Half Marathon results are in!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I finished my first half marathon today! The race started at 6:30 so we had to be up by 5. I was up by 4 and was too pumped up to sleep. There were some train delays that were kind of stressful, but I made it in time.

It was a beautiful morning...clear skies and no humidity and fairly cool. I've been doing my marathon training with walk breaks where I run 6 mins and walk 1 min. This is a great strategy for the full marathon, but this morning I felt great, and didn't want to walk because everyone around me was just running the whole time and I wanted to keep up. I was way under my 9 min/mile pace for the first few miles, and wanted to be cautious about going to fast. But I just kept running with everyone and just judging my pace by how I felt.

The last 6 miles of the race were along lake shore drive which has no shade. The sun was getting hotter and I was really feeling it by then, and around about mile 10 I took my first walk break at a gatorade stop. I took another around mile 12 so I could have a strong finish. While I didn't exactly have a strong finish, I did finish with a personally great time. My goal was to break 2 hours, and my official time was 1:53:05.

I also learned how the half and the full marathon are completely different races. The half marathon is just a much faster pace and can be run more like a fast race. But with the marathon you have to have more of a strategy so you can have an optimal time. My goal is to do the marathon in under 4 hours on Oct. 22. I will have to run it exactly like my training style with the run-walks.

You can check out the race results here if you want to. It shows some other stats as well as my time. Just type my number in at the bottom: 1446

http://www.onlineraceresultsb.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=3063

If you look at the results, it is funny to think that when I was nearing mile 8, the leaders were crossing the finish line! Regan said that the winner Brian Sell just trotted across the finish line as perky as can be...like he could have run the whole thing again! His time was 1:04:25 (4:55 per mile)

Here are some pictures:Me before the start of the race

Me full of energy almost to mile 5

Me crossing the finish line blurry-eyed and unaware of where Regan was taking the picture.

Just posing with my medal that says I finished.

It was a total blast and I hope to do it again next year!

Random pictures

Last weekend was my Sister's baby shower. This is the diaper cake that I made for her and the baby. We are so excited to meet this new little one.


I have the best friends from Taylor! A few weekends ago they all came to Chicago for a girls get together. I was great to see them.


Who knew that they actually have Ice Cream trucks that go around. I thought they were just on television shows, but they actually exist!


This is from my cousin's wedding when my Grandma from Arizona was visiting. It was good to be able to see her, even if it was just for a little while.

Such a busy Summer

We have been so busy over the last few months as summer is flying by. A few weeks ago for our anniversary we went to see "Wicked" on Broadway in Chicago. I have to say that if you haven't seen it yet, you have to go! It was definately the best show I have seen in a long time. After the first Act, Kent and I looked at each other, and said, "It is so good, we could leave now and be totally happy." In fact, we loved it so much, we went back again a week later. Actually, we went with friends from Fort Wayne who had extra tickets. It was good to see Kyle and Cassie again. While we didn't get to spend too much time talking during the performance, we at least got to see them before their baby comes in October.

In early July we made the trip to Ohio to see Kent's family. We actually got to see all of the siblings as well as neices and nephews, except Stephen who is still in Vietnam. It was great to see everybody. We mostly stayed at home, trying to stay cool, and each being with one another. It is amazing how fast kids can grow up so fast in only one year.

After going to Ohio, we spent the 4th of July in Chicago. It was kind of fun to be in the city for Independence day. We went downtown on the 3rd to see the city's fireworks. Unfortunately, we didn't realize they weren't being shot-off from Navy Pier, so we didn't get to really feel the experience. They still looked pretty though. On the 4th we stayed in Oak Park and went to the high school to watch the fireworks. They were wonderful, and it was much cooler, which made it a little more enjoyable.

A few of our friends have come to visit us as well this month. It is fun to have friends come visit, even if we have been busy. There are so many things to do around here, which is great. Kent and I have been to the beach once, but the water was a little too cold. I'm sure after the last few weeks, the water would be much warmer.

This past weekend, my friends from Taylor came to spend the weekend in Chicago. While it was one of the warmest weekends of the summer, it was still a lot of fun to just have the girls hang out and talk. We went downtown for dinner, met some of the guys for dinner, then we went to watch fireworks, while the guys went to see Superman at IMAX. I think Kent and I realize that we are lucky to have so many loving Christian friends around us to support and encourage us.

I'll update with pictures from the last few months soon.