Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran my first half marathon. This is a huge accomplishment because distance running is always a struggle for me.

The night before the race, my friend Cathy spent the night. Cathy and I have been friends since 1st grade, but we haven't run together since high school basketball practice. It was so fun that she decided to run this race and drove up from Tahlequah to spend the night. Here we are at 6 in the morning, getting ready to leave for the race.

These are my 5:45 a.m. running buddies. I love these girls for being supportive, motivating and fun while we've been training. I'm so proud of all of us for finishing the race!

Cathy, Melanie and I stuck together for the first 9 miles. It was so much easier to run with them next to me. The last 4 miles were definitely more of a struggle for me.

And...we're off! Here we are at the beginning of the race. We felt so energetic at this point.

Here I am at mile 12.5. Almost there!

Approaching the finish line!

Just a few more feet...

I finished! 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 27 seconds. I thought I could run it a little faster, but overall I was pretty happy with my time. I learned some things for sure that I'll do different next time.

My cute little fan club.

So now the big decision is...do I train for a full marathon or run some more half marathons?