#25. Run a half marathon - DONE!

One of my goals for the year is to run a half marathon. At some point I convinced Adam to run with me and signed us both up for the 43rd Annual Nova Scotia Marathon/Half Marathon in Barrington. 

There are some beautiful beaches in the area, so we decided to make the 2.5-hour drive on Saturday and stay overnight for Sunday morning's run. Poor Hannah hasn't been feeling well (she has eye teeth and molars coming in), so we weren't able to make it to the beach, but we're already talking about making the trip next summer (with less running and more beach time).

{our cute little cottage rental in Shelburne}

{our view during Saturday night's dinner}

{enjoying the perfect weather}

{the food was pretty bad, but the beer was delicious}

{poor teething baby}

Adam's parents were nice enough to drive down - and back - on Sunday to watch Hannah while we ran. During our 10 weeks of training, I think Adam and I both questioned whether we'd actually be able to do it. My goal was to finish, of course, and to run the whole race. I accomplished both, and finished in 2:05 - faster than my training pace (Adam was a couple minutes ahead of me).

{probably the worst picture of myself I've ever willingly posted on the Internet - I must be proud}

The most surprising part was that I actually enjoyed it (my legs started to hurt during the last 2K, but I felt pretty good for most of the race). Although Adam and I said this was the only half-marathon we'd ever run, I think we've both changed our minds and will be doing it again. There's just something about the running community - much like the blogging community - that makes you want to be part of it. And my competitive side wants to keeping trying for a better time ;)

P.S. For any runners out there, we ran the Nova Scotia Marathon/Half Marathon in Barrington (there's also a 10K). With the exception of a few rolling hills, it's a nice flat route with some truly stunning ocean views. I would highly recommend!