Des Moines Half Marathon

On October 20th, I joined my two sisters (Megan and Courtney), my aunt (Michelle), and my sister's boyfriend (Travis) in running the Des Moines Half Marathon.  Though it was a chilly start to the morning, it ended up being a great day to run!  It was the first race my sisters and I had signed up to run together.  We began the day meeting Courtney's friends at a nearby hotel to stretch and warm up before the race. Once the race began, we all started running together, but throughout the race everyone found their pace that worked for them.  

I found a pace right around 9 minute miles that worked for me and continued "chugging along". It is amazing how much my body (and mind) goes through on a run.  It is a good thing for spectators...especially the ones who hold signs saying:  "Smile if you peed!" or "Smile if you are not wearing underwear." or one of my favorites "Run now, poop later...never trust a fart!"  They really help keep a smile on my face!

I felt great until around mile 10 when I was pretty sure my legs were going to snap in two!  At that moment I thought "if only I was running the Twin Cities 10 mile I would be done by now!" (By far my favorite race ever!)  However, instead of giving up at mile 10 I continued to persevere up small inclines and over bridges, pushing through any pain or now numbness in my body. At one point I looked at my watch and noticed the distance (12.something miles) and the time (some where around 1hr. 50 min.) and thought "yes...so close to finishing...and under 2 hours!"  That's when I turned the corner expecting to see the finish line just up ahead, only to find that the finish line was no where in sight!  WHAT!? I should have looked at the map a little closer prior to the race!!  I failed to notice there was one more straight stretch before the final turn toward the finish.  Needless to say I finished the race, still under 2 hours, without being carted or carried across the finish line!

The race itself was great, but the free food after might have been the best part!  We got subs, pizza, BBQ sandwiches, deli sandwiches, fruit, cookies, chocolate milk, chips, nachos, and much more.  Michelle and I grabbed all we could hold and had a picnic with our families.

So happy to have Shea and the girls cheering me on!

Larkyn wanted to take a picture so here is one she took of Shea, my mom and me.

The running crew:

Courtney, Travis, Michelle, Kim, Megan and of course our #1 fan Larkyn!

We did it!  Love my sistas!

Me and My Girls

We followed the race up with lunch at Perkins.  

It was a long day. The girls were exhausted!

My aunt and uncle (Randy and Cindy and kids) graciously housed all of us for the night prior to the race.  The girls had fun playing with Holly and Nicole in the basement with all of their toys, while the adults (mostly Randy) went through the Halloween costumes.  I put together a collage of our stay!

The bottom right corner picture is Randy helping my mom get a Mrs. Claus costume off (awkward)!

***In case you were wondering what happened to Rudolph...I mean Camdyn's nose, she had an encounter with the driveway and the driveway won!  While running down it just a couple days prior she fell and skinned up only her nose...no damage to hands, knees, etc.