the half-marathon!!!

this is going to be a lot of details and words.
if you just want to see pictures, scroll down.
(my mom took lots of pictures too, that i hope to add once i get them, so check back maybe tomorrow?)
but there are some of you that might be interested in all these little details (like, Beth, who is running her first 1/2 tomorrow!)

i woke up at 4:30 am.
nursed sawyer and put him back to bed (he's SO flexible, huh?!?)
got dressed (my pink shirt - that i've worn in both my 10k and the sprint triathlon!) and ate a granola bar.
Remi picked me up at 5 am.
we got off the Metro at our stop in DC at 6:08 am (that early in the morning, every went a little faster!)
the race didn't start til 7 am and it was FREEZING outside so we waited in the Metro station til about 6:40 am.
then we up to the race, went to the bathroom and started!!!
i was just so glad to finally start RUNNING.
i was so nervous and it was making it worse just waiting.
i was also FREEZING (it was 28 degrees-ish) but was glad i wore what i wore in the end.

pat was A.MAZING.
he got the kids out of bed at 5:30 to leave the house at 5:45 am!
took ALL 4 on the Metro by himself and met me at mile 3!
my mom and dad and sister, Hannah were also there cheering me on!

Mile 3! the sun coming up!

the run was awesome. perfect. fun.
Remi and i stayed together the whole time.
i didn't drink water til mile 7 and then at mile 11 (i think) and felt good about that. they were handing water and powerade out ever 2 miles. but i don't NORMALLY drink that often, so i didn't.
i wanted to pace myself using my Garmin, but it wasn't working in all the tall buildings and tunnels we were running through.
but we managed to get in a good groove...i THINK at the pace we wanted.
i have had an issue with my hip (IT band?) for about 2 1/2 months (since around Christmas).
it hurts, um, all the time.
and it starts hurting a lot once i get past 3 miles running.
but i managed... :-)
i can be really stubborn when i need to.

Mile 7! over halfway! (see my dad, Rebekah, Bailey and my mom in the background behind me?)

there we go! see you at the finish! (Remi is the one in the blue jacket with the long ponytail on my right...her family was at mile 7 too.)

my cheering team waiting at the finish.

and here we come.
we made it.
this is going UP the final hill (why do they do that?!?) to the finish line.
as we we approaching the finish line, the announcer guy start getting all loud and crazy and going into this whole story about the guy (i don't know WHO he's talking about) that's about to finish. and i'm thinking, "WHAT is he cheering for? what's the big deal?" and then i realize that the WINNER of the FULL MARATHON is about to finish!!! he basically finished right with us. yes, we finished HALF his distance in the same time. that will keep you humble...
our official time was 2:10:39 (that's 2 hours and 10 minutes)
not bad for my first one and 4 kids (one of which is an 8 month old baby!) :-)

i'm sad pat isn't in any of these pictures.
because he was such a huge part of today.
all those saturday mornings that he watched the kids so i could run for 2 hours...
he supported me every mile leading up to today.
and it was SO great having him there!!!

the kids were so cute.
every time i saw bailey (at mile 3 and 7) i could tell she was so confused...they rushed to see mommy and i just kept running. she thought i should stop and see her!



i tried to nurse sawyer before we headed home and he completely refused.
you might think it's because i was sweaty and gross.
but he's used to that.
that's how i nurse him every morning right after i run.
i don't know what his deal was. but that was frustrating.
once we got home (and he slept on the way home - he was SO tired) he nursed fine.
he apparently did SUCH a great job today.

wow.
what an accomplishment!
i'm so thankful for my running group that trained me so well.
i'm so thankful for Remi for running basically EVERY mile with me for the last few months.
i'm so thankful for Pat for his support.
i'm so thankful for my parents and sister for being there!
i'm so thankful for all your support - emails, notes, comments, prayers - i felt them!
i'm so thankful that i have a body healthy enough to do this!
i truly love it.
i thought this was going to be IT.
the only one.
but i'm not sure...
(i DO know i will NEVER run a full marathon, just for the record.)

i was able to take a nap. the other days that i've run LONG distances, i haven't been able to sleep, my body is so keyed up. maybe it was the crazy wake-up time this morning? :-)

my legs are feeling it. especially on the stairs.
but i feel good!!