Hippie Chick 2012

Last Saturday, May 12, my friend Hannah and I set out to run a 1/2 marathon.  It started last fall, when I decided to sign up for a 1/2 marathon.  I had never run that far.  I guess I felt like after the Hood to Coast run, I wanted to push myself to do something I hadn't done before.  I also knew it would motivate me to keep running.  In December I started my training early and gradual.  As the weeks went on, the miles went up.  The long mile runs (8, 9, 10, 11) were tough, but it felt good to have a goal and be training for something.  As I shared this with my friend Hannah, she also decided to sign up.  We had fun sharing our ups and downs of training.  And then it was the day of the race.  It was sunny and not too warm.  We arrived with not a lot of time to spare.  It was a quick trip to the Honey Buckets, and then we were off.  It was a beautiful race through the Hillsboro countryside.  The first few miles weren't too bad.  It was around mile 7 or 8 that I was starting to wish we were done.  At mile 10 I hit a wall.  I really wanted to walk, but we kept running, only walking when we stopped to drink our water.  The last 3 miles, the conversation was quiet as we focused on finishing.  It was tough, I won't say it was a breeze, but I feel like the training paid off.  As we rounded the final corner and into the stadium, it felt so good to have achieved this goal.  We were greeted by my family.  It was a great moment, one I will never forget. 

Pre-Race & Shiny with Sunscreen

Coming Across the Finish Line

We Are Done!  We Did It!

Cooling Down