Mark that one off the list!

Last weekend, I did something I always thought I wanted to do.  When we moved back to NC, my good friend Elisa asked me if I would run the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon.  I had not consistently exercised in Belgium, so I thought signing up would be a great way to kick start my work out routine and keep me accountable.  Let me tell you, it was NOT easy!  I ran two or three times a week on my own and then we met with two other friends early on Saturday morning for our long runs- I'm talking 6:30 a.m. on cold Saturday mornings!

However, last weekend we received the reward of all the dedication (if you can call running 13.1 miles a reward).  The race went better than expected, the weather was beautiful and we finished 7 to 10 minutes faster than we expected.

We arrived in Myrtle Beach on Friday afternoon to pick up race packets at the Expo.  

Friday evening Jason, Jenna and Jason's brother along with his two oldest children ran in the 1 mile Fun Run.  The course wrapped around Broadway at the Beach and even went through the Aquarium.  Our sister-in-law also ran the half marathon!

There were hundreds of people doing the one mile "trot" as my friend described it.  The course was so crowded that they slowed to a near stop several times, but they all had a great time.

This is Jenna with one of her best friends, Aubrey!  She is the daughter of Elisa, my running partner.  All three of Elisa's oldest children (ages 12, 9 and 6) ran in the 5K on Friday night!  They had amazing times and inspired Jenna to run a 5 K this year.

Finally, race day arrived.  I was up by 5:00 a.m. to eat a little something pre-race, then Andy and Elisa picked me up and we were lined up at the course around 6:00 a.m.  I felt great for the first 8 miles, but really started to feel fatigue around 10.  We pushed through and finished in with a time of 2:01!  Our per mile pace was at least 30 seconds faster than we had trained.

 Elisa's husband, Andy, also ran the race and finished despite excruciating knee pain for the last 7 miles of the race.  Talk about endurance!

I want to say a HUGE thank you to Elisa, Sarah and Katie for pushing me, spending hours on cold Saturday mornings, and helping me achieve this goal.  I couldn't have done it without all of you!