We Did It!

I have to agree with the others, it was a great race. I was pretty far off my finishing goal, but I didn't care at all. I had a great time with friends, I felt like I ran strong and steady, and I never hit "the wall", and the best part was finishing with Lisa to the sound of our families cheering us on.

I was VERY nervous the night before. I was fine through dinner, I enjoyed meeting Marcie and Hannah and their families. I got several texts and messages from friends and family wishing me luck, I was touched that they were thinking of me. After the dinner clean up we all called it a night before 10pm. I think I laid in bed till nearly 2:00am before finally dozing off with the alarm waking me just two hours later.

At the start Lisa and I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa, I thought that was a perfect pre-race treat. We tossed our bags in the truck as the race started and then we headed back to the fires for a final warming before starting the race about six minutes after the clock started. I felt good for the first little while but I was worried about going too quick at the beginning. I know my body likes to hold steady, where Lisa likes to change her pace a lot more. So we would get separated as she flew down the hills, then I would catch her on the flats. We were mostly together for the first 13 miles.

Around mile 9 I knew I needed to stop at a porto-potty. I kept seeing them and they would have long lines so I would go to the next one. At mile 13 I finally stopped and sent Lisa on her way. I stood in line and stretched while 7 MINUTES ticked away on my watch. I was frustrated, but once I stopped I knew it would be stupid to start back up as there would probably be another line at the next one so I just enjoyed visiting with the others in line. Once I started again I was running strong and decided I didn't care that I was clearly not going to make my time. My new goal was just to catch Lisa.

It was a HUGE BOOST to see my family at mile 16. Brianna and Madelyn were at the front of the crowd and saw me and ran back to tell the others I was on my way. They were all cheering for me when I got up to them and Lyndsee had her signs she had made for me. I took a swig of the cold chocolate milk they had for me, found out that Lisa was probably still 5 -7 minutes in front of me and ran on. It was awesome to see them and I felt really strong for the next few miles.

I was hoping that I was catching up with Lisa, I was running under our goal pace and all was going well till around mile 18. I started having foot cramps, not too bad at first but getting more frequent. It felt like my toes just wanted to curl into my heel so when I put it flat on the ground it hurt. I stopped and stretched a bit and walked through every aid station. I was getting more and more worried that I might not catch Lisa.

Finally during mile 22 I thought I saw her. Again I had a mental boost and I was able to really kick it (which at that point was a 10:30 mile) I caught her just past the mile 23 marker where she was stretching her calves. I was so glad she had dawdled and waited for me!

We ran together the last three miles, my foot pain was back and becoming more frequent. During the last mile it would cramp up what felt like about every 10 steps, I would moan a little and sort of limp it off but I was going to stay with Lisa! Just before the finish line we saw our families again and then we crossed the finsish line hand in hand. As we looked at each other we were both tearing up, and it wasn't from the pain!

What a fabulous experience. It was such a good feeling to have this huge goal out there, to have a plan to work towards it, and to finally accomplish the goal. I was proud of my finish time, even though it was not what I originally wanted. I learned a lot and think I will definitely do this again!

Thanks to all of you who trained with me, supported me and cheered me on to the bitter end.