Monday, March 17, 2008

The race was AWESOME!!!!

Here I am - once it was all over!!! After the race, after a great lunch, and a WONDERFUL hot shower!!! See my medal??? I'll be wearing it everywhere I go this week!
Kelli bought me this shirt on Saturday. I LOVE it! It says "13.1 miles...been there, run that! (I may actually wear this shirt all week too, so brace yourselves!) Kelli got a shirt that said "running is cheaper than therapy". So funny - and true!
I loved this shirt too!!!
Me, Kelli, and my kids (that were hungry after the expo and ready to go to lunch...)
Josiah and Jacob with their signs that they made on Saturday for me. Josiah's sign says "run Mommy run". It was so precious - Jacob had drawn circles on his and colored the letters. (Do you see how dark it was that morning? The sun didn't rise until between Miles 2 and 3 - and yet there was my sweet husband and wonderful kids cheering me on! (it helped that I bought poptarts for them to have that morning!)
The boys and Kelli as we were waiting for lunch. Jacob was wearing my medal. Look at how cute my sister is - she and I wore matching visors that day. It helped us find each other in the crowds - she had the cutest St Patty's day stickers on her cheeks. She was the BEST!

First of all, thanks to ALL of you for being such HUGE encouragers to me over these last several months. To train for something like this takes a HUGE committment and sort of takes over your life. David and the kids made a sacrifice to support me in this, and I am so thankful for all that they did. Kelli was a FABULOUS trainer, and to all my friends that cheered me on over these last several months - you're the BEST! Okay, so here's the update!!!


The race was awesome! I RAN (yes, I ran the WHOLE thing) A HALF MARATHON!!! 13.1 MILES - unbelievable. I felt so good and so strong, and really enjoyed the whole experience. Kelli took most all of the pictures, so as soon as I get them from her, I'll post the REAL pictures from the whole weekend. She was an incredible spectator - hanging out of taxi cabs to take my picture, cheering SO loud with signs and posters, running alongside of me at the finish - she was great. David wins husband of the year for getting himself and 3 kids up at 6 AM on Sunday to get down to the race to be able to see me and still get back to church at 8:00 AM. I saw them at Mile 2 and it was WONDERFUL! My muscles are a little tight today - I was definitely MAJOR sore yesterday when I finished - but I feel so good and strong! A huge accomplishment. I even beat my own personal goal. When I first registered, my guess at how long it would take me was 2:45 (two HOURS 45 minutes). A few months into training, I was picking up speed and realized I may be able to do it faster. My new goal became 2:15, but knew that with my foot injury a few weeks back and the cold that I had last week, that may not happen. I kept telling myself that just to run strong and FINISH is huge in itself. But I had a great race, and was able to finish in 2:13. It was awesome. So many more things to say, but I'll leave it at that as not to bore the rest of you. Anyone that wants to know more can certainly ask and I'll be HAPPY to tell more - it was great and I can't wait to do it again!!! I'll post more pictures once I get them from Kelli! :)

15 comments:

the mccollums... said...

ok, all of Blogland is going to think that I am crazy...but tears are coming down...I am SO PROUD of you and your HUGE race day! I can't wait to see Kelli's pics from her cab rides around! I loved when you said that it made you feel strong...thats awesome and I get it, not just physically strong but holistically strong! I want pics of you wearing your medal and shirt around all week too!...love the shirt's! Ok...hugs from Charlotte!

Judy said...

First of all, I'm lovin' Jamie's comment. Anyway, you look so cute with your medal!! And the boys' signs are adorable!! I'm so proud of you! Way to go!!! So when is the next race?? Tell Kelli we're all waiting for her pictures!

Vonda said...

Wow Katy! That is awesome that you ran 13 miles. Beth has been telling me how you've been training...it is so exhilarating and I can read the excitement through your blog. I trained for a marathon about 8 years ago and ended up hurting my hip into the training but I think I trained too fast. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them as I miss long distance running and after we have this baby girl, I want to get back into running and get into good shape before Baby 3. So happy for you that you achieved this!

Jen said...

Way to go Girl! Congratulations on a strong finish and a new personal best time! You are a star and have accomplished something many of us will never even attempt! Keep up the good work!

Mandy said...

Great job! That is AWESOME about your time! If you have been wearing that shirt all day today and tomorrow, just make sure you wash it before Bible study on Wednesday, kay? haha! BTW where did you eat your victory meal? I'm waiting for a restaurant review:) haha!

jenn said...

CONGRATULATIONS! i am so proud of you :) what an amazing accomplishment! and btw - you look FAB-U-LOUS. seriously! love you!!

veronica said...

Congratulations! Love the shirts! I'm a running buddy of Courtney's and would love to know where to find those shirts. Our group has done several half's and I know what a great accomplishment it is to finish. Good job. Now you can enjoy of few days off and go back to shorter training runs

Heidi said...

Congratulations!!!! I know you feel great about the whole thing!! It was so great hearing about it all in person and it was so motivating at the same time. I know you feel like a million bucks!! I love the saying about the therapy. It really is true!!

Unknown said...

Oh Katie...I am so very proud of you! That time is awesome!!!! Truly, a great achievement...and it is a huge sacrifice for you and your family, but so well worth it. They have a happy mom that cares enough about them to make sure she is doing all she can to stay healthy. WAY TO GO! You look radiant in the pictures!

dandsratz said...

Oh Katy!!! That is SOOOO fabulous!!! I'm jumping up & down and cheering SOO loud for you right now (in my heart, that is! :) )!! What a major accomplishment, and to finish it with record time, too! YEAH!!!! What a great, great weekend, for sure!!

Courtney said...

so, so, so proud of you!!! LOVE the shirts - and medal. you look so great - and happy. isn't running the BEST?? :-)

anthonyandbeth said...

you look SO happy in these pictures! you can just see the feeling of accomplishment in your eyes! i'm so happy for you and loved hearing about all of it! sounds like Kelli was a GREAT supporter and trainer...i know she was so proud to be there for you at your FIRST race! love the shirts, VERY CUTE! SO PROUD of you!!!! can't wait to see the action shots! :)

Natalie said...

Hip Hip Hooray! Your smile was priceless on Sunday when I saw you at church! I am so proud of you, and maybe one day soon I will join you on one of these crazy runs!!!! Woooo Hooooo!

Jayne said...

Katy, I am so proud of you. I cried reading your blog. Something about the desire to do something big and accomplishing it, while still being wife, mother, friend, servant, etc. How great to have their support, but also your sweet sister for coming in for the weekend (oh, adn to cheer you the whole way taking pics, and running you to the finish, I'm tearing up as I write this!!) I am so proud of your drive, determination, and huge accomplishment. WAY TO GO!!

The Stein Family said...

WOW! I've been up all night reading and catching up with your blog. It's my first time visiting and I am amazed by you. Not just in terms of your race (Congrats!), but also by what an awesome person and mother you are. It makes me miss VA even more than I already did. You're an inspiration!