Finish Line

1 race.

2 friends to get me through.

3 killer pairs of shorts.

13.1 miles.

It was a hot one this weekend in Madison, but together with my running buddies, we powered through all 13 miles of the course, taking in the scenery of our college past. Even though I am a slave to the mad beats that pump through my iPod, running with friends is ALWAYS better. And it doesn't get much better than these girls...and our killer matching outfits.

All smiles at mile 4.

Katie and Summer still sporting their pearly whites at mile 8...me really good at faking my smile.

No smile from me at 10.5. In fact I was joking to Nate that maybe I should just quit and walk back with him...but at least it captures the blazing sun, beautiful scenery, and of course our killer shorts.

The REAL smiles came at the finish line. Oh yeah!! We did it!

Now, there may or may not have been one scary hyperventhilating incident which was scary at the time and now just more embarassing than anything. But that is the beauty about running with friends. They pushed me through to the end, encouraged me and squashed the voice in my head telling me to quit. And I am pretty sure they would have got me into an ambulance had I needed it much quicker than a stranger on the course.

We were lucky to have lots of support of the course. Summer's fam was there, Katie's fiance, Nate and my sister (and future baby nephew!). My cousin Trish ran the race too, so it was fun to see some of my fam on the course as well!

Verdict's out on who the MVP of the cheer section was. Nate gets the frequency award...I think we saw him 7 times. He even documented his sweat progression as proof that he ran the course trying to find us.

Becca gets the bad ass mamma award. With her sweet skull bandana, killer signs, and full-bellied (I can say that because she's PREGNANT people...) cheering...it was amazing to look out for her on the course.

Next up: 13.1 on August 7th with Meghan (honored to be runnign beside her for her first half!)

FIRE UP!