As race day approached, the weather forecast was not looking good. They were calling for an ice storm. Kellie came down a day early so we would be sure to get our race packets and shop at the expo. This was such an exciting night because it was the reality that all that training and hard work was really going to happen!
I found my name on the "heroes" pace car! It was an awesome feeling to be able to raise $500 for the kids at St. Jude. After all, they are the real heroes!
Kellie signed the wall for St. Jude in memory of her dear friend who lost their son to cancer a few years ago.
Then we headed to Colettas to carb load. Mandy came along for moral and emotional support!
As Friday's "ice Storm" came and went there was the big announcement that the St. Jude marathon was cancelled due to safety reasons. I couldn't believe it! I had said from day one that I was going to cross that finish line no matter what I had to do, and now the finish line was not even an option!
Of course, Courtney Barnes was not going to let us NOT cross the finish line after all our hard work so the LiveFit running group created their own marathon in our little town of Arlington! Within hours, the whole thing was planned from the route we were going to run to the water stations a few residents placed along the way to even the post race finish line with hot chocolate and donuts. The plan was in place, and all that was left to do was to run and cross that finish line!!!
That morning our elves had their own St. Jude race. Ava was so funny when she saw it. She said "The elves didn't get the message that the race was cancelled." HA!
At 8am, I bundled up layer after layer and headed to the square to join my fellow runners I had trained with for so long.
As we headed to our make shift starting line, the nerves had set in. As I started the first mile, I felt great, and knew I was going to conquer every mile of this race. However, that hope quickly turned to despair as my the pain in my knee slowly crept back in. Suddenly, I felt hopeless that I was never going to cross that finish line. That's when my Live Fit friends came to my rescue. The girls running the 5K were there to offer moral support, and Angela was there to offer physical support. She offered to stay with me and walk the entire way if I needed it. What a selfless act! So, off we went to conquer the next 12 miles. All of the runners finished way ahead of us and each runner was celebrated at the make-shift finish line. I knew the 20 degree weather and the 7 degree windchill would send most, if not all, people home once they crossed the finish line. I was fully expecting to see only mine and Angela's husbands still waiting for us on Chester Street. Little did we know, complete strangers along with friends and family were there cheering for us as we came in. I was completely overwhelmed when we turned onto Chester when I saw and heard so many people cheering for us!! There were screams, shouts, cow bells, pom poms. It was one of the most overwhelming moments in my life! The fact that so many people would stand out in the freezing weather to cheer me on was almost too much! I fought back the tears as I neared the finish line I set out to cross! I could not believe I had actually done it!!!
I do have such mixed emotions about the whole day. When I signed up for this race back in May, I had no idea the emotions that would follow. I have felt elation, disappointment, hope, exhaustion, fear, failure, and the greatest sense of accomplishment! I wish I could have run all 13.1 miles and I wish I could have had a much faster time. However, my main goal was to cross that finish line, and thanks to Courtney, Angela, and all my LiveFit friends, I did it!!!!!!
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