I had been thinking about October 23rd for a very, very long time, imagining myself running along the 26.2 mile course, picturing my arms outstretched in victory at the finish. I read a giant book about marathon running. I asked my runner friends a gazillion questions. I flipped through each month of Runner's World religiously, hoping to gain some help, some insight, some advice to accomplish my goal. I followed my 18-week training schedule by the letter, never missing even a 3 miler. I obsessed over what kind of food to eat, and when, to run my absolute best. I went to bed on Friday nights at 9:30 and woke up on Saturdays by 5 AM.
There is no doubt in my mind that all of this tedious preparation certainly helped to usher me across the finish Saturday morning in 4 hours, 6 minutes, and 8 seconds. But there is one ingredient in the marathon recipe I haven't mentioned yet, one that's absolutely imperative for survival. In hindsight, I recognize that despite my discipline, regimen, schedules, and rules, what really carried my legs for 26.2 miles were the dear friends along the way.
And I do mean all along the way. This race didn't start on October 23rd. It started months before that. The day I decided to train for the marathon, a whole new world opened up to me, one full of people that were on my team, that were rooting for me, that wanted more than anything to see me finish, and to finish well. My team has all kinds of people on it, people who cooked for me, prayed for me, cheered for me, and people who listened to me talk incessantly and obsessively about running...and then of course there's the people that actually ran alongside me.
So a very loud, special, hands-in-the-air shoutout to these phenomenal folks-
- To Mom, Dad, and sweet brother Cullen for being the best race day crew I could have asked for.
- To Jeannette, Ruth, and Carrie for cheering me across the finish line!
- To Scott and Susan, who opened their home and encouraged me endlessly over the last few months.
- To my yoga class for all their well wishes, for helping me to open my heart on and off the mat
- To David, Scott, and the other guys for all the morning runs from the park. You made me faster!
- To Team YL and the best flipping water stop in marathon history! (Really, who makes a tunnel? Awesome!)
- To Janie and Allen for loving me and coaching me through in every way. I have never been so happy to see anyone as I was to see them at mile 22. Janie even ran the last miles of the marathon with me. I wanted to stop, to cry, to collapse in a heap on the road but you helped me to breathe and to keep going. My legs wanted to quit, but you wouldn't let me. I will never forget it.
- To other friends and family for all your prayer and encouragement, for believing that I could do this very monumental thing.
This race does not just belong to me. It belongs to you guys, the ones that have been with me every step of the way. I will never be able to give you the gratitude you so deserve. Much love to my very big big family. Here's to the race that's behind us and to the ones still to come!
*I'll post pictures of the grand event as they become available :)
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