half marathon training | Running To Slow Things Down

What pulled me through yesterday’s 12 mile run:

Your comments! Talk about some serious motivation.
Mind tricks. I pretended that I had a rope tied around my waist and that my dad was pulling me. This didn’t work so well when he disappeared from view, but the visual cue was still there. It worked!
Bottling some energy for the last 2-mile stretch. Another mind trick. I didn’t “open” that bottle of energy until I needed it the most.
Praying! Random people popped into my head during the run. Twelve miles offers a lot of time to think and pray. 😀

Everything ached by the end of the run, but I was incredibly ecstatic all at the same time. I’ve never run this far before and I never thought I could do this. THANK YOU for all of the motivation and inspiration! 😀

And then I partied the night away at my cousin’s wedding. 😀

AJ and Stacey’s Wedding: A Photo Montage

(p.s. The secret to wearing heels when you’ve never been a “heel wearer” is to invest in a pair of comfortable wedges. The front of these shoes was a good 1 inch or so off the ground, so even though it was giving me height, there were no weird angles!)