Finally a Runner

What a busy and wonderful weekend! It started with our pre-race dinner and celebration on Friday night...

Yeah, not so good at the self-portrait thing

 Then the expo on Saturday to pick up our race packets.

Then finally the big day!

Waiting on the elevator to arrive at the 55th floor!

The 65 Roses tent before the race

There was a lot of nervous energy throughout all of it (try coordinating the schedules of 3 adults and 1 baby!), especially as we headed to the start line, but that nervous energy quickly converted to excited energy as the race got underway. Between being surrounded by 17,000 other eager runners and being cheered on by spectators throughout the entire run, Stacey and I found that the 13.1 miles just flew by. Not only did we not feel the need to stop to take a break or stretch as we often did during practice runs, we also managed to run an average of a little over 11 minutes a mile, which means we shaved 13 minutes or so off of our predicted finish time! An 11 minute mile may still be slow, but it got us to the finish line in under 2 1/2 hours and we're pretty proud of that (you can see the official race results here)

I have many people to thank, of course, for helping us get to that finish line. (You'll just have to sit tight for a moment while I give my "coveted award acceptance speech"?) Thank you to my wonderful husband, of course, who often didn't get the much needed break after watching Drew all day and who believed I could do it. Dan, who happily watched Drew those days that Jason had to work (and taught Drew to wave!). My mom, who inspired me and gave me tons of awesome tips and encouragement along the way. My amazing donors whose love and generosity kept me going during that last mile when the excitement was wearing off and the exhaustion was setting in. And, most importantly, God, for giving me this amazing body and for giving the strength and willpower to finish!

Post-race with two of my biggest inspirations!

Through all of this Stacey and I have joked about how much we still hate running, but after we crossed that finish line, hand in hand, I think I can say I finally felt like a runner. It's a pretty awesome feeling. You should give it a try! I know if I can do it, anybody can!!