Parker's Marathon is marathon #7, West Virginia is state #7, all in nine months!
This was a really fun trip that ended with a really fun race. Friday after work, we loaded up the car and headed North to West Virginia. We met Grandma and Gramps there.
Friday night we had yummy Chinese food.
Saturday morning I woke up pretty early because the hotel didn't have window coverings and it was bright before 7 am. Michael and I drove to the marathon start/finish line for our two-mile warm up run.
Saturday morning, during my two mile run, we saw a ton of deer.
The rest of the day Saturday was spent just hanging out around Harrisville, WV.
Saturday we just hung out, the kids love their grandparents.
Sunday morning arrived and we all went back to North Bend State Park, which is where the start/finish line was. It was still somewhat dark at the 6:30am start, so the 'Marathon Maniacs' photo wasn't the best. This is my first marathon since joining. I didn't have my shirt yet, I got it in the mail the day after the marathon, so I'll have it for Chicago.
Marathon Maniacs picture: I'm in the back row.
I like for my family to write, via sharpie, on my arms before each race. While running I really enjoy looking down occasionally and reading what they wrote.
The kids writing their messages that I read while I ran
The race started and I felt great. The air was cool, but humid. Almost the entire route was under the shade of trees, which was awesome. About 25.5 of the 26.2 miles was on a crushed limestone path. I prefer running on streets, but it wasn't terrible. It was a simple route, 13.1 miles West on the trail, then turn around and come back. That was nice, not having to negotiate turns.
The gun goes off for the marathon
After my race started, Michael's 5k started. He did great, taking 2nd place overall with a time of 20:24. There were only 15 people that ran the 5k, which surprised me.
Michael's 5k gun goes off
Michael finishes strong.
Me finishing the marathon.
My mom was able to snap the picture with my exact finishing time displaying.
I felt pretty strong the first 22 miles or so, then started to really feel it. I'm still really happy with my time, it's my second fastest marathon ever.
Sunday after the marathon we all went to Dairy Queen for some excellent food and dessert. Then we headed home. At a gas station in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia, we saw this. Click on the picture below and look really close. There is a small baby in a car seat, while the rest of the family was inside getting treats!
Here are the video highlights, and below that my Garmin data from the marathon:
