I met my friend Kait the second week I started working for the court in Oregon. We were out of town together for a trial in Pendleton and she suggested we run together. And that, is where it all began. Kait told me she always ran for an hour... which is usually at least 6 miles! At the time, I told her I was allergic to anything more than 3. So, I ran about half way down the trail and turned around as she continued to run. She told me that she had run 9 marathons in the past and had the goal of a 10th. We started working out together regularly, so I had to get over my anxiety of trying to talk while running and eventually our 3 mile runs turned into 4, then 5, then 6, then 7. And it was on our first weekend run where we went for 8 that she suggested a half marathon in Seattle that was coming up in a couple months. I'd considered it before and although I had no interest in running a full marathon, I had a secret aspiration to run a half. So, there it was! Shortly thereafter came our commitment to run the Seattle Half Marathon (13.1 miles) on November 27th! The day after the Jones family left Portland! So, just after they left, we headed out on the road to Seattle! Gregg and Kaylen made the trip and it was so great to have my family there to cheer me on!
Just after we arrived at the hotel!
Our hotel was the host hotel, so the expo was held right in it. There are some serious runners out there!!
We paid a little extra to have the convenience of being in the host hotel, access to everything we needed and proximity to the start of the race. And it was well worth it! It was a really nice hotel, a great room and had an incredible view!
After we got there, we headed down to the Pikes Public Market as we were just a few blocks away!
Were able to see the famous fish but only got to see them throw around a couple fish.
Kaylen got a sneak peak at Santa with Daddy
Took my Mom's advice and tried the smoked salmon. It was so good we bought some!
We walked to the not-so-distant Old Spaghetti Factory and although our server was a little off his game, it was a great place to go and we had a great dinner!
My two favorite faces!
The space needle. Going to have to put that on the list for the next time we're in Seattle.
Getting ready to head out!
The picture Gregg took from the hotel room of the start of the race!
The rain didn't hold out, so Daddy and Kaylen had to wait in the rain for the finish!
The finish line was in a stadium which made it nice for those watching.
Kaylen and Daddy had to wait a LONG time because Daddy knew how important it was not to miss it! Kaylen went through 3 packs of fruit snacks, but Gregg said she did SO WELL! She about as patient as a 2 yr old could possibly be!
Hard to see us, but about the middle of the screen, I'm in black and Kait is in teal.
Crossing the finish line!! 13.1 miles in a chip time of 2:02:13!
So glad to be done! We had trained hard and I felt really prepared, but it was harder than I even expected. It was a pretty hilly course, at least for me! But I did it!
Team Jones who was there for me at the finish! So so glad to have had them there!
Team Jones!!
Very lucky to have a great friend who is also a great workout partner!
On the drive back home after the race, we stopped to see my friends Josh, Leah and their daughter Heidi who live in Olympia. It had been a very long time and was really great to see them!
It was definitely a big goal for me as there was no way I would've thought about running 13.1 miles just 6 months ago. I couldn't have done it without Gregg who was always very supportive of our long runs on the weekend and his support in my running the race and wanting the family to be there with me. I'm so glad I did it and think I can finally officially say, I'm a runner!?
