Halfway There!

Okay, so as many of you know, I have been training for a marathon. But before we get to that, you have to understand a couple of things... (Again, apparently, I'm a talker-therefore, blogger, and so if this is boring for you skim down to the pictures-which are not that exciting either.) When I was in like elementary school and Jr. High, my sister told me that she heard that a really good exercise for average people is to walk for 15 minutes, run for 15 minutes, walk for 15 minutes three times a week. So she worked with me for a LONG time to even get to the point that I could run for 15 minutes straight. (I think at the beginning, I could run for like 3 minutes before I felt like I was going to be sick.) The point of the story is to show how far I've come since then.
Since high school, I thought that it would be really cool to run a marathon, and at times have tried to get to the point that I could, but something always got in the way. Last year, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon, and now was as good a time as any. So I started an eighteen week training program at the end of May and the marathon is on September 20th. On Saturday the 9th I ran the Provo River Run which is a 1/2 marathon. But now there's more to the story again.
During the month of July it was hard to keep up with my training schedule because of the holidays, going to South Dakota and New York and other things, so when I wasn't able to run as often as I should, I would just do my long mile runs. Also my plan was to get new shoes at the beginning of July, and I kept putting it off, until I think it was too late. So the moral of the story is exactly two weeks before the half marathon I got tendonitis in my IT band, and two days later it was so bad that I was limping when I walked. My dreams were pretty much crushed. I knew I could still run the marathon with some physical therapy, but I didn't think there was any way I could run the half marathon. For one week, I just took a break and didn't run at all. Then the Monday before the race, I ran less than half a mile, and my knee started hurting. So after another week of intense icing, stretching, and very slow training, I got to the point that my knee didn't hurt, and I figured that I could probably finish the race even if it meant walking the second half.
So I ran the race, and absolutely LOVED it! The most amazing part is that I didn't have any knee pain during or after. (I had a lot of pain after, pretty much in every muscle of my legs for the next three days, but never knee pain.) I can't explain why I didn't have any knee pain, because it absolutely doesn't make sense to me, but I didn't. And I really enjoyed all but the last three miles. (The last three miles were weaving in and out of a business park, which was BORING, so I walked a lot because by that time, I was so bored that I decided that I didn't care if I walked across the finish line, I knew I would finish either way.)

This is me right before the finish line. Right as I turned the last corner, I suddenly had TONS of energy.
This is important, because I've been training to average 10 minute miles. So at the beginning I was hoping to finish the race in 2 hours and 10 minutes, but because of my "injury" I had to walk a couple times to be cautious, and then I walked a lot in the last 3 miles, that I figured it probably would have taken my like 2 1/2 hours. So when I came around the corner and the clock said 2 hours and 10 minutes, I sprinted and I was so happy with myself, because when I was running I must have been going faster than 10 minute miles to be able to still get 2:10.

This is Josh's sister who also ran the race and is running the marathon. My parent's also came to see me finish and I was bummed I didn't get a picture with them, but grateful for all their support even though they think I'm crazy.
And of course, I had to have a picture of Josh and I, because there is absolutely no way that i would have been able to do any of this without him. He is the one that said that if I kept talking about running a marathon he would sign me up for one (which he did.) He's been there with me to buy two pairs of shoes and all my clothes, (which doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it has been quite a process-and an expensive process). He's been there with me through all the icing (which is MUCH more enjoyable for him than me) the shin splints, the blisters, the middle of the night muscle cramps (which are pain like I have never experienced.) He's been with me through the constant whining, (which most of you know, whining from me is quite a bit to handle), through analyzing every part of my training, and he even went on one run with me. (Granted it was three miles, and he RODE HIS BIKE, but he was still there for it.) I love him forever, and when I cross that final finish line, it will be a victory for him, just as much as for me.