Today is a Sunday in all aspects of the word. It’s the final day of Thanksgiving “vacation,” it’s rainy and gloomy, and currently there is football on tv and bagels on the table. However, something special has ALREADY happened today.

BF finished his first half marathon this morning!!

He started at the Seattle Center in the dark and rainy morning, and he finished 1 hour and 56 minutes later!! Official finish was 1:56:40, WITH a negative split, and he averaged 8:54 miles. I am so incredibly proud of him, and he has definitely worked hard to get so far. He only started running a few months ago, and to run a half marathon, especially with such a fantastic time, is so impressive!

I love seeing people finish their first significant races, and something tells me this will not be the end of BF’s racing career.

Standing at the end of any race is inspiring for a runner, and personally seeing everyone cross the finish line and receive their medals is the best kind of motivation to keep up training and sign up for another race! Right now, I’m trying to decide on my spring marathon, and at this point it is either going to be Vernonia Marathon on April 15 or the Eugene Marathon on April 29. I’m really keen on Eugene, however another race may conflict with its timing. Stay tuned. I will be signed up by Christmas for one either way, and I am pretty excited to start some serious training again.

Otherwise, BF and I are planning on running the 12ks of Christmas race on December 17th, and I’m planning on a half on January 8th after my holiday trip to Colorado.

Racing is fun. Check out some tips on racing here!

Anyway, to give a brief running/life update since I last wrote (too long ago!), these past few days have been filled with food, family, and relaxation. (I really wanted to find and appropriate “f” adjective there for alliteration’s sake. Oh well.)

My mom and her partner Kate came to our house for Thanksgiving, along with my sister and her boyfriend Grayson. I started the day with a fast 12 miler, and by the time I was done it was time to start cooking! It was our first time hosting Thanksgiving, which included our first experience making a turkey! I was a bit worried, especially when this was how the process started…

In the end, all the food turned out great, and pretty much everything was hot when we served it! Thanks Trader Joe’s for your hard-to-mess-up Thanksgiving dishes and to the internet for ensuring the success of our turkey endeavors. There were also three bottles of wine and two pies, neither of which exist anymore. I love Thanksgiving.

Not too much else to report, as the weekend was pretty much filled with leftovers, lounging, and staying dry. I’ll be making a trek outside at some point today for my Sunday long run, and I’m sure BF will relish basking in his post-race glory.

How was your first big race? What are your best tips for beginners?