A "Marathon" Entry

As promised, here are some pictures (and my account) of marathon day. Get ready, this may be a long one...

Here's a pic of my dad (who came all the way from Missouri to see me race) and me in the port-a-can line. Being a newbie at the whole marathon "thing", I was not aware that there were outrageous lines just to go to the bathroom. I actually missed my group running club picture to stand in this line before the race. The wait actually took about a half-an-hour, so I thought I'd snap a quick picture while we were in line. For those of you who have been in a race before, you know what I mean when I tell you that the port-a-cans are definitely part of the race experience.

After my long wait, I was off to the starting line (barely making it in time). What was really weird was that I said goodbye to my dad a block or two before the start line and he somehow ended up standing right next to my spot (among thousands) in line. Here's me after I spotted my dad on the sidewalk, nervously waiting to go. Having my dad there was such a comfort to me. He has always been there for me and it was really special to have him there waiting on the sidelines to see me go.
I wish I had more pictures of me actually running the race, but they wouldn't be pretty. I won't say that I wasn't smiling through some of it, but the last half of it was really more of a wincing expression on my face. My mind and my body were definitely having it out...

Here's a picture of my wonderful in-laws and kids who came along with my hubby and dad to watch me in the race. It was so wonderful to see their smiling faces. It actually gave me a second wind (for awhile) until I got tired again.

Here's me about to cross the finish line. I definitely did not feel like smiling or running for that matter, but I was determined to finish strong. It helped that my running buddy Jessica caught up with me and we crossed the line together.

I couldn't finish this post without posting my video clip crossing the finish line. I'm the one in the orange shirt with the white/black cap running/hobbling in with my friend, Jessica (who's in the turquoise sleeveless shirt).

I'll have to say this event was one of the hardest things I've ever had to voluntarily go through. There were different times during this event where I felt like 'enough is enough'! But I kept imagining my mom encouraging me (or rather, giving me a good kick in the backside) to keep on going. My only regret was that I did not do this while she was alive. I know my family and friends are all proud of me, but I especially know that she is in heaven looking down on me smiling.