ever ran in my life. Normally at the end of a run I can really pick up the pace and finish fast but this time I had nothing left. I couldn't even go a little bit faster when I say the finish line. I really think those hills took it out of me. But even with the hills I finished at 1:58:36. I am happy about that.Tyler and the kids didn't see me cross the finish line but they met me on the other side. It was so good to see them. Hallie hugged me and told me good job. She is so sweet. Annie just looked at me and Barry was asleep in the stroller. I look like crap in these pictures but I felt like crap too so I guess it is ok to look like it!
Tyler somehow got left out of all the pictures but I wanted him to know how much I appreciate his sacrificing study time to be with me and to take care of the kids. You are the best guy around.