4th Richmond half

This was my 4th Richmond half marathon and might have been my favorite. 

Holly and I trained for it and ran almost all the long runs together. After so many training runs over the years I don't think there is an area we don't know about each other. I picked her up at work Friday afternoon and then we drove to Richmond and met Sarah and Bethany. Bethany's mom came with her and it was really fun getting to know her. She was so encouraging and even got us flowers for after we ran. I told her my own husband didn't do that after I ran a full marathon! 

The girl in the middle is amy and she doesn't run. But for the past 5 or 6 years that Sarah's run this race and almost any race in Richmond she wakes up super early on a saturday morning and picks up her sister, Sarah, and anyone else running to drive them and drop them off so they don't have to park. She then waits around for hours watching at the finish line to cheer us on and then help us hobble back to the car. She's a blessing and a lot of fun. She even took off work for this and traded for the day after thanksgiving. That's dedication and friendship. 

It was perfect weather running and I love running through the neighborhoods of Richmond. We don't go for time. We do run the whole thing and don't walk but spend the whole time talking and catching up. I hadn't seen Bethany since the shamrock marathon in March so it was good to catch up. One day maybe we will get dedicated and try to get a PR (personal record in the running world) but for now it's more fun to talk and run together. 

After we ran we all took showers and in the past have all gone straight home but this time we stayed around and spent a few hours shopping and eating lunch. We've talked about it for years and so glad we finally made it work this year. It was really fun to hang out afterwards. We went to short pump and walked around and shopped and talked. Then holly and I came home. It was a great weekend. 

It was funny last night to read the commentary Sarah was giving us on our pictures 

Abigail... I'm so fast & ahead and not breaking a sweat. Look Im smiling. This is fun 

Holly...beast mode. Pump arms, move faster.

Me... Jazz hands!!

This one too. Bethany & holly are runners. Look professional and athletic. I'm all "no body move I lost a contact" stance. Abigail is embarrassed by me and getting away to not be associated with the crazy

So funny. I couldn't stop laughing. Race pictures aren't very flattering so it's more fun to laugh at ourselves. 

Bethany and I are doing the full shamrock in March (and then I'll take a break from full marathons) but we are all already signing up for the Richmond half for next year. It's become a tradition and one of my favorites.