13.1 (version 4.0)

On May 12 I ran my 4th half marathon. 

The last one I ran was in September of 2013. During that race I got a stress fracture in my foot so I took the rest of the winter off from running to let it heal. Then in March of 2014 I found out I was pregnant with Grant and didn't even both to get back into running at that point. After I had Grant (October) we were headed into another winter and I thought "I'll worry about exercise in the spring" Well, Spring of 2015 came and I was SO out of shape. I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy and it was HARD to get back into a routine of exercise. I ran/exercised off and on during the spring and summer of 2015, but not very consistantly. Finally, when Grant was a year and a few months old, I bought a pass to our community rec center in December of 2015. That was the kick in the pants I  needed! I didn't have to worry about babysitters for my kids because they had a daycare. I met some awesome new friends there and I looked forward to seeing them there and that kept me accountable. I went to Zumba classes and after a while I dared to try out a power toning and found out I loved lifting weights (albeit light ones, but still!). I started to feel confident and strong again. 

I started running consistently again and I was timidly planning on running the September half in 2016, but a few weeks before it I rolled my ankle doing a jump in Zumba class. I let it heal and that winter I started running again. I met some other friends who were also training for a spring half marathon. We ran together outside all winter...through all the freezing temperatures, snow, and wind. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have been able to get my winter runs in because I totally would have wussed out.

The day of the race came and I was SO nervous! My stomach was in knots and I wasn't sure I could do it. Along the race route I found the people who mean the world to me that gave me the boost I needed to keep running. Blake bought the posterboard that morning and had the kids decorate it all by themselves as they waited for me.

I remember passing Blake before the finish line, but I didn't even know the kids ran with me to the finish line. I had total tunnel vision, but I'm so glad they did because these pictures are so fun!

 My official time for the race was 2:06:45. That's 7 minutes faster than my old time!

 My good friend Bridgette who ran her first half marathon. We did a lot of training runs together and she was a huge motivator and awesome pace setter!