The First Half

I started in training in October for this race. I wanted to run the half marathon in 2007 but, I was not able to dedicate enough time to the training and I ended up doing the 5K. This past year, with Stella being older, it was easier to dedicate the time that I needed in order to train properly for this race. I ran the first 3+ miles with Marria and then she took off. Her time was 2 hours, 24 minutes. My time was 2 hours, 38 min, 39 seconds. Mile 7 was tough and miles 10- the end of the race were the most challenging. My hip flexor muscles started to cramp up at mile 10. So, at that point it was a mental race instead of a physical race. There are times in real life when we have to overcome physical challenges, but most of our daily "race" is a mental one. I think that God has blessed me with a stronger body physically and through that training - I am stronger mentally. Here are a few pictures.