I ran {another} race...

Maybe you're tired of reading about my races. "Oh well", I say to you!

Just kidding, sort of.

So my goal of running a half marathon each time I have a baby is going strong. I'm two for two here, folks! I ran, and finished, the Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa on Sunday.

Two cheers for me! Woop, woop! And a kissy cheer to my love who let me run a race on our anniversary!

It was cold. It was 34 degrees. It was cloudy. And not warm even a little bit. I had on three layers, on top. Too bad I didn't consider wearing two pairs of pants. Oh well, my calves survived. {even though I couldn't feel them for a very long time}

It was a good race. The course was really great, not too hilly, not to flat. Fairly windy. Lots of gorgeous houses. One really cool Catholic Augustine school. A lot of people. And Danny from season 8 of the Biggest Loser! {Who I introduced myself to. He is a neat guy!}

I ran the entire time. I've never done that before. Both of my previous races were a mix. This time I just kept running. I take that back, I walked through three water stops because of the insane amount of people who just stop at the water stop! But other than that, I ran.

And ran. And ran.

I felt good. Although I was cold, it wasn't enough to make me tell you that I felt anything other than good. Just me and my ipod and a lot of other people...running the morning away. It feels so good to do that.

I finished in 2:29 -- which is just six minutes longer than my personal record of 2:23 {from my first half}. I'm okay with this time because my goal was just to finish and I did a lot better than I thought I would. Also, I had a baby six months ago. And one more also: I don't sleep well or much.

I called Patrick around mile 10 to let him know I was 3 miles away. He and the boys were hanging out at the hotel. Having fun, relaxing, eating breakfast -- good, normal Sunday morning things. They rushed down to the finish line to cheer me on and gives me hugs and kisses. That one of my favorite parts about the end.

When I passed the "Mile 12" sign I decided I was done. I didn't want to be running in the cold anymore and I just wanted to see my boys. And I really wanted something to eat. So I just straight up sprinted for 1.1 miles. And it felt so right. "Why wasn't I pushing myself like this three miles ago?!", I thought. I rushed by several people and ran through the finish line. Yes!

There were a few tears, before and after. Tears of pride. Tears of fear. Tears of knowing I met another goal. That's a good feeling, friends.

I was a little sore, but better than I expected. We had to walk back to our hotel -- which was about a mile away -- and that was awful. I've never been so cold in my life.

I always tell myself when running, "You can do anything for __ miles/minutes." And it's true. It's just mental, mostly. There was a girl holding a sign on the course that said, "When your legs tire, run with your heart." So I did. And I prayed a lot.

And I kept singing part of the Toby Mac song, Hey Now. You know it? It's good motivation.

"So whether you're a loser or a winner by the numbers

Everyone knows a tie goes to the runnerSo lace up your shoes, get yourself in this raceCause this little thing here gonna set a new pace"

It was a good race.

{PS - Patrick and I had a great weekend talking and reflecting on SEVEN (yes, 7!) years of marriage. I'm a blessed woman to be married to that man, y'all. God is so good to me through Patrick.}