Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Best Day of My LIFE!

Ok, so some of you may think, running 26.2 miles couldn't possibly make the best day of anyone's life, however, I am here to fight you on that one.

The day started at 5:30, with my bowl of oatmeal and last minute nerves, sure that I had forgotten something, but knowing that as long as I had my number and timing chip, I could get along without the rest! We got to the bus at about 6:30, where my teammates and I enjoyed a lot of joking and laughing, helping to relax each other as we headed toward the start line.

After a couple of group pictures, and a tour around athlete's village, we all headed down toward the finish line. I have to say, that being able to walk toward that line with all of the people that I have trained with for the last 5 months was truly an emotional experience. We really are a true TEAM, and to find that in such an individual sport is really amazing.

At ~10:30, the crowd started to move, and before you knew it, we were crossing that line. I was lucky enough to be able to run with a few of my teammates for a bit in the beginning, but as we all had different comfort levels and paces, we soon started to disperse amongst the crowd.

That is not to say that we were in any way alone, however, as the amazing fans for 26 straight miles, screaming our names (which were on the front of our team shirts) , handing out everything from cups of water, to oranges, to twizzlers, and even wet spongess (great idea to whoever came up with that one!), were with us every step of the way.

As I had a few teammates pass me, getting a chance to wish them good luck and to have fun, and them doing the same to me, I again had a wave of emotion, realizing the accomplishment that we were all about to achieve. Oh, and when I say about, I mean within 4 or 5 hours.

At mile 19, I met what I call "the make or break point" where I knew that if my family was coming, they would be there. When I saw my uncle, aunt, and two little cousins, the last 19 miles disappeared and I was ready to start a short little 7 mile run. The support of friends and family, oh, and the crazy BC and Wellsley students, is what really got me through this.

Skip ahead 7 miles, to the finish, where I decided to enjoy the last 1/2 mile for all that it was worth. As I threw my hands in the air, waving them around like a crazy woman and screaming, on the verge of tears, I knew that I had done it, and that although I may be strong enough to do it alone, I don't ever want to try, because it is soooo awesome to have so many people supporting you, there's no reason to.

I have a couple of picutes, and a video, with many more to come. Thank you for reading my blog and following along with this journey, and yes, stay tuned for next year for an encore :)

As I ran, I just thought, there are so many people that I am so grateful to, and that includes anyone has donated, has called to check in and see how things went, those complete strangers out on the course, and particularly my teammates.





My teammates, Svea and George, and ME at post-race lunch/dinner.

More pics to come, I promise :)

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