Well, if you didn't know the past few months I have been training with my awesome Momma to run the OKC Memorial Half Marathon that was held on April, 27th and we did it!!!!!! This race was definitely different for me. My goal was not based off of time or setting a PR {I had a much bigger goal}. My goal was getting my mom across the finish line of her first 13.1!
Saturday we picked up my packet, explored the Arts Festival, did a little window shopping, and enjoyed a big {Whole30 compliant} smoothie from Jamba Juice before heading to my Great Unlce's 80th birthday party. It was wonderful to spend time with family and see people we haven't seen in so long. That night we stayed at my cousins house that was about 25 minutes from downtown. It worked out great. The kiddos slept good {Thanks Brenda for letting us take over your room!}! Mom, Dad, and I were out the door at 5:30am to arrive in time for the 6:30 start time {No rain, yet}.
We arrived, we got dropped off, and made our way to the start line. We got word through the great-vine that the race was delayed until 7:15, then the rain began. And it rained, and rained, and rained harder. We took shelter in a near by parking garage and the next word we heard was if the race didn't start by 8:00am it would be canceled. Around 7:50 we started making our way to the start line, in the pouring rain. While walking to our corral they announced the race had been postponed {again} until 8:15, the National Anthem was sung, the rain stopped, we lined up, and the gun fired, we were off!
I can't even tell you how proud I am of my mom and all the hard work she put in! We have been training by running intervals. We ran for 2 minutes and walked for 1 throughout our training and the race. I would recommend interval training for any beginner, or even an experienced runner who is prone to injuries!
The course was pretty crowded the whole way, but we stayed together and got through 13.1 miles. I think it was the 2 hour race delay that made things interesting. Because of all the confusion on the start time the corrals were all mixed together, we even had a few 5K runners mixed in with us. It took us 11 minutes to get across the start line, but we finally got there. It didn't thin out for several miles. The first couple water stops were complete craziness and the lines for the bathrooms were so long for the first 4 miles! Even at the end I felt like the roads were still pretty packed with runners!
The first few miles were great, overcast {perfect running weather}, then the sun came out, and the wind picked up. The last few miles it was very steamy. We were making sure to drink plenty of fluids at every water stop, we also carried water on us. Thankfully, there was a man handing out bottles of water at his house along the course and that got us through for awhile!
The support was awesome along the course. We saw Brandon, the kiddos, my dad, and Brenda around mile 6 {always great to see familiar facing cheering you on!!!}!
We crossed the finish line in 3hr6mins and I am so proud of every minute it took and every step we took to get there!
Grams, you did great! I am so proud of you and all of the hard work you put in to get you through those 13.1 miles. Thankful you pushed through and trained through all of that wind! You deserve the biggest medal of them all! Can't wait to do it again! Love you Mom! {Happy Mother's Day!}
Special thanks to Brenda for letting us crash at your place {and by crash I mean completely take over}. Thanks to Gramps for driving us to the race, getting us more food from the car, and standing out in the rain to watch us cross the start and the finish line! And most of all, thanks to Brandon, {Super-Dad} for watching the crazies over the past months of training and on race day, you are loved and treasured for all you do for this mother-runner!
Saturday we picked up my packet, explored the Arts Festival, did a little window shopping, and enjoyed a big {Whole30 compliant} smoothie from Jamba Juice before heading to my Great Unlce's 80th birthday party. It was wonderful to spend time with family and see people we haven't seen in so long. That night we stayed at my cousins house that was about 25 minutes from downtown. It worked out great. The kiddos slept good {Thanks Brenda for letting us take over your room!}! Mom, Dad, and I were out the door at 5:30am to arrive in time for the 6:30 start time {No rain, yet}.
We arrived, we got dropped off, and made our way to the start line. We got word through the great-vine that the race was delayed until 7:15, then the rain began. And it rained, and rained, and rained harder. We took shelter in a near by parking garage and the next word we heard was if the race didn't start by 8:00am it would be canceled. Around 7:50 we started making our way to the start line, in the pouring rain. While walking to our corral they announced the race had been postponed {again} until 8:15, the National Anthem was sung, the rain stopped, we lined up, and the gun fired, we were off!
I can't even tell you how proud I am of my mom and all the hard work she put in! We have been training by running intervals. We ran for 2 minutes and walked for 1 throughout our training and the race. I would recommend interval training for any beginner, or even an experienced runner who is prone to injuries!
The course was pretty crowded the whole way, but we stayed together and got through 13.1 miles. I think it was the 2 hour race delay that made things interesting. Because of all the confusion on the start time the corrals were all mixed together, we even had a few 5K runners mixed in with us. It took us 11 minutes to get across the start line, but we finally got there. It didn't thin out for several miles. The first couple water stops were complete craziness and the lines for the bathrooms were so long for the first 4 miles! Even at the end I felt like the roads were still pretty packed with runners!
The first few miles were great, overcast {perfect running weather}, then the sun came out, and the wind picked up. The last few miles it was very steamy. We were making sure to drink plenty of fluids at every water stop, we also carried water on us. Thankfully, there was a man handing out bottles of water at his house along the course and that got us through for awhile!
The support was awesome along the course. We saw Brandon, the kiddos, my dad, and Brenda around mile 6 {always great to see familiar facing cheering you on!!!}!
We crossed the finish line in 3hr6mins and I am so proud of every minute it took and every step we took to get there!
Grams, you did great! I am so proud of you and all of the hard work you put in to get you through those 13.1 miles. Thankful you pushed through and trained through all of that wind! You deserve the biggest medal of them all! Can't wait to do it again! Love you Mom! {Happy Mother's Day!}
Special thanks to Brenda for letting us crash at your place {and by crash I mean completely take over}. Thanks to Gramps for driving us to the race, getting us more food from the car, and standing out in the rain to watch us cross the start and the finish line! And most of all, thanks to Brandon, {Super-Dad} for watching the crazies over the past months of training and on race day, you are loved and treasured for all you do for this mother-runner!
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