13 Miles:

This half marathon was one of the best experiences of my life. These friendships though, are more valuable than the bragging rights of sprinting through the finish line & finishing a marathon. The bond and love that I have for these wonderful friends who ran this race with me mean so much more to me than what I've accomplished.

I this race was one of my best runs. I can't think back to a single moment where I was dying, exhausted, frustrated, tired etc. I do remember the weekend before the race when I literally couldn't go on and gave up at mile six not wanting to even exhort enough energy for the tiniest of jogs. Brittney walked the hills with me that day and we both complained about how bad it sucked. Yesterday though, those hills weren't so bad. I celebrated and shouted at every mile marker and really just tried to enjoy myself.

I think my favorite memory of the whole race was when I got to mile eleven and just lost it. I think I must have sounded like a nut-case to those around me who weren't wearing ear phones and could hear me halfway hyperventilating and crying tears of joy. I was just on such a high and felt so good-and then mile twelve and thirteen were the worst. My calves started tightening up, my hips were aching, and both of my arches were hurting so bad each time my feet hit the pavement. If I stopped to stretch out my calves, my whole body hurt worse-so I just kept going. Then as I rounded mile thirteen, I was fist pump'in like a champ running side by side with a grandpa who had to have been seventy-ish (and shirtless might I add) who also had a big smile on his face. It was awesome to get to mile thirteen.

When I got to the end, all of the girls were there to greet me, and my husband was there taking photos. I stopped off to give everyone hugs and they were like "No, keep going, keep going!" and I made my way to the finish line at about an 11 minute per mile pace (which I was proud of since Brittney and I had to take a brake at mile five to use the john.)

This was a wonderful accomplishment for me and I really saw God's grace through it all. I had some incredible times with the Lord training and I have really noticed a difference as far as my self esteem goes, and my depression/baby-blues goes. I'm really thankful for my friends and their encouragement, I also can't thank my husband enough for pushing me out of the door when I didn't want to run and wanted to stay home and hang out with him. He helped me focus on my diet and getting my runs in. He was such a huge support for me.

Here are a few photos that Dustin took of the race.

Candice finishing the race with ease: (I would like to take this moment to brag on behalf of my amazing friend...she ran the race in 1 hour 40 mins. Nice work girl!)

Grandpa holding Conrad while he slept-waiting for Mommy to finish:
The 3 of us celebrating after I finished.

Conrad was exceptionally proud of his Mama:

Brittany, Candice, Jessica, Me, Amy, Grant & Addison holding our medals:

Here I am clapping my way to the finish line:

Grant running with Amy as she finished:
The Girls:

I ironed on "Conrad's Mom" to my shirt:

A celebratory leap in the air...

Dustin got some awesome pictures. He's the best!