I did It! 1/2 Marathon accomplished!

I always wanted one of those medals! And now I have my own!

I freakin' did it!! Painful knee and all!

Leslie and I before our run

my friend, K, did the run, too. It was great seeing her after the race!

After months of training, I actually accomplished my goal of running and completing a 1/2 marathon. Leslie and I encouraged each other during our training. At the beginning of my training, I wasn't sure if I could do it. She talked me through it and helped me along the way. I loved doing this together. She rode the train up from her home and stayed over Friday night so that we could leave early Saturday morning. We even squeezed in a pedicure on Friday night together! On Saturday, everything was so well organized with parking and shuttles. I was very impressed. It was quite windy, but it felt great out there. I loved the trail. At the beginning of my run, I felt great and was keeping my goal pace. Then, around mile 6, my knee began to give me trouble. I've been trying to nurse a sore IT band, which affects my left knee. It really slowed me down. I had to pull over to the side a few times to stretch out. It really, really disappointed me. Especially because I have worked SO hard to build up my running distance and endurance. BUT, I did run the whole 13.1 miles and I can say I DID IT!! Part of me still has a hard time believing that I did it. I remember running my first 5K and that was a big accomplishment for me. I couldn't imagine going another 10 miles! Now, here I am. I'm actually thinking of doing another 1/2 marathon. I'm hoping that I can get my IT Band healed and go for a better time. We'll see.

Thanks, Leslie, for doing this with me!!

My first 10K

N & J eating watermelon, waiting for me to cross the finish line

My dear friend, Kristin, came down to cheer me on. I saw her at the half-way point in my run and at the finish line. It meant a lot to me that she'd come and support me.
Me, after the race, with the family. It was nice to have them there. The boys had fun digging around in the dirt looking for bugs while they waited.
Here I am crossing the finish line ... finally!! You can see G in the background taking my picture. It was so nice to have him there encouraging me along the way, especially while I was about to take on another hill!

I DID IT!!!!

I'm coming around the bend here. This is at the half-way point (3.1 miles)
The trails were really nice, however, there were random people from the city taking their dogs on walks, kids in strollers, people on roller blades etc., that kind of got in the way here and there. They were nice, but I often had to loudly say, "Coming through!"
When N and I arrived, we saw some Elders! They are currently serving in Rocklin. We HAD to get a picture of them with N. I LOVED how they still wore their white shirts, ties and name tags. Way to go!
And, here I am before the race. [I cannot rearrange my pictures anymore on my blog! I don't know why, and it's frustrating!] So, I wanted to push myself a bit further than a 5K. So I ramped up my running a bit in the last while. I did not anticipate the hills on this course, which kicked my behind! I loved how this was NOT crowded at all. Just perfect. N came with me early to get settled and warmed-up. G came with his dad and the boys right before the race started. It was wonderful having the support there for me. It meant a lot. As I mentioned above, my friend Kristin came, too. I was really hoping to finish in 60 minutes, but the hills did me in and I finished in 67 minutes. Not too bad for my first 10K, with hills, too! I actually finished in the top half in my age category! =)