the race

so i guess everyone's been wondering about how the race went and wants to see some pictures (and by "everyone" i mean my mother-in-law:)), so here's the scoop...

i've seriously always wanted to run in a marathon but thought it was totally out of my reach (like i said before, the last time i ran more than a mile was in high school and i puked). but in talking to my dad (who has been running marathons for over a year), i realized that anyone can do it, it would just take a lot of work and a commitment to train hard for 4 months. mia was 2 1/2 months old and i was recovering from my c-section, so i decided to start small and tackle the half marathon. i talked to my doctor and she gave me the go ahead, so as yoda would say- train hard i did.

long story short, i worked my booty off and was ready when race day came. there were 4 of us running. me, my dad, my sister catherine, and her husband charles (and 15,000 other people). my dad ran the full marathon while the 3 of us ran the half.

here we are stretching before the race (i didn't have my camera, so these were taken by my camera phone). we got up at 4:30 a.m. to leave by 5 and be there by 6 to start the race at 7. tired? no way, too much adrenaline at this point!

here i am during the race. i swiped these pictures off the austin marathon website. i guess you have to pay for them if you want them bigger than 2 inches:)

the finish line was a swarm of people. my goal was just to finish the race and nothing else, i didn't worry about my time. but i am proud to say that i ran the whole 13 miles without stopping, AND i didn't puke:)

but i quickly found my cheering section

my #1 fan:)

me and my sis recovering right after the race

the course ran right by the capital which was way cool. we took a few pictures while we waited for my dad to finish.
here he comes rounding the curve

way to go dad!

dad and his runner girls

post race thoughts:
it was a total rush, and such an amazing feeling of accomplishment. maybe i'll challenge myself and try a full marathon next:)

now for my oscars speech...
i'd like to thank my dad for giving me the motivation to accomplish something i never thought i could do. for checking on me each week to see how my progress was coming along, and for slowing down his pace and running by my side for the first 10 miles of the marathon until he split off to finish his race.

to catherine and charles for their excitement and support and hard work (they've already signed up for the san antonio marathon in november!).

to all my friends and family members for their love and encouragement.

and last but not least, to my wonderful husband for having my back, being excited for me every step of the way, taking care of the kids while i trained, and being so proud of me when i finished.
(oh, and getting me phantom of the opera tickets for valentine's day!)