Hunstville Half Marathon

Last Saturday I ran the Hunstville Half Marathon, aka the Full Monte (should be called the Half Monte for the half haha). This is the 3rd year that they've done this marathon and my first time running it. It was a beautiful coarse and I loved that it started at 9:30! I got to sleep in till 7:00, which was really nice considering that that is usually when other races start. It was POURING rain for the first 4 miles. I was SO happy that I grabbed my sport rain coat as I was heading out the door, because without that I would have been soaked to the bone. It was kind of fun to run in the rain and it smelled amazing, but then again I had to run another 9 miles in soggy shoes...yuk! It wasn't cold at all, which was nice! I think I'd take running in the rain rather than the cold any day. After it cleared up a bit I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery. I ran it by myself so I was able to run my own pace which was kind of nice and I had my family at the end to look forward to. My parents suprised me when I had 3 miles left to go and cheered me on when I needed it most, anddddd I got to shred some of my clothing and give it to them.
I finished it in a minute less than my last half, which was about 5 years ago, at 1hr and 48min which put me at an average pace of 8.16/mile. It was hard and fun at the same time. And even though Brett and the kids didn't make it there until after I finished (insert tear drops here...kids are hard to get out of the house in a timely manner when you're not the one used to getting them ready and out the door :) it was so fun to have them there! I plan on running the Ogden half in May and hope to finish it in 1:45 (hope I can make my goal!)

We went to my parents for a bit afterward then went home to shower and take a quick nap then headed back up to the Valley. Brett and the kids stayed with my dad and had pizza, watched Sleeping Beauty and played while my mom and I went to the Womens Broadcast. It was so awesome and fun to share it with my sweet mom!

I must say, it was a GOOD DAY!