Matt and I have been trail running to prepare for the Masters of All Terrain Half Marathon. This would be Matt's first half marathon, and my second, but very different from the Princess half marathon! This 13.1 miles will be off-road on different types of terrain like grass, sand, and gravel. My mom's boss runs the trails in Wekiwa Springs State Park and mapped us out a few different routes one evening.
I was really nervous to run the trails. I am a pavement type girl, not a trail girl, and I knew at dusk we were certain to meet some animals, I was just praying for no bears like many see in Wekiwa State Park!
Matt led us on a 5 mile trail run and it was beautiful! It was a little hard not running with music, but it was the smart thing to do so we could listen for animals, and enjoy the scenery!
We ran into alot of sugar sand, but it was good practice for our half marathon (although my calves didn't think so the next day!)
There were several large tree roots we had to watch out for. I did great hopping over them until the last mile, I bit the dust!
My lovely knees to prove it!
We saw lots of deer!
And were drenched with sweat at the end of each run!
Our trail runs definitely helped us on race day! Our friend Matt ran with us and we were ready to tackle the rough course!
I was super excited to be running a half marathon with my awesome hubby! He has worked so hard to get up to 13 miles and he really only started running because I was into it and he wanted to join me. It was a great experience to do together!
The start line! Look at that high grass...eek!
There were about 300 people running this race. The start time kept getting pushed back and I was a bit nervous the June heat was going to be extremely hard to run in if we didn't get started soon!
The first 5 miles was in high grass and was not the easiest 5 miles I've ever ran! I was happy to see a water station and a different terrain.
We were in the middle of nowhere and kept passing little canals with huge gators in them!
This stretch of sand was actually not too bad. Matt really took the lead around this time and was booking it! I was so proud!
Some baby gators near the finish line...
The race directors were running low on water because it was SO hot, and we were really glad to get to the finish line! The final distance was a little over 14 miles! We finished in the top 40%. Way to go team!
So proud of my hubby for running a half marathon and pushing me when I was exhausted and tired! So thankful for such a supportive partner!
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