26.2 MILES!!!!

The dreaded Aurora hill and my family was there to keep me going!! I was so emotional when I saw them...I lost it.

Kira, Tiffany, me, Bianca, and Coleen. Makay, we missed you at the finish line but you are amazing and I am so proud of you, and each of us!

Becky and Suzanne came down to the finish line and cheered us on. You are both such amazing friends and I love you!!

My cheering squad! My family came and cheered me on at mile 16 or so, mile 19, and then again at the finish line. They are so amazing and I love them so much! Seeing your faces made me keep going on to the finish line.

Kira, Coleen and Myself

I don't even know where to begin in retelling the journey of the last 6 months leading up to June 26th, 2010! It has been such an amazing experience. One that I will forever be grateful for, one that I will continually think about and learn from, and one that will inspire me in what ever I choose to try and do from now and into the future!

I guess I'll begin in the beginning. Last summer my friend Kira and I ran the Rock and Roll half marathon together and had an awesome time. We loved it and we loved it so much that that very night after the half we got on line and signed up to run the full marathon the next summer. Coleen had run a half that year too. We all knew that if we signed up, paid our money, and agreed to it then that we would stick to it and meet the goal. At that time I had no idea what I was getting myself into!! We enjoyed the rest of the summer, then fall, and winter. In January of this year we (Kira, Coleen, and myself) put together a training schedule and started our training for the marathon. Our schedule went something like this: we would run 3 times a week together, 2 of those runs would be 4 to 6 miles each, and the 3rd would be a long run that we would increase gradually each week. We started our long runs at about 6 miles or so then worked our way slowly up to 8, then 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, then several weeks before the actual race we ran 2 - 20 mile runs. I think our training schedule was perfect and I don't think I would have changed it except for one thing. All of our long runs were very flat, if not down hill, and the marathon was NOT flat! I think I could have definitely used some more hill training. :) The 3 of us were so consistent and we rarely missed a run. I knew I could always count on them and I knew they were counting on me. I know that if I hadn't had these 2 amazing ladies to do all this training with I probably would not have met my goal and run the race. I am and will be forever grateful for there example of persistence and dedication they showed to me every time we stepped out side to run together! We added up the miles and in our 6 months of training we ran an amazing 425 miles together, just to get ready for the the 26.2 mile race! That is so incredible to me and I am just as proud of the training as I am of the race, if not more so!!

So, after months of training the race day arrived! I tried to go to bed early but the excitement and nerves of the race set in. I was pretty proud of myself though and was in bed the night before by 10pm and asleep but by 3:45am I was up and getting ready to go. We had to leave Maple Valley by 4:30am to get down to Seattle by no later than 6am. We dropped a car at the finish line and road buses over to the start line in Tukwilla. I really wasn't to nervous that morning and once we arrived at the start line all of the few nerves I had went away and I was ready to run the race. I can still remember the feeling of excitement we all had and almost awe that we actually made it! We kept telling our selves that we didn't have a goal time to finish in because it was all of our first marathon. We just wanted to complete it. But deep down inside I know I was hoping that we would finish in about 4 and 1/2 hours. Boy was I naive on just how hard this was going to be!! I really underestimated the difficulty of the race and those last 6 miles that up until that day I had not done before. I knew I could do the 20 and I figured that if I could do the 20 that the last 6 wouldn't be so bad. Ha, Ha...the joke was on me. :)

The race started at 7am but by the time my corral got to the start line is was 7:30am. Our race times are all individually clocked by a special chip that you attach to your shoe so the time for me didn't start until I crossed the start line. Then when I crossed the finish it electronically saved my time. Coleen, Kira, and I started the race feeling good. We kept ourselves to our normal pace and really tried to warm up slowly and not push to hard right out of the gate. That worked wonderfully for me and I felt strong and steady from mile 1 all the way through about mile 18. I felt good physically, and mentally. The first half of the course is fairly flat and easy but after about mile 13 or 14 the difficulty level rises. There are a lot of hills in the last half and I don't just mean regular hills. We are talking Aurora Ave. - this hill just goes, and goes, and goes. And just when you think it's flattening out, it goes up again! There are several out and backs on this run as well and Aurora Ave. was one of those. This is where I lost it. Mile 18, we have been running up hill for a while now and there is still more to go and then we head back down this same long hill. I have been fighting an IT band injury and right about now it starts to tighten up and begin to hurt. I think they call it "bonking" - the term for when you are running a race and you start to loose it mentally. I bonked in those next few miles and I really didn't think I was going to be able to finish the race. My knees hurt so bad and I knew I had 8 more miles to go. My amazing and faithful running partners didn't let me give up. They were there for me with their quiet strength and kept me going! The miles of 18 through 23 were the most difficult and the most painful for me. I had to walk/run through these miles and they seemed to go on forever and ever. We came up on mile 24 and could see the last turn around and we could hear the party going on at the finish line. Something inside me took over and I had a strength that I didn't have before, to finish the race! Some how the pain in my knees subsided a little and I ran the last miles of the race all the way into the stadium and across the finish line. Seeing that finish line was the most awesome sight and immediately the emotion welled up inside me and began to over flow. I couldn't believe that I was actually finishing the race, accomplishing this super hard thing, and meeting my goal!! Kira, Coleen and I ran across that finish line, hand in hand, with smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes.

Two things got me through that race...my running partners and my mile dedications!! I could not have done it alone and I am so grateful for the patience and strength of Kira and Coleen. Another amazing friend of mine, Tiffany, encouraged us to make a list of people who inspired us in life and through out our training. Then we assigned each person, or persons, to a mile of the race. We had a small print out of each mile and name and we pinned it to our shirts. At each mile we talked and shared who that mile was dedicated to and why. To listen to the others dedications and to think about my own truly pushed me forward to the next mile and gave me purpose bigger than my own! I owe a huge thank you to each of those on my list dedication list inspiring me and for getting me through each mile. Below is my list of dedications and a little blip on how and why they inspired me. I am including this because I never want to forget it!

1-Jeff

2-Brandie

3-Willie, Jenni, and Wayne

4-Oscar

5-Mary and Derek

6-Abby

7-Wyatt

8-Shane

9-Lainey

10-Mom and Dad

11-Bianca

12-Tiffany

13-Running Gals

14-IT Band

15-Danica

16-Lexi

17-Coleen

18-Kira

19-the move

20-me
21-Kellie
22-Rob and Liz

26-Becky

Dear Jeff,
After a year of thinking about this race and 6 months of training for the Rock and Roll Seattle Marathon, it's finally here!! I know it has felt like a long road and at times been a hardship, or at least frustrating, to you and our family but I want you to know how much all your support means to me. I have wanted to give up so many times and have gotten so sick of the long runs but I know that if I had given up I would have regretted it forever. I am so excited to accomplish this goal and prove to myself that I can do hard things. 26.2 miles is a long way to run and I will think of you so much along the way. I want to let you know that for the race I want to dedicate a specific mile to you for all you do for me. You are mile 1 because you are my NUMBER ONE supporter, my NUMBER ONE fan, and with out you I would not have been able to get here. Mile 1 is for you but I will be thinking of you through the whole race. I can't wait to see your smile and cheers as I run, and come across the finish line!
I love you so very much!!!



Dear Kellie,
Mile 21 is yours!! What can I say about you...you are such an amazing friend and I love you so much!! I look up to you in so many ways and am inspired by who you are, and the things you've accomplished in your life. You make me want to be a better person, mother, and runner!! Thank you for all your love and support of me through the years. I have thought of you so much through this process and that has helped me keep going even when I've wanted to give up. I will be thinking of you on Sat!

Dear Brandie,
Mile 2 is yours!! The reason I picked mile 2 for you is because over this last year you have taught me so much about second chances! I am so inspired by the way you have risen above the challenges that have been given you. Having Danica has not been easy but you have a second chance with her and you are so amazing with her! I am so proud of you and will be thinking of you while I run. Thank you for all your support of me and loving me!!

Dear Mary,
Mile 5 is yours!! Family is truly the most important thing and I am so lucky to have been added to yours. Your unwavering support and love for me have never gone unnoticed and lift me up in ways you'll never know! You always have a kind word for me and help me feel like I'm doing a good job with my own children. You are an amazing mother and you inspire me to want to be better in so many ways. I think of you often and look to your example. Thank you for sharing your love and spirit with me for all these years now. I will be thinking of your while I run and using your example of strength and courage in the face of hard things to help push me forward to the finish line!

Dear Mom and Dad,
Mile 10 is yours!! I couldn't have asked for better parents or ones better suited to raise me and help me become the woman I am today. I am truly blessed to have you both and I am so grateful for all the love and support you give to me. Thank you for teaching me that I can do hard things and that giving up is not an option. I wanted to quite so many times in this training process but your examples, of pressing forward and never giving up, even when life is hard and knocks you down, are what help inspire me to keep going! Life has thrown you both so many curve balls and yet you never let yourself get struck out! I will be thinking of you through out the race and especially on mile 10. Thank you for helping me accomplish this amazing thing!!

Dear Willie, Jenny, and Wayne,
Mile 3 is yours! Life is a kind of marathon for each of us and we each have a different race to run. It takes some longer than others to get through this marathon of life. Willie and Jenny, you have finished the race before the rest of us and now you are on to another race. We will always miss you but are inspired by you and we will catch up to you in the next race and we'll be together again! Wayne, despite some difficulties in this race, we are still in it together and I am so grateful for every minute of every day that we have to run together! You inspire me to keep going even when it's hard.

Dear Oscar,
Mile 4 is yours! You are energetic, you never tire, and are always up for a run! Thanks for being a great running partner.

Dear Kiddos,
Mile 6 - 9 are yours! Each of you inspires me in your own way and teaches me to be a better mother and daughter of God. I am so blessed to be your mother and will always be thankful for each of you!

Dear Bianca,
Mile 11 is yours! So many years ago we started running together!! I still remember those first runs when we would push the jogging strollers and run 2 or 3 miles together. That's how it all starts...little by little, we work our way up until we reach new heights and new goals. I am so grateful that we could reach this new height together!!! It's something that I will never forget!

Dear Tiff,
Mile 12 is yours! You are an inspiration to me in all you do! You never do anything half way. You give it your all and are an amazing woman, mother, and friend. I am so blessed to call you my friend! Thank you for the dedications and this inspiring idea!

Dear Running Gals,
Mile 13 is yours! This mile was to anyone I've ever run a run with!! There are so many amazing women in my life that teach me and help me to be better. I am so thankful to each of you for running by my side!!

Grrrr....my IT band,
Mile 14 is yours! I dedicated a mile to this injury in hopes that it would push me past it. If you've never had this injury then you don't know just how painful it is and how impossible it makes it to keep going. I'm not sure that I am thankful for this injury but I will use it to make me stronger!!!

Dear Danica,
Mile 15 is yours! What a blessing you are to your mother and to those around you. I know that life will be difficult. I also know you will be strong and you go through this life with family always by your side. I love you!

Dear Lexi,
Mile 16 is yours! You are sixteen this year and there isn't a year that goes by that we don't think of you and pray for your happiness. I look forward to a happy reunion in the future!!

Dear Coleen and Kira,
Mile 17 and 18 are yours! I was so emotional during this time of the race and was starting to really struggle (i had no idea that it would happen at the same time as your dedications). How fitting that during these miles I was running for you both. Truly you girls got me through!! What more can I say that hasn't already been said. I love you both!!!

The Move,
Miles 19 is yours! Making the decision to move away from here has been the hardest decision of our marriage to date. I dedicated this mile to the move because there is a huge part of me that is scared, but if I can do this really hard thing, the marathon, then I can do the move and I know I'll be fine.

Me,
Mile 20 is for me!! In all my training I had only gone as far as 20 miles and I knew I could do that. But after the 20 it was all a new race. Something I had never done before, but I knew I had to keep going and finish! I had to do it for myself!!

Dear Rob and Liz,
Mile 22 is yours!! When I think of running I often think of you and all the fun we've had together playing or running. I hope that I will continue to have the same love of exercise that you both have now!

Dear Becky,
Mile 26 is yours!! We all dedicated this mile to you. You're strength and friendship will inspire me for the rest of my life. There will be so many hardships and challenges that will come your way and my way, but together as friends, whether we are near or far apart, we will get through them all! I know I am never alone and that you will always be there for me! I too will never leave your side and will always and forever be here for you. You ran across that finish line with me and we did it together!!



Some day I would love to do this again! It was the hardest thing I've ever done and I am so proud of it, words can't describe. I have learned so much from the first time through this. I hope to do it even better next time!!!

Things I learned that I would not change or that I would do differently:

1. I ate really well the week before the race and it made me feel so great. I would definitely do that again.
2. I got water at ever station and kept hydrated...very important and it felt great.
3. Never change your shoes or running gear before the race. Use what you trained in!!
4. Next time I will train with more hills on my long runs.
5. Next time I'd like to run with a pacer.
6. I loved having my hat!
7. The energy gu's and salt worked great for me!