We Finished AND Survived The Half Marathon!

We made it! We had 4 sisters, 2 bother-in-laws, and a niece that all ran the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon too! That's a small portion of my family- about 1/7 of it- but more than we have ever had running it all together. I would have had lots of pictures to share if only my NEW camera would have co-operated- looks like it'll be going back to the store. This is a crop of the group picture for the privacy of the others in the group. If you can't tell, I was FREEZING COLD! It was at least sprinkling the WHOLE TIME. And towards the last couple of miles it was down pouring and I was soaked to the bone. 

I learned a bit about myself on this run. I had a blast for the first few miles and it was so fun to have family and my husband right there with me. I knew I'd be running slower than the rest but with all that happened I felt I did pretty darn good that I even finished. And my family rocked it too! My niece was first in her age group! My sister and her husband finished in 1:45!! That is amazing to me! And my other family members than ran sure did awesome too!

We got about 2 hours of sleep the night before, then of course my baby was sick(worried me the whole time I was running), I had to use the "potty" and I started my period(sorry for those who don't want to know) at mile 5... I was cramping the rest of the way, and then mile 7 1/2 I found out I have asthma- and apparently was having an attack along with a panic attack. I have never felt so scared(for myself and my own health) before. My throat was closing up and I was wheezing bad. I completely stopped running or walking and really thought I was going to pass out. My husband was in view but I couldn't call to him, luckily he stayed close and had turned around to see where I was. Then I tried hard to just focus on my breathing and walking. 

There was a volunteer helper who came to see how I was doing. He asked if I had ever had asthma before to which I replied no. He asked if I wanted to be checked out in the ambulance but quite frankly I really wanted to finish the race- although if my husband had not been there I would probably have given in and stopped at that point. He said if it didn't stop before we reached the ambulance that I needed to get checked out right away. 

From this point on, it was mostly walking to the end of the Marathon. I luckily didn't need to stop for the actual Ambulance because by then I had managed to get my normal breathing pattern back. I couldn't listen to music for almost the rest of the half because it distracted me from my breathing. My sweet husband was with me the whole way. I seriously could not be more thankful for him. I wanted to quit but could not give up because he was right there with me and he was willing walk with me as much as I needed. He could easily have finished way before I did but he stuck with me.

I was able to control my breathing right up until I ran through the finish line, then I just broke down in my husbands arms until I could get composure back and breathe normal again. 

I am happy to say that I finished! Not without the help for sure! But I have officially ran a half marathon. I felt the support of many family members, my husband, and especially my Heavenly Father and Savior. 

I don't plan to run another half marathon any time soon and I'll for sure be headed to the Dr.'s before I run anything longer than a couple of miles. I'm just so grateful I got to return to my children and my family after the race and ever so grateful for my sweet husband. Heavenly Father has blessed me sooo much.

With that said, I will not be able to blog for the rest of the day(accept for the giveaway winner) and will be slower with posts this week. I will be announcing the winner of the Jamberry Nails giveaway as soon as possible. Thanks so much for understanding!

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