Mark has been training for MONTHS for his very first half marathon!! If you've ever trained for a race, you know what a commitment it is!
On Thanksgiving, Mark ran the Fort Worth Turkey Trot 5k.
These 3 cuties braved the COLD to cheer him on!!
We loved being there to support him and all the excitement of race day! The girls remembered how fun it was and were prepping all week to go to Daddy's half MARATHON!! Well, as only a house full of girls can. They picked their outfits, practiced their cheers and watched an episode of Angelina Ballerina that was about a marathon about 10 times. :)
We live in north Texas, so we were shocked to get so much snow and ice early in the week before the race! Of course, in true southern fashion, all schools and roads shut down. Then, the Friday before the race we were all surprised with almost 5 INCHES of snow and temperatures that never got above freezing!
It was SO cold that my girls just wanted to make snow ice cream and play with it on cookie sheets INSIDE!
Saturday afternoon, Mark and a VERY excited Landrie headed out to the Cowtown expo to pick up his race day packet! Look at all that snow still on the ground! They had already cancelled Saturday's 5k and 10k because of the weather. Oh, and Landrie did have a jacket. She was just SO stinkin' excited to have a pullover that matched her daddy! :)
Mark was a little worried about running in such cold temperatures, but we researched all the best ways to survive and were READY! We watched the hourly weather forecast as the night got later. I went out to get ponchos for all of us since it was supposed to be in the 30s and raining. YUCK! I skidded all over the road at one intersection while I was out because of all the snow and ice that still hadn't melted! Around 10pm, the forecast was for freezing temps ALL night with sleet ALL night. Then, at the delayed race start time, it was going to be 30 degrees and snowing/sleeting. Ahh! They had already cancelled the full and ultra marathons. We decided it would be crazy, miserable and dangerous to do it. Even though they promised to have 13.1 miles clear (they had crews work all night long) we knew the roads getting there would be a mess. What a disappointment!!
We soon found out about a virtual option, where you can run the race at a place and time of your choosing, with at least one witness, fill out a form, and still get your medal. Just 6 days after the scheduled race, Mark took that option!
Here's my cute honey, in front of a snow-less yard running in 50 degree weather! Now, we couldn't just have a normal day at home and let him run solo, could we??
Nope!! The girls put on their "marathon outfits," which included a tutu for Tatem (she wears one EVERY DAY) and a cheerleading outfit for Landrie. The girls made signs and were sure to grab their pom poms! Mark was running down a 6 lane road when we caught up to him, so of course we honked and cheered out the window at him, then sped ahead and pulled off into a neighborhood.
We were right on his path, and the girls LOVED cheering and screaming for their daddy as he came up the sidewalk!!!
We passed him again and cheered like crazy out our windows, and raced home to prep for the big finish! (Nothing is fast with 3 little ones!) They played in the front yard, practiced their cheers and running as they watched diligently for Mark to come down the sidewalk.
I have an app that shows a real-time map of his exact location, so I could track him each minute! He was getting close, so we got our finish line ready!!
WAHOO!!!!! He made it!!! 13.1 miles in just 2:04:55!!
We are ALL so PROUD of YOU!!!!
