Day 61: Victory!

V-i-c-t-o-r-y, Victory! Victory! I set out with the goal of completing a half marathon regardless of lack of training or the fact that I just had a baby and I DID IT! I was trying to quit many of times beforehand but because of awesome family and friends encouraging me, I stuck with it!

So Friday night I tossed and turned all night with race day jitters and finally 4:00 got here so I was up and at 'em. I knew that I needed to get up early so that I could eat, get dressed and then feed baby girl before leaving. I'm so thankful for my mom for spending the night so she could take over Eva-cakes once I left. My mind was racing and I couldn't get my adrenaline to slow down and even Matthew tried reminding me to breathe and find a calm place so I didn't over exert myself before even getting to the start line. To try and get my mind off of the race, I first came here to update the blog and then went to Facebook to see what else was up in the world. And that's when I found this..

My Aunt Susie had posted these signs stating that she was going to surprise me and be out on the route to cheer me on! I literally sat there and cried. She was one of the people encouraging me to not give up or give in and just to go run and have fun! No matter how slow I go, she's always there - cheering (and crying) for me! Such a great Auntie!

After getting my foot wrapped and bib placed just right, it was time to go. I didn't get a pic before I left but tried everything on the night before...to which Skylar said "mama, you look SUPER cute!" Love that girl.

I finally made it to the race and after much searching found my pace partners. I could tell that they too were very anxious about the race so I was doing what I could do to stay calm! We found some restrooms (thankfully they made sure we had plenty this year) and waited for the massive crowd to start moving. It was freeeeezing so we were hoping to get a move on quick to warm up. Once we passed the 'start' sign, it was a matter of trying to control the adrenaline so we didn't pace too quickly. I love my pace partners! They helped so much in passing the time with stories and a few laughs. A little before mile 1 (I think) that's when I saw my Auntie and ran to give her a big hug! She was surprised to already see me in front of her and I could see the tears in her eyes as I ran off. She's awesome! What I didn't expect is to see her throughout the entire route! She got in her car and drove a few miles to meet me at different places along the course! Such a blessing. She also managed to get some great (and kind of scary) pics...we'll just go with the great ones! ;)

Now here's the thing...I actually felt great and a few times felt that I could really take off during this thing but once I got to mile 7, I made it up in my mind that I was going to finish with my friend. She was struggling a bit because of a knee injury and I remember being right there. It was really like deja vu. Last year was my first year running it and right around mile 6 my foot (over training injury) was aching and I felt off (later found out I was preggers). I remember the defeat I felt when I watched my pace partners pull further and further away. I felt I had lost the race right then and there. My brain was telling me to quit. My body was telling me to quit. And my pace partners were gone. Granted, I wanted them to go on because I knew they were trying to meet a goal but it was hard. So, having been there - I wasn't going to let her give in. I was going to be that voice that fought the voice in her head, telling her to quit. And she finished! She didn't finish because of me..she finished because she had in her all along to run that race and she did amazing! Another friend of mine said that maybe that's why I needed to run this year was to be someone elses cheerleader and I'm good with that! I felt good after the race and reminded myself of that little saying "no matter what your pace time is, you're still lapping everyone on the couch." So my time wasn't the greatest but I finished it with some great friends and I'd gladly do it again....once I've licked my wounds because let's face it, 13 miles is still 13 miles no matter how you slice it and my body is aching!