Maranatha 5k in Alabama and Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon in Louisiana

Two more states are finished for Taylor!  We (Greg, myself, and Dustin McRae) enjoyed last weekend, March 3rd and 4th, driving to Mobile, Alabama on Friday night to run in Mobile Saturday morning.  This flat 5k course was to benefit young men in the Seminary.  The morning started out cool but was lively with Zumba dancers!  The race started on time and was very well organized.  Dustin came in 2nd in his age group almost breaking 22 minutes (22:01  PB), I came in 2nd overall in females with a time of 23:22.  Greg ran a 24:45 which is pretty good for someone whose idea of training is running twice a month with heavy stretching.  We enjoyed jambalya, Chic-Fil-A, and Firehouse subs after running.  But we did have to hit the road for New Orleans (one of Greg's favorite cities).  On our way to NO, we decided to drive through Biloxi, Mississippi, which is a totally different place then when we lived there over 20 years ago.  All of the beautiful 100+ year old homes on the coast were gone.  Our house, where we raised the boys for the first 2 and 3 years of their lives was also gone.  We made it to NO just in time to walk through the expo and listen to Frank Shorter speak.  After a couple of little purchases, we headed to the French Quarter for some good ole' Cajun food, probably not the best idea before running a half marathon.  Greg and Dustin enjoyed the spicy food but I wanted to lay low with some chicken.  We decided to head back to the hotel to get a good night sleep.  When we arrived the next morning, the streets were already filled with runners getting ready.  They had a staggered start which was awesome because you weren't bumping into anyone or running around them. I told myself for this one that I wasn't going to stop for water until mile 9 and walk then to sip the water.  That's exactly what I did and it felt great.  The course was beautiful with bands, cheerleaders, and people cheering all along the route!  Dustin did great not only for his first half marathon but for a half marathon in general.  His time was 1:47, mine 1:51, and Greg's 2:01 (which again is so good for his limited training).  We headed back to the hotel after the race and had a long 14 hour drive back to Florence, SC.  We love taking these adventures and feel taylor with us the entire time.  On a side note, our other son, Brian and his friend, Jenna ran a half marathon in Turkey the same day and did great!