Famous Idaho Potato Half-Marathon

Today finally arrived for the half marathon which I have been training for the last three months. Yesterday afternoon we drove to Boise to pick up our registration packets and to get settled into the hotel ahead of time. Then we met up with all the girls who were participating to get some dinner and make plans to meet up early this morning. We caught the shuttle to our starting point at 6:45 and drove the 13 miles to a reservoir outside of town. The drive seemed to take forever and I was getting more and more nervous. But when the race started it was really exciting to be a part of something like this. There were over 800 people who ran in the race and everyone was very happy to be there.

Because Mark and the girls were going to have to wait for a few hours when they dropped me off at the shuttle, they played around the park where the race was being held and also went to the zoo which the girls loved!

The day was warm and sunny and ended up being fairly ideal for a race. All of the volunteers were awesome and were great cheerleaders. Every two miles there was an aid station with water or gatorade and power bars if needed. Our route started out on the outskirts of the city and followed the river and then through the city and finally into Ann Morrison Park for the finish. For me it was miles 10-13 that were the toughest. It was hard to stay positive knowing you still had three miles, then two miles, then one mile when you've already gone so far. But when we turned the corner into the park there was a huge crowd that had gathered to cheer on the competitors so we sprinted as fast as we could the last half mile until we crossed the finish line. I was soooo glad to be done, but also soooo glad I had stuck to my goal to complete this race. The best part was seeing my husband and kids at the finish and then receiving lots of hugs and kisses from them. I wouldn't have wanted to do this if they couldn't be a part of it. Unfortunately we don't have the greatest camera and the kids were not behaving very well so the pictures are kind of limited that Mark was able to get. But here we are at the end, very happy to have accomplished our goal.

You can't see my number, but I was #697. Hooray for myself, Karen, CarrieAnn, Jeannette, Haley, and Elise! You gals are awesome! 'Til next year!!!