Chicago Half Marathon

Things have been crazy around here as we all adjust to me going back to work.  I am home today with Charley because she's sick.  Last night was really rough and this morning hasn't been very smooth either.  Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on all of our photos during her happy moments today.  I'll try to post them throughout the week.

First,  the half marathon.

Bryan and I had been training well for this and then it stopped suddenly when I got a job and there wasn't time for training.  The longest run we did was 9 miles.  I actually only ran once (5 miles) between our 9 mile run and the race.  There was a month between them.  We decided we would just focus on having fun and enjoying the race day excitement.  Nana and Papa came to watch the kids and we were so thankful for that!  Papa got some great photos!

We had lots of snacks and electronics available to make the day easier for Nana and Papa.

Ready to run 13.1 miles!  As soon as we ran by Jackson freaked out.  Nana and Papa told him to watch the people because Mommy and Daddy were coming.  He was so sad when we waved and kept running.

 By mile 4 he understood the process a little more.  There was a great breeze along the lake shore.

 We didn't see Nana and Papa again until the finish line so they got to play with the kids until we finished.

 Someday he won't need diaper changes, right?

 There were a lot of funny signs.  This one was funny since Byan recently did the Tough Mudder race.

 They even got a mid-race rest.

 I felt okay until mile 9.  Then I just couldn't run anymore so we walked a lot for the rest of the race.  I feel like it was half running/ half walking for the last 4 miles but unfortunately, that might be a bit generous.  Once I knew I wasn't going to get my goal of 2 hours and 45 minutes (which I knew before the race started) and I knew I had plenty of time to beat last half's time, I decided it was fine to walk.  And it felt so good.  I was so happy to be done and looked a little worse for the wear by the end.

 Our final time was 2 hours and 53 minutes.

 Jackson loved the "badge" and the snacks at the end.

It was a long day and we were all exhausted.  I am so glad that it's over!  I was dreading it since we didn't get to prepare as much as we'd thought.  Thank you Nana and Papa for making the trip to help out!