Savannah

We chose Savannah for our half marathon for several reasons: it's flat, it has perfect weather in November, and the city is beautiful.

On race day we had to wake up at 4:15AM in order to get to our parking spot before the roads were closed off... so by that afternoon we were pretty exhausted. We took a quick nap and then hit River Street Saturday night for a few beers, some pralines, and a delicious dinner after all of those calories we burned off.

We had dinner at Fiddler's Crab House on River Street, and we ate on the porch so we could overlook the river. The atmosphere down there is just so much fun.

 I had some shrimp and grits, which were: to. die. for.

and after dinner we went to "World of Beer".... hello my new favorite bar. 

I'm a beer girl, and this place blew my mind with the amount of beer they have on tap and on the menu.

My word.

They even do beer cocktails... it was an excellent reward after all of that running!

That sums up the rest of our Saturday in Savannah... now I'm dying to go back. I would kill for a few more pralines right about now. This time change has killed me this week!

Happy Friday friends!!

13.1

What a surreal feeling, to finally have my first half marathon behind me.
After spending the last few months training for it, it's hard to let it fully sink in that it's OVER.

The race itself was hands down one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced, I don't even know how to put it all into words. The first ten miles went by so quickly, I've never had a run feel THAT effortless. The entire stretch of the course there were people cheering us on, with hilarious posters and offering so much encouragement. It just made me so emotional to have complete strangers cheering me on, especially after how hard I had worked to be there. I'm a sentimental nut.. but I really kept getting teared up the whole race.

Around mile 10 is when my knees really started hurting, and at the water station I took my first walking break as I drank my water.. but what a mistake! As much as you think a quick walking break will make your body feel a little better, it makes it hurt so much more to start running again. Once I picked back up I just kept repeating to myself "JUST. KEEP. GOING." over and over. The last few miles seemed to drag... and mile 13 I thought would NEVER end. It seemed like 3 miles instead of one. Finally rounding the corner to see that finish line was so rewarding.

My goal for the race was 2:30.. and my time ended up being 2:28:02 so I was thrilled considering it's my first one! I ran my Nike Running app during the race so I could look at my breakdown for each mile, and my paces for several miles are the same, down to the second. So I was very pleased that I was able to maintain a consistent pace throughout.

 I really can't stress enough how incredible training for a half, and finally completing one can be. I thought it seemed impossible, and I would never be able to tackle it. But I'm telling you right now, it's doable. I could barely run a mile in May without feeling like death, and now I can complete 13.1? It's unreal how much you can push your body and overcome things you never dreamed you were capable of. If it's one of those things you've always wanted to do, I'm telling you now to DO IT. I promise you won't regret it. You will hate running some days, and question yourself over why you put yourself through it, but you will learn to love it on others... and the accomplishment is so rewarding.

The Rock 'n' Roll Savannah half marathon is definitely happening again next year, and I'm so thankful for all of you who sent me emails and information about your training plans. You all helped me tremendously!

Homecoming

My beautiful little sister, Mallory, made Senior Homecoming Court at the high school.. and looked absolutely stunning on the field Friday night (If I do say so myself).

Senior year is such a blast, and Homecoming festivities were one of my favorite things, so it's been so fun to live vicariously through Mal as she goes through all of it this year. All of the girls had gorgeous dresses... it really made me miss those dress shopping days!

We're so proud of our little Mal!! 

Next post: A recap of GA/FL.

Get ready for it.

;)

Happy November 1st y'all!

Where has this year gone?!

The Rivalry.

It's quite possibly one of the most wonderful weekends of the year: the Georgia/Florida game in Jacksonville.
Also known as, "the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party." And you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be heading down for it this year! The GA/FL game is one of those things that any Georgia fan should experience at some point in their life. You just can't even put into words the amount of fun and craziness that goes down in one weekend.

Here's some flashback photos from last year's trip :) Can't wait to see what this year has in store!

Now off to a weekend of shenannigans! ;) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Go Dawgs!!

Hitting the Pavement.

My half marathon is coming up November 3, less than a month left until the big day and I'm starting to feel so anxious.

Running has been such a journey for me, throughout this entire training process. I started running at the end of May/Early June, and at that point in time I could barely run a mile. Yesterday I did my longest run to date-- 8 miles. I have come such a long way since I started all of this, and my next long run is when I'll be going for those double digits: 10 miles.

Something about pushing your body to its limit, and proving to yourself that you are better than you thought is just so rewarding. I've really proven to myself that I am more than capable of things that I never dreamed possible. With every step, and every mile I continue to learn more about myself.

Ben is training for the half too, and we talked last night about how running long distances makes you doubt in yourself, and believe in yourself all at once. I definitely never imagined I would gain so much out of signing up for a half-marathon on a whim, but in any training I think you really test yourself and your limits. You learn a lot of things about yourself physically, but you also find yourself learning a lot of life lessons. There's so much time to think when you're trucking along on that pavement, and as cheesy as all of this is: I've really come to love it.

I've always been the girl who hated running, hated working out, dreaded the thought of even running a mile. Then I started hearing of all these people doing half marathons... and secretly wished I could actually do one. I mean, what an accomplishment! It lingered in my mind for months... until I finally just thought, Why CAN'T I do one? What makes me think that I can't accomplish that too? And here I am, running my little tail off and working towards that 13.1.

A lot of you are runners too, what are some of those things running has done for you?
Aaaaand do you have any advice for first-time half marathoners?

Happy Monday friends!