I Did It!!

Well I guess all that worry was for nothing....because I did it! I finished it in 2 hours and 12 minutes....not too bad ;) After a nice burrito lunch, some time in the hot tub and a cool shower....I am feeling pretty good. I am a little stiff though and very tired (haven't really slept all week ).

The start of the race was very overwhelming. Once I heard the starting gun and realized that I was running with 1,000 other women, a wave of emotion came over me. I thought of all of the hours of training I had put in and felt a tear in my eye. This was my day, my race! And what a beautiful day it was! The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect and the course was gorgeous. We ran along the ocean, through the countryside, around town and along the harbor...it was fabulous!

As I ran, I realized that I would not have been able to train for this race without some key people. I would like to take a few minutes to thank them right here. My biggest thanks goes out to S. Without you this race would not have been possible. You watched Z every weekend during my long runs, went to work late a few days so I could run during the week and were my biggest cheerleader. Then today you woke up at 6 AM to drive me to the race and were so good at helping to calm my nerves. You were there cheering for me at such key moments in the race (the start, mile 2, mile 10 and the finish)...it was so nice to see your smiling face in the crowd. Thanks for all of your love and support throughout this whole process. I truly appreciate it and love you so much!

I would also like to thank my parents. Thanks for cheering me on throughout training and mom thanks for buying my cliff blocks. I want to thank you the most for being so smart and staying home today to watch Z. I do think it would have been a long day for him and you were so smart to suggest staying back with him rather than dragging him with you to the race. I missed you at the race but S got some great video footage ;)

Thanks also to my close friends and family who were so supportive throughout my training. A big thanks goes out to my best friend L for text messaging me during the race. That was fun!

Now I would like to thank the many strangers from todays race who helped me reach the finish line. I run alone so during races I usually identify a runner to "stick with". I identified the "purple twins" early on as runners just like me. They would get far ahead of me and then I would catch them as they walked through the water stations. I stuck with them for the last 2 miles and as we hit mile 13, I thanked them for helping me get through the entire race. They smiled and were very sweet.

I would also like to thank "pink girl". You were great to run with during the middle of the race. When that creepy guy came up to you on that bike, a wave of adrenaline came over me. Don't worry, I had your back and was ready to attack if he touched you! Thanks to the "black knight" who helped me through miles 7 and 8 and finally thanks to the "orange and green ladies" who helped me through miles 9-10.

The fans at this race were awesome! Thanks to the kids at mile 5 who had the drums and drew supportive messages all over the road with chalk. They were very uplifting and funny! I would also like to thank the guy with the fruit salad at mile 6. Thanks for putting your fruit salad down long enough to cheer me on ;) Thanks to the family at mile 11 who clapped for me (I was alone at this point)...I really needed it. And finally thanks to the little 8 year old at mile 13 who created his very own water station by holding out his pint size bottle of water...so sweet!

It was a great day and I feel really good (stiff but good). I am sooooo looking forward to my massage tomorrow!!! Right now I am off to kiss my grandmother and show her my medal!