284 miles...568,000 steps!

Saturday was my second time running the Mesa Falls Half Marathon and although my muscles still feel every step today and I'm hobbling around like a 90 year old, it was definitely worth it! It sounds silly to say running 13.1 miles, sweating like a pig, wanting to cry because it feels like it's never going to end, running uphill for 2 miles straight, wanting to drink a gallon of water, and actually drinking that gallon of water is fun- but it was super fun!

This year my sister Amber, Heather, and I ran it together. I was told by several people along the run that I had the best support group and it was so true! Every few miles my brother-in-laws, parents, and nieces and nephews were there cheering for me. The last 3 miles or so, when I was getting really really tired, my awesome dad rode his bike along the route, keeping about 1/3 of a mile ahead of me and met me every time encouraging me to drink water and keep it up! It was really fun to see a bunch of my friends from the branch running the race, and cheering for me as I finished the race. Everyone should run a half-marathon! If I can do it, anyone can do it! The energy at the beginning and end of the race are unlike anything you can experience anywhere else. How often do you run past a 1 mile sign and have people around you cheering!? How often do you run by an older woman who told me she was running with a pin on for Italy because that is where her son is on a mission!? How often does someone yell out your name and you have people cheering for you as you finish a run?! Never! It is such a great thing and I already know I'm doing it next year for sure!

To keep track this summer I have written down every day how many miles I have run. I added it all up today and since the end of April I have run 284 miles! The average person takes about 2000 steps in a mile so I run 568,000 steps! Woohoo! That's definitely not it for the summer either, give me a few days for my legs to feel back to normal and I'll be back out there running!