Weekend running trip

This past weekend, John Mark and I went to Birmingham so that I could run the Merecedes half marathon. It was kinda a last minute challenge by a high school friend of mine who was running the race. He sent me an email on Jan 25th saying " Birmingham half marathon. Feb. 11. Be there. or be SQUARE." Not wanting to be square, I took him up on this offer. I signed up and made hotel reservations. I hadn't seen Wes since high school so this was going to be a fun weekend. Now keep in mind, that yes, I do run, but I am NOT a hill runner. And B'ham is full of mountains! I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into until it was too late, See what I mean:


That big peak on mile 9 gave me nightmares.

JM and I got there the night before the race (my mom had all the kids) and we went to dinner at The Maccaroni Grill with Wes and his wife. We ate carbs. Lots of carbs.

Race morning was very cold (26 degrees) but the sun was out. All I kept thinking about was "What the heck am I thinking? Why did I let him talk me into this? Ugh! I'm going to die on those hills!" But once we started running, I was fine. I lost Wes at mile 3 and never saw him again. I felt so good! It was a beautiful run. One that I will be doing every year. I enjoyed that race more than any other I've done, with the exception of Disney. And I guess what made it that much better was that I beat Wes by almost 10 minutes!!!! I should stop bragging b/c if he hadn't got stuck in the portta john at mile 4 (intestional issues) he would have whipped my butt!

We are Elite wanna-be's.


The medal is the coolest. It's a Merecedes hood ornament. Wonder if it would sell on ebay?



It was a great weekend. My husband was a great sport. He's not into running at all but is there for me when I need him. I know I couldn't do it without his support. :)

And thank you Wes for letting me beat you. I have a feeling next year I won't be as fortunate.