happy days...

WOwwww. What a weekend. First, the retreat. It was absolutely amazing. Seriously. We had lots of fun being goofballs. We swam in freezing cold water, had delicious hot chocolate, went on an intense hike, and lots more. Also, the worship was awesome. We spent lots of time singing, praying, and connecting with people. People which are great, by the way. I love my St. Andrews friends like a crazy person. So, I had to leave the retreat early. Why, you may ask? I ran the half marathon today!!!! Oh my, it was fun. I'm insanely sore right now, but it was worth it. More on that in a moment.
So, after worship last night, I rode back to Little Rock with Mr. Brymer and got home at around 2:30 a.m. That's right, I said a.m. . Like, in the morning. Therefore I got approximately 3 hours of sleep, went downtown at 7, and started the race at 8. My life. Is crazy.
And, back to the race. It was actually easier than I was expecting! I managed to stay motivated the entire time, which was great. There were a ton of people on the side of the road all along the way that were cheering the runners on. I was running with Rachel, Elizabeth's super sweet sister. We talked for a lot of the time, and listened to music after about mile 7 or 8. I think it was good that we were together because we really pushed eachother to go faster. My goal was to run the whole time, and I did! I'm satisfied. My time was 2 hours, 36 minutes. Not quite what I had hoped, but I feel like I did my best. I had never run more than 7 or 8 miles at at time, much less 13.1. And, oh boy, am I sore. Like, I feel like I have aged 80+ years in one day! But I'm still glad I did it. Now I can say that I've done a half marathon!
As soon as I got home, I slept for about four hours. I was exhausted. Beyond belief. I still am, actually. And I still have to do homework. Fun. Fab. What a weekend.
-caylielane

(Above) Me with Elizabeth and Rachel before the race.

(Above) Me and rachel as the line started moving towards the starting line! My excitement was building....

(Above) My parents were waiting for Rachel and I around mile 6. As you can see, we were feeling pretty good!

(Above) Elizabeth made a sign for me and Rachel! (The other side of the sign said "Go Rachel!!!") This is Elizabeth with her mom and Carson on the side of the road where we were running.

This is me right before crossing the finish line- I was still feeling good! Lots of adrenaline was pumping.


And this is me with Mimi after the race. At this point my legs were in pain and I was really tired, but I was so happy I had done it!