And She Ran…

It is finished!!! Saturday, April 28, 2018, I ran the Revel MT Charleston Marathon (26.2 Miles) and added the title finisher to my growing repertoire of accomplishments. It wasn’t pretty or easy but I set out to cross that finish line and cross it I did. How I thought it would go and how it actually went were two very different things. This is how life goes though, there’s the expectation and then there’s the reality. The test comes not in whether or not you are going to run the race but how you are going to deal with the curveballs thrown in along the way.

Over the weekend I finished reading Chrystal Evans Hurst’s book She’s Still There. While there are many things to love about this book, it was great to read about her marathon experience right before I ran my race. One of the things she mentions in the book is that her headphones quit working at mile 10. When I read this I was thinking to myself, “oh no, not me I have a plan for those babies all the way through! There are podcasts to listen to, books to be read to me and when I get super tired, the music will start and it will propel me to that finish line!” Broken headphones? Um no… Well, my friends guess who’s headphones decided to short out at the starting line? I couldn’t figure out why they were cutting out so I took a deep breath and told myself, “It’s okay, just enjoy the scenery, when you get further down the mountain I am sure they will work better. It took me until mile 17 to realize that I was going to run this entire race with only the voices inside my head to keep me company.

Debbie, my fearless friend, ran Boston a week and a half before the Revel. The coldest and wettest weather for a Boston run in 30 years. 30 degrees at the starting line 48 MPH wind gusts … 38 degrees at the finish line… and then there was the rain. A torrential downpour the whole way through. But because she’s Debbie and she’s awesome, she finished her race and made her mark in yet another memorable year in Boston.

Charleston was a week and a half after Boston. The end result of accomplishing something so amazing was a horrendous chest cold for my friend and yet she found the strength to saddle up fly to Vegas and line up on that starting line.

I caught up with her around mile 10 and we both realized that due to all she had been through in the last several weeks that this race was not going to be her race. I, however, get the privilege of saying that I ran part of a race with Debbie Stemmerman and there are not many in our small town who can lay claim to such an honor. ♥ Her.

Amy, my other fearless comrade in arms battled through injury, travel with her job and not as many miles on the road as she would have liked. But in true athletic fashion, she found the strength, energy and sheer willpower to pull off 13.1 miles in the desert heat.

At mile 13 I tried to make up for some lost time and at mile 17 realized that I was going to need a miracle to make it to the end. When you do something for the first time you have no idea what to expect so you create something in your mind to help you get through. All of the lead-up material to the race kept saying that at mile 21 there would be spectators lining the streets all the way to the end. So in my mind, I’m thinking of all those marathons I have seen on tv where there are people watching for miles. I kept telling myself just make it to mile 21 and the crowds will carry you home. Ummm … no. Mile 21 went by not one single soul, mile 22, nada, mile 23 I began walk-jogging. By mile 25 I knew I needed to buck up and just finish er out. And finish I did.

 

I told myself going in that I was going to enjoy every single moment of that weekend and that’s exactly what I did…

 

 

It has been a week since the race. It took about four days but I finally stopped being sore.  It took 20 years but I finally did it. I finished a marathon and my biggest feeling? Gratitude. I am thankful that God allowed my body to take on something this difficult and succeed. I am thankful that with each change in circumstance that day he kept reminding me that HE was in control and that I just need to trust him to carry me through. I am thankful to all my friends and family for the texts, cards, gifts, and flowers that have poured in reminding me how much I am loved and supported by so many.

I am ready for a new goal. Not quite sure what it will be, I know I would like to get stronger and a bit faster. I ran this morning for the 1st time since the race. My mind is ready but my legs are still a bit sluggish. I’ll take er easy for a bit and then move on to the next adventure.

Get out there my friends, do something big. Dream a dream and then make it happen. It won’t be easy or pretty or perfect but neither is life. Get off the sidelines and run your race, there is nothing like crossing that finish line receiving your bling and knowing that you have accomplished something that can never be taken away…

Have a beautiful day my friends!

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