d-day

Yesterday was the big race. On Friday I tried not to worry about it too much. It was hard when the other girls came over that afternoon because they were all genuinely excited for the race. I was not . . . I was just scared that I would be in constant pain and not able to finish. We did have a very enjoyable pre-race dinner, though. I made whole wheat pasta with chicken, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. Ours tummies were full and we headed off to bed. We all started waking up very early in the morning to roars of thunder and heavy down pours outside. By the time we got up at 6:30 a.m. the rain had subsided. When we headed downtown it was chilly, but we were not bothered. We shedded our outer layers at the gear check and ventured to the start line. About 5 minutes before the gun it started sprinkling and turned into a very steady rain by the time we crossed the start line. Karen & I stuck together the whole race and we tried not to think about how wet we were. The first 4 miles were very hilly, but we both felt great even through the half-way point. It was hard not to be distracted by the runners in front of us whom we had to watch because the new course shared the same road for about 3 miles. We definitely slowed down on the second half and I started to get tired by mile 13. I wanted to finish so badly . . . I refused to listen to the thoughts in my head that told me to walk. The only time we walked was when we drank gatorade/water at the aid stations. With about 2 miles to go I saw my client who said she was coming to cheer so I got a little boost of energy then. The crowds continued to grow as we got downtown. Then we saw Laura & Megan at the last corner before the finish line . . . Karen got a huge surge of energy and took off for the finish. I didn't have that much gas, but still made it. I wanted to cry when I crossed that line . . . I was so proud of ALL of us!

Amazingly, I felt great throughout the entire race. I never got a side cramp, my knee hurt a few times on the downhill sections and my hip flexor got tight, but otherwise it was pretty good considering the weather. God definitely protected me and the 1200 mg of ibprofen didn't hurt either. ;) It was surreal to stop at the end because after running that far, walking feels very strange. We came back to the house and stuffed our faces with Papa John's, showered, and warmed up (being wet out in the cold is no fun). After visiting with friends we took naps and headed to Laura's. It wasn't until that night that soreness started to set in. Nevertheless we partied hard in celebration of our MAJOR accomplisment. Needless to say we slept very well last night, but the legs felt like 10 bricks this morning.

The theme for the run was . . . What do you run for? I still don't have a good answer for that question. This race was something I had always wanted to do, I guess just to say that I did it. You could say that I did it for self-respect or pride. Either way I AM glad I did it and even HAPPIER that I finished. It was never about that time for me, I just wanted to complete it. I don't plan on every doing it again. I'm just anxious to get back to enjoying shorter runs again. This was definitely outside of my comfort zone, but God taught me that while the journey can be rough the finish is so sweet. God was with me through this whole thing and I know He's with me on my journey of life too. I hope you're inspired to do something out of your comfort zone and that God gives you the strength to accomplish your goal.