13.1

Today I participated in The White Rock Marathon for the 3rd year in a row, and I'm pretty sure after today's run I deserve at least the next 3 years off!! Ha!! I ran the half this year, and those 13.1 miles will forever be scarred into my memory!!
Compared to some of the "natural runners" I know I'm a wimp, but believe me it was BRUTAL!! It rained heavily the entire time, temperature was around 42 degrees (but felt like 35), and I was chilled to the bone!! I run mostly for exercise, and I'll be the first to admit that I don't love running like some of the gung-ho runners that participate in multiple marathons a year and travel cross country to do them. So mix a long run with weather like that, and I'd rather just skip it!! However, after paying my hefty admission fee, and knowing that 3 friends were relying on me to split a hotel bill with them there was no turning back! So my goal today was to finish! My time wasn't great (1 hour 59 minutes, which is 12 min slower than the 1/2 I did in 2009), but it's done!
I did have some fun on Friday night when I got to share a hotel at The W, and eat in Victory Plaza with some of my buddies from school, who also ran the 1/2. Julie, Jana, Carrie, and I had a great time!! It was the 2nd annual White Rock and W stay for Julie, Carrie, and I!
Of course we posed in the lobby of The W next to their tree!

Before we started! The rain briefly stopped while we waited to start, but picked back up as soon as the race began!

Jana's son drove us down to Fair Park to the start, held our heavy coats while we ran, and let us stop by his office downtown to change clothes in the very swanky fitness center's locker room!! Talk about treadmills with a view!!

Here we are picking up our packets at the race expo the night before the run!