MS Blues Half Marathon

After four months of training, the MS Blues Half Marathon finally arrived, and we were ready for it! It was tough for me to get back into shape initially after taking about a year off from consistent running during my pregnancy with Judson. However, it felt good to get back into it and I began to feel like I could go for a run and not feel close to passing out. Barrett and I enjoyed doing a lot of our training together for this race. While the weather was still warm, we would sometimes take Judson for a ride in the jogging stroller while we ran, and later when the weather was too cold for him, we hired a babysitter to keep him a few times for our longer runs. It was so nice to have someone to run with, especially on the long runs. Barrett's hip was no longer giving him the same problems as he dealt with previously, so we were thankful for that. He was able to complete the training with no major problems.
My good friend, Lisa Ward, came up to Jackson to run the half with us, as well as our other good friend, Dana Sullivan. Dana was training to run the full marathon but unfortunately became injured and was no longer able to compete. She made the trip anyway, though, to cheer us on and to visit her son who is in law school here. When the race day arrived, the weather was perfect. Needless to say, we were a little worried about the weather after the freezing cold temperatures of the race last year. This year, however, it was in the mid 30's to low 40's, and it was sunny the whole morning. We started off the race with ear bands and gloves, which we ditched at the half-way point. Very encouraging to us was our own personal cheering squad- Caleb, Isabelle, Uncle Tim, and Virginia, who stood outside Virginia's house (which happened to be directly on the running route) with handmade signs to cheer us on! The course was somewhat difficult because of all the hills, but Barrett kept me going the whole way. I didn't get a personal best time, but I was surprised at how close I came to my time from the last half I ran. I was expecting to run it much slower this time, but Barrett's encouragement helped me keep up my pace, even when I would have slowed down.
After the race, we enjoyed the many good foods offered at the post race tent, and we joked (well, it was probably true) that we ate as many calories as we had just burned off!
Having a goal to work toward was a great way to get back into running and be consistent. Now I just have to decide what my next race will be!

Barrett and I in front of the big guitar after the race

Bryanne and Lisa

Bundling up after the race (we were colder after we finished than at the start!)