Carey, running the Loony Challenge, a 10K, 5K, and a 10-mile race. Eli is running the 5K Amy and I are running the 5K and the Marathon.
Saturday, we got up bright and early for the 10K and the 5K race.
Carey crushed the 10K, finishing it in 54:31, a PR!
Eli running the 5K, finishing it in 31:24, also a PR!!
The River Valley Running group after the races
Saturday night, my daughter Cassie hosted us for a pasta supper.
Sunday was the big day!!!
I was so emotional all weekend. We had all worked so hard to get here. It was just so hard to believe it was finally here.
Chelsea and I at the start of the race. Chelsea has been part of the group of us first-time marathoners who have been training together. We decided to run together at the start so we could pace each other.
We ended up running the whole race together.
Amy was not far behind us.
The race course was so beautiful and so full of spectators cheering us on!
We had SO many family members there cheering us on!!! My sister and her husband even came down from up north to surprise me. Having all of them on the course, cheering us on, meant the world to us. They ran a marathon just chasing us down so they could see us for a couple of minutes as we ran by. Every time I heard them call to me and hold up the signs the grandkids made, it made me tear up. So much love and support from them.
Members of the RVR team after we completed our races.
My running partner, Chelsea, and I after we finished the race. I can not tell you how good it was to run with Chelsea. We supported each other throughout the race. When it got hard, we cheered each other on. By the end of the race, the most important thing to me was that we finished together. We were a team for 26.2 miles.
I cannot express how much running this marathon has meant to me. For years, I have wanted to run one and always talked myself out of it. I told myself my body could not do it. I had not yet learned that I was strong enough to do it.
This year was different. I put in so much work to run it. In the 18 weeks of training, I ran 489 miles, 87:31 hours of running, averaging 6.6 miles a run. Every Sunday was a long run ranging from 5 miles in the beginning to 20 miles in the end. I trained with the best group of women ever, Sam, Chelsea, and of course, Amy. We ran so many long runs together. We spent hours and hours together and helped each other become stronger. And of course, the River Valley Running group was instrumental in my training. So much support from the whole group.
On race day, I was not nervous at all. I never had any doubt that I could do it. I was so excited. My goals for the race were to have fun and to have a smile on my face. I was not worried about my finish time; I just wanted to enjoy the race.
And that is what I did! I felt so strong throughout the whole race! I enjoyed every step I took. I was filled with the joy of running. When I crossed the finish line, I was crying with joy. I put my body to the test and I did it.
When I found out the results of the race, I was so excited with how I had done. I ended up in 8th place out of 45 people in my age group!
These are the two people that I have to thank the most for being there on this journey. First, to my daughter Amy. Without her encouragement, I never would have joined the River Valley Running group, where I have met so many wonderful people whom I now call my friends. She was the one who told me over and over again that I could run a marathon until I started to believe it. Without her push, I never would have signed up for the race. We ran so many training runs together and so many races. Running was our life this summer. It would not have been nearly as fun without her by my side.
And then there is my husband, Rick. He has put up with so much running talk this year. I lived and breathed running all summer. Every Sunday, I would abandon him so I could go on a long run. He would drop me off or pick me up on those runs. He sat through my nonstop talking about running and listening to me as I debated which race I should or should not run. He would rub my legs when they hurt, whenever I asked him to. He came to so many races and cheered me on. He cooked a million meals for me. He never complained when I came home with another pair of shoes. And most of all, he believed in me.
Without their support and countless other people in my life, I could not have done it.
Running is and has always been my therapy. It makes me happy, makes me strong, and makes me free....
Let the training begin for the next race...
Sharon
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