What a crazy, fun weekend this has been! Myself, along with 4 other amazing ladies, ran the PF Chang's Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon. A few months ago, I convinced these women to training for a 1/2 marathon while I trained for the full. My foot injury didn't allow me to complete my training, but these girls forged on....I resumed some running with them a few weeks ago and decided to join them in the 1/2 marathon. My sister-in-law, Cori, had matching tank tops and visors made for us that sported our "marathon mamas" logo (I don't remember which one of us came up with the marathon mamas "team" name, but it stuck...kind of cute, kind of funny, kind of dorky, but what do we care?!). Anyway, this weekend has been a whirlwind of running events, from the Expo Friday night, to the "carb loading" party Saturday night, to the race and after party yesterday.
I really didn't think I wanted to do this race, but am so glad I did! It was a lot fun, and seeing these girls finish race despite their worries and doubts was just awesome! I broke my personal best time....official finishing time, 1:50:39! The greatest part about that, is that I also managed to surpass my friends, Chris and Brad's, best 1/2 marathon time! A few years ago...during "the wait"..I started running. Our friends, Chris and Brad, took on the role of my personal trainers to help me prepare for my first 1/2 marathon. They ran with me, and ran with me, and ran with me. I held them back, made them slow...but they stood by me and filled me with all kinds of advice and pats on the back. The three of us ran my first half together...they were such great sports. After that, running became more individual for me. I ran the Fiesta Bowl 1/2 marathon by myself last year and came withing 50 SECONDS of beating Chris and Brad's personal best time for a half marathon. 50 SECONDS!!! They have enjoyed dangling that over my head for over a year now....that is until yesterday! Brad's daughter was running yesterday, so both Chris and Brad were down at the race to cheer her on...I ran past them at mile 11..as I did, I glanced down at my watch, realized that I was in contention to smoke their personal best time, and decided to give them a lovely "thumbs down" signal to let them know that they were "going down"! Brad happened to catch the moment on camera, and to me, it's one of the greatest pictures EVER!!! AAAAAHHHH, THE GLORY!!!!
My entire family (minus my Mom..sorry Mom) were standing at mile 12 (they surprised me...I had no idea they were going to be there) to give me that last bit of motivation...Kailahni was so funny with her "Go Mama" cheers. It was great to see them all. I finished the race, then walked back along course until I saw my girlfriend Melissa running toward me. To fulfill a promise I had made to her at the start, I hopped back on the course and ran along side her...we passed mile 13 together and then crossed the finish line side by side. I looked a little silly with my bottle of water in my hand and my finishers medal bouncing in my face, but a promise is a promise!
It was a beautiful day full of lasting memories! I'm so proud of my "marathon mamas"!
