Savannah Rock n Roll 2012

Last weekend was the Savannah Rock n Roll half marathon.  We had a blast!

As with a race this big, there were lots of people we knew running.  I ran into these sweet girls the night before the race and was so happy to see them!  Thanks to facebook, we were all able to keep up with each other's training along the way.  It was great to see them and be able to wish them luck on their first half!

 Thankfully it was not as cold as it was last year, and the sun was rising as the race started!  I think something like 17,000 people ran this race; it's crazy big!

Tim and I ran with our friend Brian. Tim and Brian ran all their long runs together, and it was Brian's first half marathon.  You would not have ever known it, though, because he rocked those 13.1 miles!  I think there were a few times Brian was pulling Tim and me along!

The city of Savannah showed up again this year, and there were just about always people standing along the course cheering every runner on.  That helps so very much! 

Early on, I was feeling awesome!  Adrenaline was running, spirits were high, and we were bookin' it (for me, anyway)!

We were making great time, completing a 10K in 1:04.  I was so pumped as that was the fastest I'd ever run 6.2 miles.  But, by mile 8 my mind got the best of me.  If I could turn off my mind while I run, I'd probably be a much better runner.  My mind had been saying, "you can't keep going at this pace.  You've never run this fast for this long.  You're going to crash." . . . and before I knew it?  I believed those thoughts. 

And I was ill as a hornet.  The picture above pretty much sums up what happens when I get mad while running.  Tim and Brian were a little ahead, Tim's turning around encouraging me, and I'm just mad. 

Bless that man for marrying me.  Bless him.

Anyway, I told Tim and Brian to go ahead; I needed to walk for a minute.  I think Tim could tell by the look in my eye how frustrated I was, and he obliged.  I walked for a few minutes, taking off my pull over and rearranging my bib. 

I walked just a little bit before another gatorade station, which I really needed.  Once I got there, I wished like heck I'd pushed through.  I started running again and powered through.

 

Yep, this picture is pretty accurate.  I laughed when I saw it and told Tim I knew exactly what I was doing.  Concentrating on breathing.  One foot in front of the other and knowing the faster I went, the quicker I was done.  Look how mad I look compared to that earlier picture where I'm still grinning ear to ear.  Ha!!

 

I knew I probably wasn't going to make my goal time of 2:15, but I also knew if I kept at it, I had a good shot at beating my time last year.  So, I ran. . .  and ran.  I remember various people cheering us on, each encouragement was just what I needed.  One older lady said, "lookin' good!" as I ran by.  I laughed and said, "I don't feel so good!"  She immediately responded, "You're looking a lot better than me, honey!"  :)

 

The last mile wasn't so bad as I knew I was so close to being done.  I crossed the finish line at 2:20:30, just under two minutes faster than last year and a PR for me.

 

 

 

DONE!  I've yet to cross the finish line of a half marathon without tears in my eyes.  I am not a natural runner, and it thrills me to no end that I can do this.  I may not be fast, but it's such a challenge, such a rush, and something I immediately want to do again and be better than before.  That's the amazing thing with running.  It hurts, it's agonizing at times.  Muscles and tendons ache. Breathing can get out of wack and lungs hurt.  But the high of running through all of that is like nothing I can ever put into words. 

 

 Running often presents some precious time for me and the Good Lord.  During the last part of this race, I did some serious praying about some things heavy on my heart.  He heard my cries, I know.  And He pulled me through this race.  All for Him.  I have to tell y'all I've found this page on Facebook that has been such an inspiration to me.  It's called Running4Him.  She is such an incredible runner, a strong Christian and everything she does is completely for His glory.  It's beautiful.  She is also super fast!  There were many times along my race I thought of her and how she'd power through.  Yet again, that's one of the great things about running:  the community.  We are all competitive to a degree, but we're also in it together, cheering each other on.

 

And here we are, four days after the race, planning for another! 



 



Halloween '12

Well. . .  almost three months has passed since my last post. 

Pitiful.  I outta be ashamed. 

Life just sometimes gets away from me, and then when I think, "Oh, I should blog about that!" I don't know how to pick back up when so much time has passed.

So, let's just act like it's not been three months and jump right in, m'kay?

Halloween 2012 was a total blast!  Best one ever if you ask me.  Molly was a pink poodle, and she was sure 'nuff proud of it.  Except she wouldn't wear her ears.  Or her puffy paws.  But she was a poodle still and was pretty cute!

 

We went to eat with friends and trick or treat in their neighborhood.  The eatin' was good, the fellowship was better!  And the kids were precious!

 

 

After feasting on BBQ, slaw, dessert and cider, we all loaded up and headed out to trick or treat!

 

Molly had no idea what was in store, and at the first house, when the lady went to put candy in Molly's pumpkin, Molly snatched her pumpking away and looked at that lady like she was crazy!  I quickly explained to Molly what was happening, the lady quickly realized this was Molly's first experience and was so nice!  Once the candy was in Molly's bucket, Molly looked into her bucket, looked up at me and said, "dis candy for me?"  When I told her it was, she said, "we go to another house now?"  :-) 

 

Sorry for the blurry picutre, but this was Molly checking out her treats!  :)

 

Molly quickly got the hang of "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone.  She had a ball and loved being with her friends. Surprisingly, it took a few houses before Molly asked for some of her candy.  She was quite the serious poodle about enjoying her treats!  No way in the world was she taking her eyes off those smarties to smile at her Daddy!

 

 

We left before Molly got too terribly tired and cranky.  She probably asked me "where my punkin" about 12 times in the 5 minutes it took us to get home.  I assured her her "punkin" was safe, candy was safe and all was well!

 

It was the most perfect Halloween!!