26.2 miles!

FYI: My brother who is on his mission told me that I need to update my blog and the one with the dogs doesn't count as a real post. I should know how bad it is when my 19 year old brother who is in another country tells me that I've been slacking. So, here it is. And there's 3 more right below this one so I'm all caught up!

Yes, you guessed it. Ben and I ran a MARATHON!!! Ben is quite the runner and when his brother asked if we wanted to do the St. George Marathon this year, Ben was very excited. I was not so thrilled. I am not a runner, I have never been a runner, and I haven't really had any plans to become one, so this was a tough decision for me. I thought there was going to be the option of a half marathon or a full marathon and I decided that I would do the half. What's 13.1 miles, right? It would give me something to do this summer in Baltimore/Atlanta. Turns out, there wasn't an option for a half marathon that same day, so a full marathon it is!

My training began in April and Ben's training just became more goal oriented. As I started building my endurance, I kept wondering how runners could do it. I was really getting bored with the same thing day after day (on a treadmill no less). Then, the long runs came. Yikes. How was I supposed to keep myself focused and motivated to run for hours?! Well, somehow we both managed and we both finished the marathon!

We had a great support group there for us including Jenny, Dave, Zack, and Amber

Here I am almost done! I'm the one on the right wearing black

And here is Dave cheering for me! When I finished, Ben and his brother Bill were there to greet me since they both finished about 45 minutes before me. Here we are standing in line for our mini massages! And here's Ben very pleased with himself and his ability to prevent chafing This was Ben's 2nd marathon and he set his personal record! His time was 3 hr 27 min. I was a bit slower than that and I finished in 4 hr 14 min. My goal was 4 hr 20 min, so I beat it by 6 min! Boy am I glad it's over.

After the marathon, we went back to Zack and Amber's house to relax. The boys also made it outside to hit some golf balls into the red dirt. Thanks for giving us a place to stay and for feeding us! Your house is BEAUTIFUL!!