So I ran the race on January 22, and drove down with the lovely Bradley along with our friends Amber and Danny. Brad and Danny were the designated photographers while Amber and I ran our little hearts out. I have to admit that I was very nervous for this race. I had no idea what to expect! I had slacked a little with my training at the end (I was running all the time, but I most I ever ran at once was 8 miles...eek!) and I was starting to get really sore with my side where I got surgery a while back, so I was nervous that my side would be aching the whole time. However, fate stepped in and I wasn't sore AT ALL! The race actually went AMAZING! I felt tired, but I never felt like I couldn't finish. I felt like I had a good pace the whole entire time, and I even felt like I was speeding up for the last few miles. I made sure to drink enough water and Gatorade throughout, which definitely helped me by the end of the race when it was getting hot.
The race started at 7:00am, but since it was a really small race, there weren't any sort of rules about us needing to be there early or anything. True to Marianne fashion, we arrived at the race BARELY on time (about five mins early or so). The only sad part was that the guys just had to drop us off and we totally forgot to get a before picture. Somehow, and I don't know how, Danny randomly snapped this picture of me at the very beginning! He was just taking random pictures of the crowd at the starting line, and we didn't notice until going through the pictures later that I was front and center! (not that I am easy to miss, being five inches taller than everyone).
These were both at about mile two or three...I can't remember exactly. Still having fun!
I truly don't know how Amber does it, but she actually looked cute in a lot of the pictures the boys got of her running. I was just happy that I didn't look like I was dying! It was really an amazing experience though. I was definitely tired by the end, but I made it through the whole race without stopping! I did walk fast through some water stations so I could drink Gatorade and water, but I never stopped moving! It was really so fun, and I highly recommend it to anyone. I really want to run another one. Who knows, I may even run a full marathon! It depends on where we move to for dental school. I think a full marathon here might be a little much with the humidity, but somewhere cooler would be so fun! Here are some pictures of our weekend adventure!!
About mile 5
The finish line is in sight! And yes, I passed the girl below at the very end. booyah!
Can't wait for the next race and the next trip with my Bradley!
