my first marathon!!

but not my last :)  other than growing 3 small humans inside my tummy and things of that nature, this was the coolest thing i have ever done.  i truly LOVED EVERY MINUTE...even the training!!!  early mornings, late nights, hangovers, walking pneumonia, sick kids, freezing temps, pouring rain, hot as hell...i never missed a single training run...dating back to july.  it also helped that i love my running partner!!  not only is she an amazing friend, she also loves to talk :)  it wouldn't have been the same without debra...we only did one long run without each other...and for the most part, they all FLEW by!!!

we never knew our pace during training...we just assumed 10 minute miles and would then run for that length of time depending on the mileage that week.  turns out we run a little faster than we thought :)  we didn't care about our time...just finishing without ever walking.  the conditions on race day were PERFECT!!!  the stars aligned and we had temps in the 40's & 50's.  having so many people there cheering for us (even strangers would read our names from the bib) was huge!!  you have no idea how much it helped!!!  it kept it so exciting knowing that someone was waiting for you at the next mile!!!  Laura, Liz, Rachel, Steve, Madison, Jacob, Emily, Brad, Nicole, Philip, Susie, Debra's mom & Henry, Jeff's parents, Tiffany, Brandon, Ellis, Beckett, Emery, Jeff, Janna Rae, Brody...i know i am forgetting people!!!  we saw so many people we didn't even plan on seeing...Dillards, Pearces, etc!!!

the signs people hold up are hilarious...so very clever!!!  SO much music and running in areas you have never run in kept it interesting.  we got a beer @ mile 21-ish?!  a quick cheers and chugged it down (thanks for the tip heather!)  i really just can't say enough about the whole experience (can you tell!?!?)  i think everyone should run a marathon!!!  i think you can totally train your body to do anything...i never would have thought i could run over 26 miles w/ out stopping...EVER!

a HUGE thank you to our husbands who supported us by watching the kids (a lot!) while we trained.  my parents and susie and philip too :)  susie and philip kept the kids after the first spot brandon met us to cheer so that he could follow me around and be @ the finish...thank you!  thank you to everyone for all of the good luck, well wishes, congrats, trinkets, hairbands,  glittering talent, and so much more!!!

debra- thank you for agreeing to run it with me!!!  it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!  and laura- it wouldn't have been the same without you along the way for training either...you totally should have run it with us!

there's always next year :) ha!