no time to race in April

April has been a busy month!  I have had so much school work and worked many evenings and weekends at CCV which has not allowed me to registered for any races this month.  I keep asking my mom to wave her magic wand to give me more hours in the day - so far it hasn't worked!  


Since I didn't run a race this month I decided I still need to make big strides towards a goal I have been thinking about for a while....I registered with Sports Backers to train for the FULL MARATHON in November.  That is 26.2 miles in case you were wondering!  I have run four half marathons and I think I am ready for this challenge!  I know my body can do it (well I hope) I just need to get my mind ready!  


Training starts in June - so until then, I will be hitting the roads to keep my legs in motion and healthy before the miles start adding up! 


Here is a link to the race event - mark your calendars!  

http://www.richmondmarathon.com/

(I know a celebrity - that is my friend Shannon at the bottom in the yellow race shirt!  Wooo!  Go Shannon!  She trained and ran her first marathon last year with Sports Backers)

To all of you who have told me to go for it - 

you better be out on the course cheering for me! 

i love the color green

Green has always been on of my favorite colors.  and then my love for green grew stronger when I went to Mason.  During Shamrock weekend in Virginia Beach everyone's favorite color was green  It was everywhere - banners on the board walk, shamrocks on the hotel windows, t-shirts, face paint, and balloons!  It was awesome!

On race day I put on my green shirt, green shamrock headband and my green race number.  My dad walked with me to the start where we saw even more green!  There was so much excitement in the air as we lined up in streets to wait for the start...

The gun goes off and I am crossing the start...the sun has just come up and reflecting the green of the crowd.  There are so many shades of green and lots of crazy outfits.  

Here I am at the start in the sea of green....

The course was super flat with not much wind.  As i turned the bend in Fort Story, i could see the lighthouse.  What a cool sight to see while running!  This was such a fun race and I will definitely run it again!  There was so much excitement in Virginia Beach! 

I had a great race and my legs felt great the entire 13.1 miles!  I had enough to sprint down the boardwalk to the finish with a new best time!  2:17.26

After the race, the finishers got so much cool stuff!  We got a medal, a t-shirt, and a hat!  Inside the finisher's tent was beer and irish stew.  I didn't have any stew, but you better believe I had some beer!  

All dressed in green and ready to go!

the sunrise on race morning

my family - the best cheerleaders!  

in front of the sand art

runners and spectators on the beach

I worked hard for those 2 beers!  mmmmmm - delicious!

the boardwalk and finish line from our hotel 

After brunch in front of the statue...you better believe I wore that medal ALL day!