Fox Cities Half Marathon

For the past 4 months, I have been training for the Fox Cities Half Marathon, which was held this past Sunday. On Saturday, the kids (with the help of Grandma Lu) made me a cake for my pre-race dinner. It said, "Run Mom Run!", which has been Jordan's chant to me ever since I started doing races.

Nate was kind (and brave) enough to get up with me at 4:30 AM Sunday morning so we could drive to the starting line in Menasha. The fog was absolutely terrible and I got so nervous that we weren't going to make it on time that I just went back to sleep while Nate drove. : ) But the fog cleared and we made it on time.

Nate was able to find me at about Mile 9. The first 8 miles kind of went by in a blur but then at miles 9 and 10 my body kind of woke up and realized that it had already run 10 miles. I wasn't hurting at all but just was starting to get kind of anxious. So it really really helped to see my big tall husband hustling around to get some pictures of me. Just hearing him say that I was almost there made the finish seem not too far away.


Here I am right out of the finish corral. As I came towards the finish line, I started scanning for my parents, the kids and Mike and Kari. I wasn't sure where they would be but I ended up seeing them at about 1/4 mile before the finish line. I yelled out to them but unfortunately there were so many people running by that the kids weren't able to see me. But I did see them ring their little cow bells. That made me smile and pretty much carried me over the finish line.

Jordan did find me right afterwards. He said he liked my space blanket.

Thanks to my parents and Mike and Kari for coming out early Sunday morning to support me! It meant alot and just seeing them on the race course was a big part of why I made it over the finish line.

And also a big thanks to my good friends and training partners, Mara and Mike Patterson. We had all been training early this spring for races in May, but I had to drop out due to a leg injury. They completed their half-marathon in May, but continued to train with me throughout the summer and fall. They really didn't have to get up with me at 6:15 AM during the week to run or devote 2 hours to running every Sunday morning, but they did. Thank you.

But most of all, thanks to Nate for supporting me every time I run, whether it's around the neighborhood or in a big race. I'm lucky to have a husband who wants me to better myself and continues to encourage my healthy lifestyle. Thanks for all those mornings you didn't get to work as soon as you wanted because I was out running and for all those nights you came home early so I could go on the group run. Thank you. I love you. Maybe we'll do a race together someday!

I did it! I ran the Fox Cities Half Marathon in 2 hours, 4 minutes. It feels good. For those of you who know me well, you know I have endometriosis and the pain from it is something that I struggle heavily with everyday. I feel like the pain is something I can't control, but I think that is where this part of my life comes in...I do have control of my running and I can make goals and achieve them. So I did and I couldn't feel happier. : )