Going through the big D!

And this time, I DO mean Dallas!!! 

Last weekend, Marla and I ran another HALF MARATHON!! Like, 13.1 miles. Though, the GPS on my phone said it was more like 13.5 miles. Seriously. Get it together, Rock and Roll Series. 

Matt, Thomas, and I flew into to Dallas from Nola. Marla drove and we all met up at hotel Friday night. We put Thomas straight to bed and then pigged out on burgers, fries, and overpriced cocktails. After that, no one slept. Thomas cried and screamed and cried. I felt so bad for Marla. Like, awful. I warned her, but it was even worse than I expected it to be. There were at least two occasions that I just sat up in bed and rocked him. Ever tried to rock without a rocking chair? It takes some serious core muscles. That I don't have. No kidding, my abs were sore when I "woke up" on Saturday. About 5 a.m. Thomas got up for the day. We went to the bathroom and watched Daniel Tiger so Matt and Marla could sleep. It was awful. Awful.  

Saturday morning, we went to the expo to get our running stuff. The convention center was connected to the hotel so we didn't even have to pay any more to park.... While at the expo, we watched a video showing the course. It lied. The hills didn't even register with me. They should have. Oh. My. Goodness. Then, Matt, Thomas, and I went to a fancy mall so Marla could get some sleep. We bought some super cute clothes for Thomas, I got a few tops, and we ogled a pink diamond at Tiffany's until the security guard asked us to step away from the display. 

Outside the expo. Thomas is the dot on the i! 

Saturday evening, we met up with Luke and his GF, Kadie, for dinner. We had a quick dinner while Thomas threw a fit. I took him back to the room early so I could give him a bath and put him down for bed. I had him all ready for bed and pretty much asleep until I realized that I had forgotten to give him supper. It's funny what being awake for a million hours can do to one's mental processes. After I fed him and got him back asleep, we all went to sleep. At like 8:00 p.m. I didn't hear anyone complain. Thomas slept better but not great on Saturday night. Marla got up at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday and I didn't even hear her. I slept like a rock when I slept. We got up, had breakfast, and prepared for the run. We had been worried about rain but decided that the rain was over and we were going to just go like it would be dry. Luckily for us, the rain HAD ended. Maybe I should say that it was lucky for the 25,000 other people there that the rain had ended because my running gear wouldn't hide much if it was soaking wet. 

About 7, we headed down to the start line which was just outside our hotel. Matt and Thomas came with us to see us off. They actually stayed in the corral for several minutes after the race began. I kept worrying that overeager runners were going to plow over them but it didn't happen and they were able to escape the barricades safely before we actually got to the start line. 

Family photo!! 

We're ready!! 

He doesn't sleep at night, but sleeps in the middle of 25K people. Sure... 

On one bridge while looking at another bridge... 

I stopped for a selfie. I was over running by mile 2. 

Neither did I. A marathon wasn't an option with this run. Signfail. 

I ran passed this billboard and would have stopped for a burger if there was one anywhere close. But there wasn't. There was nothing. 

Just under halfway. I literally hated the man standing by that sign. I feel like he could have made it say 15K if he really wanted to. 

The inevitable happened. I stood in line for 5 minutes but in the end, couldn't even close the door. Several miles later, I found an open 7/11. I shouldn't have hydrated.  

There's that bridge again. 

Lemme tell you how I feel about hills. Stupid Dallas. 

I finished. I didn't finish nearly as quickly as I would have liked to, but I finished. Felt like I was going to die afterwards, but I finished. No, I don't have that euphoric feeling and haven't signed up for another one already. But that's okay. I finished. Even with the hills. Stupid Dallas.  There aren't any post-run pictures. I was laid out on the floor trying to talk myself into breathing...

Then, Mar drove us to the airport and we flew back home!! Oh, and I ate the most delicious brisket. I should blog about that brisket.