Run for Ryan House half marathon

I ran my first half marathon Saturday. It was the Run for Ryan House. It was so much fun. I had originally planned to run it last March, but had pregnancy complications so I had to push it off until this year. After having Elias it's been very difficult to carve out time to run. I used to run at 5:30a.m. with friends, but since I've been up in the nights with my baby, 5:30 is too early for me. And the days are so full of caring for kids and our household, that getting out the door for a run is near impossible. I did short runs in the day a few times a week. Aaron was really supportive and took care of the kids while I did some long runs with my dear friend, Jann, on Saturday mornings. Needless to say, my training wasn't as consistent as it should have been. But it was good enough to get me through the race feeling great.

It poured rain that morning. I mean buckets. I wore a poncho for the first 5 miles or so. (Thank you, Mom, for the poncho! It was perfect for my race!) The rain made for a wet, but beautiful morning. The McDowell mountains were enshrouded in clouds, the sky was overcast, the desert was green and moist, and it was nice and cool. It felt wonderful.

 

At mile 10 I saw these little people on the side of the road cheering me on, along with their hot daddy and cute little baby brother. Their signs, cheers, and love lit up my morning. They called out all sorts of sweet stuff, including, "You make the best milk!" which I assume was from Elias! It gave me a great chuckle!

I really felt great in this race. I started out nice and slow, in spite of the race excitement that swept people off ahead of me. I knew I needed to start slow and steady to avoid burning out. After two or three miles I was warmed up and increased me speed a little. The course had some good long hills. Luckily, my normal running route is hilly, so the hills didn't cause a problem. I took the hills slow and steady. Around mile 6 or 7 there was a long, lovely downhill, so I took it and ran!

I started to feel tired in the last mile or so, and told myself to just keep going. Coming into the finish line and seeing my cute family waiting for me was really exciting! I waved my arms and cheered with them. It felt wonderful to run into their arms and kiss them all.

  

Icing on the cake: cousins! My little sis, Julie, and her family came for a quick visit to check out ASU. We loved having them here and are crossing our fingers that ASU is the place for them! It was fun to get these two baby boys together! They're four months apart. Daniel is an incredibly happy, easy going little guy. We loved getting to know him better. He thought the big kids were so much fun. They got him laughing pretty good! Hopefully, there are many fun times ahead!