four hours, twenty minutes, twenty-nine seconds

after three months of training, the marathon is over! and my stars, it feels good.

we packed up the car with luggage and snacks on saturday morning and set out on what turned out to be a six hour drive (we thought it would only be 5) down to dallas. after checking in to our hotel, we headed over to the health expo so i could pick up my race packet. well, they ran out of shirts in my size and then a gatorade pouch leaked in my bag so i had to clean all that up and throw most of it away. but i had everything i needed so then we went back to the hotel for dinner.

this crazy cool sculpture was in the lobby of the fairmont dallas where we stayed. it was really nice and the staff was so accommodating. the hotel restaurant had pasta specials for the runners so i had a good bowl full for my pre-race carb load. then it was back to the room to watch the big 12 championship game and have a sam adams (also for carb loading).

and now you will see me without make-up and first thing in the morning. this is as real as it gets, folks.

it was freeeeeezing! which is good for running but tough for waiting. i had to wear matt's coat.

a lot of people dress up for big races. i saw people in tu-tus and in striped christmas socks, but this girl was my total favorite. she gets major points for creativity.

this is me very cold. but also supporting my big 12 champs, boomer sooner!!

because there were so many participants, they had different corrals based on finish time. i was in section k and i crossed the start line 36 minutes after the elite runners at the front. and when the temp starts out in the mid thirties, it's pretty hard to get warmed up. it took until about mile 5 before i could feel my feet!

look at me, i'm running so fast that the photo's blurry :)

so i finished this thing in 4:20:29. it was my best time ever! it really was a great day. the people of dallas were just so great to come out on a blustery day to cheer us on. so many were set up on the sidewalks in front of their houses with signs, snacks, and drinks. there were tons of bands sprinkled through out the course to keep us motivated. there was even a little girl sitting on her front lawn playing the violin. the hooter girls handed out water and about mile 20, folks were giving out small cups of miller 64. yes, yes i did have some. low calorie beer never tasted so good.

but it was so nice to get home last night, pop a bottle of champagne, and relax after a long day. now i just have to decide on my next race :)