Last weekend I ran a half marathon through Colonial Williamsburg. It was hot, hilly, sweaty and ...I loved it. I will definitely be running this again next year. I went up Friday night with my 8 year old daughter to meet my running friend Jessica and her family for the weekend. Both her big boys and my daughter were going to run the "fun run" Saturday and then she and I would run the half Sunday while her poor, gracious husband managed 4, yep, I said 4, kids. (He had a little help, but still...gold bars for that or something!) Friday started out with crazy traffic. I had time to call my husband, my mom and my sister, we sat in traffic for so long. Once we got there we went and got our numbers and then checked in. My daughter is a patient kid, I have to say. My the time we got to the hotel, my patience had run out, and I was cranky and still she smiled and put up with me. Going up to our room we ran into my running friend and made plans for in the morning. Since it was suppose to be 90 friggin' degrees I was a little worried about my daughter. She has this massive head of hair that has to add 50 degrees to any temperature. The day started hot and she started whiny.  We were all sweating by the time we got to the stadium they were running at. The kids sat in the shade while they waited for their turn. One miler's were up first and so I took my daughter to the start. They would go down the track, outside the stadium and then back in to finish where the marathoner's would. Which meant she ran outside of my sight. Time for mommy panic. Now I know, I have brought her up to be safe, they block in the track they run, there are police, etc. but as a mommy, you still swallow and tell yourself not to panic. A few minutes later I was telling her to just do her best, its hot so just have fun, its OK to walk if you need to, and they were off. Just a few seconds later, she was out of sight. I moved to the finish to wait for her to come back. Some of the older kids came through fast, like Lightening McQueen fast! Holy crap! Wish I could run like that for a whole race! Then before I knew it, around the corner she came! I met her at the finish and made sure she got her water and led her to the shade, cheering her the whole way! Next up were my friends big boys. They were pretty awesome too. 90 degrees and they all did an awesome job. As mommy's we couldn't have been prouder.

After a hot afternoon, we went to bed. Up early, I took my daughter to my friends room and off we went. The air was hot and humid at 6:30 in the morning. We knew it would be hot and we knew there would be hills. I was a little worried about the hills, but hey, bring it on, right? Knowing I was nervous and having more faith in me then I did, she made sure I grouped in with the 3:15 pacer and stayed there to start with me. Thank goodness for good running friends. Thank goodness for Jessica. Before we knew it, we were off and running. I thought she was next to me, but when I turned to look both ways I couldn't find her any more. Rather then kill someone in the shoulder to shoulder start crowd, I kept going. We were off, hills, heat and all.

We ran through some rough gravel areas, dodged the horse poo and off to the rolling hills. I started fast like I always do below a 10 minute mile. I had to really focus on slowing down so I would last the whole way. I kept reminding myself it was going to be hot and hilly and I didn't want to loose my legs half way through.

The half way point was pretty and sad at the same time. I made it to the turn around before I knew it. Hills were easier then I thought they would be and I made sure to stop for water at each station because it was also as hot as I thought it would be. The good thing was, almost the whole way was in the shade. The sad part was, someone didn't account for the heat and I saw them packed in ice, being taken away to the ambulance. As hot as it was, I am grateful there weren't more incidents like that. I started taking a cup of water to drink and one to dump over my head. Best advice I got all weekend. My friend said it would feel yucky, but do it as it would help keep you cooler. I am glad I did. Thank you Mo!

This is one of the easier hills. Yes, its really up hill both ways. After you make the turn to the finish you realize all the down hill you had is now up hill and the up hill from before is now down hill and you kinda say "well, crap".  So back up the big hill we went. Thank you Williamsburg for showing us the true meaning of "rolling hills". The best part was getting to the top of the bigger hill and some guy had pull off the road to the side (they split the street so traffic could still move) and he had a sign saying "this stranger is proud of you" and was high fiving people. There were people like that along the whole route. They cheered you, encouraged you, smiled at you. People checked on other people walking to make sure they were OK in the heat. They made it a wonderful race. It is why I will run  it again next year; even if its 90 degrees again. I finally came to the finish and found a little bit left in my legs to push it to the finish at a faster pace. My daughter jumped up and down and waived at me and I blew here a kiss and went for the finish. Even my running friend's husband and boys cheered  for me. I don't get that at many races. It was really nice to have that. I crossed the finish and grabbed two waters. I made it. Later when I got the final time I realized that even with the heat and hills, I only missed beating my PR by 40 seconds. Crazy. But I totally had fun! A running weekend with a good running buddy and my daughter trumps a PR any day. Its why I love to run.