This past Saturday I ran my very first Half Marathon. The Indy Mini was a great race. I loved it. I feel so proud of myself for this accomplishment. I trained for a long time to get here and I feel so confident with myself. I started slowly and worked my way up. Short runs/walks everyday of the week and then long Saturday runs increasing distance each week, was the basic training program I used for myself. I also did kettlebell strength training workouts Monday thru Friday. I did a previous post about My Workout Routine here if you haven’t read it before and My Workout Routine: An Update post here. I did miss my personal time goal but only by three minutes so I am taking that as a major win. There was a big crowd at first so it was a little hard to find my own pace which I think lost some time for me. But 2 hours and 3 minutes for my very first half marathon is something I am going to brag about!
Here are some pics from the race that I wanted to share. 
^Waiting to start!^
^I was so happy crossing the finish line!^
I really wish I had gotten Westin to take more pictures but I did get a couple. My mom and dad surprised me. I didn’t know they were coming until I saw everyone cheering me on right before I crossed the finish line. They even brought me these beautiful flowers! That was probably part of the reason I had such a big smile on my face crossing the finish line. 
^With my mama!-Not my best photo but I love it anyway!^
^Only Liam would take a pic with me… Jake was too busy eating all my snacks!^
I felt so accomplished and proud (pretty sure I already said that). I might be crazy and a bit addicted now too. I just signed up to run another half marathon on Memorial Day. I want to keep up my running and stay in shape so I don’t plan on taking anytime off. I went right back to my normal everyday workouts this Monday and I plan to do a long run Saturday morning. I will keep you all updated!
Here are five things I have taken away from running my first half marathon…
- A good pair of running shoes is your best friend. Make sure to find a pair that works for you. These just happened to be my very first pair of Brooks running shoes and I love them. I have only ever heard good things about this brand too.
- You don’t need a ton of fancy gear or accessories to run. I did train alot in the cold weather and most of my snowboarding gear worked for running as well. I did get this handheld water bottle after I started running much longer distances and these blister resistant socks.
- Training is so important! Take a longer training time and slowly work your way up. Do not overdo it early on or get burnt out. I paired my running training with strength training as well which really helped my muscles prepare.
- Make or find yourself an awesome playlist…music keeps me going!
- Never give up! There will be days you don’t feel like running and just want to quit but make yourself go…have a friend to hold you accountable…you will thank yourself in the long run. Just do it!
I just hope to inspire others to push themselves, stay healthy and not to be afraid of hard goals! Until next week, XOXO!
