Success!

What a great (and long-overdue) trip to Phoenix! It was SO great to see Katie (and Matt and Maggie, too, of course,) and it makes me extremely thankful for the awesome friends that I have. I love being able to lounge around, chat, shop, and eat Cheetos like it was a Friday night in high school all over again. Some things I found peculiar about Phoenix:


1. There are both cacti and palm trees living simultaneously in the desert. Does that seem weird to anyone else? I was pretty fascinated with the cacti. Anytime we drove someplace I spent the entire ride staring out the window saying "Look, there's a fat one!" "Look, there's a short one!" "Look, that one has tons of arms!" "Look, that one has a hole it it!" Thanks for amusing me, Kate. :)
2. I counted more personalized license plates in the three days I was down there than I ever have before. Some were creative, some were not.
3. The natural vegetation there looked like roadside brush to me. We are seemingly driving along a deserted back road when BAM! Albertsons, Target, and Blockbuster pop up out of nowhere. Gee, I'd forgotten I was in the city!
4. I can totally see why people live there for the weather.... 70 degrees in January? Yes, please!


AND on to the half-marathon. There were 22,000 half-marathon runners and 8,000 marathon runners for this event. Needless to say, there were a lot of people milling about. It was an amazing thing to be a part of! And guess who started us off? That's right, Mr. John McCain. And yes, we all had to wave as we ran by, after all, it was a "wave" start. Har, har, har. Here are a few before photos...

WE DID IT!

We survived! Yes, we are very proud of ourselves and will continue to eat whatever we'd like for the next week. It really was an experience beyond words - pretty emotional to cross that finish line. I know here in the land of I-Run-Multiple-Marathons-a-Year (AKA, active Colorado,) a mere half-marathon may not seem like much, but to me it was still quite an accomplishment. Is a full marathon next on my list? Probably not.... I would like to keep my body in working order for more than five more years. But never say never, I guess...

Final Stats:

Distance: 13.1 miles

Time: 2 hr. 19 min.

Overall Place: 10079 out of 21460

Gender Place: 5032 out of 13486