WHISTLESTOP

Whistlestop weekend went well! I felt like I had come a long way since the day I made the decision to run another 1/2 marathon. We left town at 5:00am to drive to Ashland. We picked up our packets, jumped on the bus and headed to the start. 

Here we are on the bus, looking excited and confident.

Here is how we were really feeling.

We had a lot of fun and the race course was absolutely gorgeous!

We also had an awesome cheering crew. 

Here is the whole crew; they surprised us and came to cheer us on.

I can't believe the difference it makes to hear your name and 

to see your people as you are running a longer race like this.

Smiling at the finish line! I wasn't smiling right away because 

I was very tired; Joe decided to SPRINT the last 0.2 mile 

and I had to follow suit so we could finish together.

I really couldn't have done this without my training buddy who got me 

through the long weekend runs and encouraged me during the race.

We had lunch in Ashland afterwards and then headed home.

I was very happy with my time as I cut 7 minutes off of the first 1/2 marathon I did back in 2007 (at which time I was young, single, unemployed and not yet a parent). Not too shabby. I decided a little trip to Luce would be a good reward the next morning:

 Cheers!