The Indianapolis Mini Marathon was over the weekend and it was my time to shine (or so I thought)! After waking up at 5 AM, showering, eating a nice healthy breakfast of oatmeal and a cliff bar it was off to the mini and we got there around 6:30 ready to go! We all got in our corrals and waited for the start. There was a beautiful 15 seconds of silence for the Boston Marathon victims, which was pretty touching. Then it was go time - I was WAY back in the corrals (seriously, when I walked into my corral, I heard a man talking to another man saying "This is the corral that they call the "lucky if you finish it" corral" - real motivating, pal - real motivating!), so it was probably about 30 minutes after the race started before I actually started.  I'm pretty sure the Kenyan's were over half way done before I even left the start line!

The corrals, before we started

It took me a while to get around all the walkers, but once I did I felt pretty good, until I got to about oh, I don't know say half a mile. The pain that had occurred in my knee a few weeks ago came back. I powered through for the first 2 miles before I felt like I shouldn't run on it anymore, so I walked a bit. I thought about quitting, but didn't really know where I was and also wanted to finish what I had started. So I began running again - I could only manage a small amount before stopping to walk as the pain became unbearable, I kept doing this for a few miles. 

Running on the track at speedway

It was going decent up until about mile 7, when the lipgloss I had put in the waistband of my pants, began to fall down (Is that just chapstick in your pants or are you happy to see me?!?) and I literally had to reach in my pants and get it out. Um...Embarrassing.  Good thing there weren't any camera men around when that happened! :) After mile 8 everything seemed to really drag on. This is probably because at this point I couldn't bring myself to run anymore and was hobbling along trying not to bend my knee. It was all so painful that it just made each mile drag on and on and on. Around mile 12 I almost lost it and was THIS close to crying, so I stopped for a minute to stretch. I can't even tell you how happy I was when the finish line was in my sights. I decided I needed to run the last little bit and really give it my all, so I did just that! I am SURE I have an awful face in my finishing pictures, probably looking like I was going to cry, but I don't care because I didn't give up - I finished that 13.1 miles and I got my medal! 

The amount of trash is incredible

Honestly I can see why people love doing this event - there is entertainment all along the route.  There were bands of all sort, belly dancers, cheerleaders, people standing along the sides of the route in costumes, cheering you on and encouraging you the whole way! I really did feel a sense of together-ness! There was even a girl near the track that was holding a sign that read "Way to go Complete Strangers!" and she would yell words of encouragement as we all ran by! It was awesome! There was even the people who would say "You can do it Abby, you're doing great!" While I will admit it worried me when I realized I didn't actually know this first person who yelled my name, I remembered my name was clearly printed on my bib! Ha! I really appreciated those people who came out to encourage this kind of crazy to run 13.1 miles - you really did motivate me to try harder! 

Chris and I after the race. He is amazing and finished in just 1 hour and 41 minutes!

Anyways, I hope my running days aren't over. I do have a Color Run at the end of May that's just a 5K - hoping my knee cooperates better than this one. I want to go back to the mini next year and try for a better time and to try and be better conditioned so I don't hurt my knee again!

Did anyone else do the mini? I want to hear your experiences too! Leave them below! -Abby

I have a lot of last minute bookings and find that I don't always have enough time to properly fill them in on what to expect, so I decided it would be a good idea to write a little post on what to expect when you book a session with me! 

1. Once you book a session with me, send me your deposit and pick a date, you will get a little welcome packet from me in your email! We will decide exactly what kind of session you'd like to have, if you want it to be a styled session or if you want me to come to your house and capture the day as it unfolds or any number of other options! 

2. Clothing ideas. Many people struggle with what to wear to a photo session. Because of that, I have written this post  with examples of what you can wear. I will say that I always recommend wearing something you are and will be comfortable in! After seeing my ideas of what you can wear, you are absolutely welcome to send me picture texts of what you are thinking about for your session and I will give you feedback! 

3. From there we will be in contact as much as you want leading up to your session! If you have ideas, great - send them my way, run them by me, bounce them off of me and we can come up with something fabulous and unique for your session! Want to know if I think you should style your hair a certain way? Ask me! 

4. It's session time!!! I will have already scouted the area we are doing pictures (unless it's in your home, because that would be creepy!) so I will have some great ideas as to where we should shoot. I will arrive early so you don't have to wait on me and we will be ready for a rockin session. Most of my sessions last around an hour, but I am not a stickler on time. If we get enough pictures in 45 minutes, cool, we can be done early - but if it takes a little longer than an hour for me to feel like I've got what I need, I will stick around until I feel we've got what you paid for! I find that having this kind of free flowing session really allows for everyone to get comfortable with me and with the camera! 

5. By now we've had a great time hanging out, playing and taking some pictures and our session has come to an end. If we didn't incorporate it into our session I recommend going to grab some ice cream to top off a lovely day! 

6. The session is over and I am sure you are already missing me and DYING to know how your pictures turned out! Don't you worry your pretty little mind, I will be posting at least 1 preview on Facebook! My typical turn around time is 2-4 weeks. During wedding season it may take closer to 6 weeks. Have no fear, it's just because I am enhancing each image and making sure it is perfect for you and yours! 

7. Once the images are done you will receive an email from me with a link to a private, password protected gallery. This is for you to view your images and decide what you would like to purchase! I offer print packages as well as the option to buy some or all of the digital negatives from your session!

8. After you've decided what images you would like, all you have to do is wait! Most prints that are purchased are received in the mail within less than a week.

9. Hang your pictures and admire your new artwork that's gracing your walls. You are beautiful, your family is fantastic - and now you have great memories to help remind you of that! 

10. What?! You think you're done now? No way! Refer me to your friends and get a kick back from me for anyone who books me! You can read about my referral program here! 

You all saw a little sneak peak of this session a few weeks ago, but I wanted to post the full blog today! I adore this little family and always look forward to spending time with them and seeing how Kennett has changed since the last time I saw him! 

Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see THE BEST cry face ever.  Seriously...it's so cute! 

Hope you've enjoyed them! If you're interested in booking a family shoot or a first birthday shoot, please contact me here! -Abby