Kelly's blog: Second half marathon

Yesterday I ran my SECOND half marathon! I can't believe I just said that :) Never did I dream I would run one half marathon, but now I've done two. I ended up finishing in 2:27:39 which is over seven minutes faster than my first half marathon that I ran only a month ago! I couldn't believe I was able to finish with that big of a difference. I had a goal of two hours and thirty minutes so in my head I kept saying two thirty two thirty over and over as my goal for finishing.

The first half I did seemed a bit easier probably because of a little slower pace but also because there were a lot of people along the way cheering on and on this run there were not a lot of people on the course cheering on so it was a lot of mentally pushing myself. My legs cramped up pretty badly at mile twelve but I am so proud to have beat my last time and finished strong. It was a beautiful race through the redwoods and along the same course (just longer) as my first 10k I ran back in May. The weather was cold but sunny and it made for a beautiful morning run through the giant redwood trees.

My amazing mother-in-law Joni also ran the half marathon and got a new PR running at 2:09 which is so amazing! I am so proud of her :) Jacob and my sister-in-law Abby and little brother Aaron also ran doing a 5k which was their first. Aaron finished first for boys under 18! He is quite the little runner. Abby and Jacob finished strong and ran the whole way which is wonderful. They both loved running in a race and are already talking about their next one so I am so happy to see them falling in love with running too! Matt and Bri came out and cheered us on which I am grateful for considering we had to leave at 6:30 in the morning...it was great having them there to cheer all of us on and take pictures. It was a wonderful time celebrating running for all. Our friends Dan and Heidi threw a BBQ that afternoon so it was a lot of fun to hang out with friends and family and relax that afternoon.

This week we are headed to Colorado for a few days to visit some amazing friends so it will be a nice time to enjoy and relax and recover from my half :) When I get back I plan on starting a marathon training plan as well as doing the Chalean extreme program and continue road biking. I am really wanting to drop weight for my future marathon so I need to kick my butt in gear!

Here are some pictures of my second half marathon to enjoy: