.urban wilderness half marathon.

At the beginning of the month Dave and I ran our 2nd half marathon. I won't lie to you I was one nervous/terrified girl when it came to running that race. I had trained some but not nearly as much as for the first half we ran. (I actually ran 30 fewer miles than last time when training) I also got some hip pain a week before the race and had to minimize my miles a lot.  But I signed up to do it and see how fast I could run it and gosh darn that was exactly what I was going to do then.

Between finishing and stuffing my face with oranges. 

I was sooo exhausted and these were the best oranges EVER!

My best friend Molly was visiting from Boston and even woke up at the crack of dawn to watch us run the race. Our other good friend (and my trainer) Jim always came out to cheer us on. Never have I had anyone cheer for me when running but now I feel like I want to race only with my personal cheerleaders. It does make a difference having someone cheer for you and high five you every so often. When I wanted to stop and walk I didn't because I knew they would want me to keep going. They even got in the car and drove down the course a little bit honking and waving at everyone. I think they had as much fun cheering for us as we had having them there.

We made it our goal to pass this guy. 

We finally did and as you can see, I'm very happy about it!

Here are some things I learned during the race:

1) Don't compare your training milages the day of the race, it will make you feel unprepared and nervous. Nobody needs those feelings when they are about to start a race!

2) Set goals. We had a goal of when we wanted to finish by before we started. This helped us make sure we kept on track while running. We also made small goals when trying to pass others, this is something I find that helps me stay motivated and moving forward.

3) It's okay if others pass you, don't let it bring you down. You never know you may end up passing them again further down the course. 

4) Listen to your body. It's okay to stop and walk a bit, nobody will judge you. Just keep moving and you will do great. 

Crossing the finish line! 

Our time: 

2 hours and 29 min. 

(11 min. 24 sec per mile)

A new personal recored for our half marathons!

* In case you are wondering I wore a lot of the same items I wore when running my first marathon. I am wearing new shorts (from Target) and a new dry fit hat, I didn't wear the bandana or running belt.  You can find info on my running gear and first marathon, here and here. *

Now we only have 7.5 weeks until our marathon. Oh...did I tell you we kind of stopped running for a few weeks after the half..haa!! SOOOOOOO...as in true Sho fashion, this should be interesting! I will have to keep you updated on the progress!

Special thanks to Molly for taking TONS of pictures of us while we were running the race. It's always great to look back at something you accomplished!