26.2

Well, WE DID IT!!! We ran the St. George Marathon this past Saturday. All I can say is, I am glad it is over. Now the painful part of recovery.

So Nikki and I caught the bus at 4ish that morning getting to the start about 30 minutes later. It was windy and raining, raining, raining. Picture this, 6500 people plus volunteers in an area about the size of a football field. Probably about 50 bomb fires going and everyone using a trash bag as a poncho. Trash bags are amazing, they block the wind and keep you dry. I literally wore mine for about 7 hours. Yes I ran with it until the 23rd mile. It finely stopped raining at the 22nd mile. IT WAS HORRIBLE and DISCOURAGING. My knee started hurting like it was sprained at the 8th mile. I have tendinitis in my knee. So I would run a bit and walk a bit Nikki stayed with me till I encouraged her to go on. Finely she did. Then about 30 min. later she came back feeling bad. So she stayed with me for a bit longer until the 17th mile. At that point I could not even run, it hurt so bad. I told Nikki to go, that I already had to deal with my results and would feel twice as bad if she did not finish because of me. So she pretty much did not have a choice but to go. I told her I would finish but I did not think that. It was a emotional roller coaster. I kept on though. Ever aid station I would get icy hot put on me and it did not seem to help. Even my my knee band did not seem to work. I wanted to cry every time someone told me i was doing good, I felt the opposite. I trained so hard for this and it meant so much to me and here I was about to except defeat. I had a plan that when I got to mile 21 where Jared and my fans would be, I would hang my head in shame and jump in the car. Needless to say they were not there. So on to mile 22 wiping my tears away. They were not there either. About half way to mile 23 about to flag a shuttle down my savior came. Jared was walking up the hill. When he got to me I just cried and told him every thing. He said it would be okay and started walking with me. I had not found the courage to tell him that I failed yet. We started talking and he said he sent his Mom and the kids to the finish line for Nikki. Nikki was the one who told them what happened with me. I told him I was not going to finish in 6 hrs. (Believing the race closed in 6 hrs). He looked at me and said who told you you have to finish in 6 hrs.? I said the race closes in 6 hrs. He then said no it does not. He encourage me to go on even if it took 2 more hours to do so. He stayed with me and kept me going at mile 24 My other knee started hurting as bad at the other, but with Jared by my side I knew I could do. He walked with me to the finish line even though he had surgery just 2 weeks earlier. I decided to run the last 400 yards in, even though it hurt something horrible and I looked like I was going to fall every step I took. That Whole 400 yards everyone in the stand and along the fence cheered me on. It was so loud I felt I was the 1st runner in. I cried my way to the finish line. I DID IT. 6:37 was my time and Nikki did it in 5:25. That was one of a few times that I felt so emotionally moved. I finish. We finish. My husband is my HERO.

Kay, Jared's Mom told me it was a miracle that we did it. She said they brought so many people down in ambulance and even more in shuttles. She also told me that they have been at the finish line for about an hour and they never heard the crowd cheer so loud for anyone before me. That only made the tears flow more. I think I am safe to say that I will not do that again. I will just stick to the half Marathons!!