Yesterday was a very good day. My first half marathon, and first race period, is in the books. When I started, I could barely run a couple miles without collapsing. Now 5 months later, I just ran 13 of them through the hills outside Seattle. From one canceled race, to another magically popping up in its place, a nagging foot injury that cost me weeks of training (and nearly the entire thing), fighting through the ungodly summer heat, making mistake after mistake, fumbling my way for the first time through proper nutrition, hydration, training, recovery, gear, and constantly asking myself if the whole idea was actually just one big mistake in the first place, I finally made it. And finished 5 minutes ahead of my goal time of 2 hrs! I’m incredibly lucky to have friends who would fly across the country with me, who would invite me into their home (even giving up their bed so that I could get a good night’s sleep), and would wake up with the sun to watch me run around in the woods for 2 hours. To Alla (my TM), Spencer, Maddie and Brian, THANK YOU. I could go on and on about all the ways you made this weekend special. I don’t deserve you. And to everyone who encouraged and supported me along the way, you made this possible. I woke up this morning feeling sentimental and very sore. So I’m taking some time today to let my body heal and celebrate the end of a really good season. P.S. My middle name is Walker in case you didn’t fully receive the gift of the sign Alla made me (1 of 4).