Bend 1/2 Marathon

This past Sunday, April 26, was the Bend Marathon and Half. I committed to running the 1/2 in January and have been training ever since. I had 2 goals: 1) finish  2) run at a 9 min per mile pace putting me in at 2 hours.

I ran the whole thing - didn't stop even once - and my pace was 8:42, putting me in at 1 hour, 54 minutes and a few seconds. I think I even impressed Kevin with my pace and accomplishment!

It was a chilly 30 degrees at the start line, and didn't warm up too much during the 2 hours I ran.

I saw Kevin and the girls three times during the race...shortly after it started (see below - I'm in the yellow/green jacket on the left), around mile 7 and again at the end.

A friend from church who runs frequently, Chyanne, came down and jumped into the race to help me pace and keep me motivated. Originially he was going to run 5 miles with me, but he hasn't been running much lately and was actually holding me back. So he stopped after 2 miles and then picked me up right at the end to push me across the finish line. 

Also fun...one of my instagram friends who lives in Bend came to the finish line to cheer me on and meet me. She recognized the girls from my photos and was right there with my family as I finished. She is a mom, pastor's wife and equally crazy instagrammer. It was fun meeting her in person.

We stayed in Bend for 3 more days and my legs were sore the whole time! We did manage several walks and even a hike - which I'll post about next time.