We did it!!

26.2 miles - We did it! We did it! What a great weekend with my dear friend Dainna, we laughed... she cried (hee hee) and we accomplished something that we've been working toward for 5 months. We had a great experience, a great run and with the exception of me being a little light headed for about a mile and a half at mile 9 - 10.5 (nothing a little tylenol, pretzels and clif bloks couldn't cure)we made it with flying colors. We worked through the marathon as a team and Dainna, Stacy, Jonna and I plowed through the 26.2. With my name on my arm and the state of Iowa on my jersey and thousands of Team In Training purple cheerleaders and jerseys we had amazing support the whole way. Right from our 4am shuttle departure from the hotel to the line in the portapotties(behind the dude that was giving out WAY too much info in his short shorts.. please don't stretch, please don't stretch!), to running into someone from my hometown of G-R (amy koester) at mile 20! We started in corral number 23 which started about 45 minutes after corral 1... that's what happens when you have 40,000 people at a starting line at 6:15 in the morning, you need a few corrals to get rolling. :-) I'd have to say the 2nd half of the marathon was the best for me. No one ever says that, but it truly was. The cool breeze by the bay was better than the pounding sun on the freeway route. I felt great and had bounced back from mile 9. The scenery was nice and the aid stations were amazing. And the miles being ticked off didn't hurt either. :-) The best surprise was when I lost count at the end and thought we had 3 miles to go and it was only 1.5... now there's a treat! Dainna and I had a strong 2nd half and after about mile 18, we would run ahead and then wait for Jonna and Stacy at the aid stations and then move forward together as a group again once we knew everyone was all right. Us midwest girls were a force to be reckoned with! For all those miles we stuck together and it felt a lot like a video game where you were always looking ahead trying to navigate around the walkers and slower runners. When they joined courses with the walkers midway through the race it got pretty crazy to navigate around but we all watched out for each other and there we were stilling ticking off the miles. Matter of fact, that's what I dreamt about lst night in navigating the people. ahhh! And it was hot and sunny. There was a point at which the salt on my arms was so thick from all that sweating (CA, full sun,5+ hours of running... you end up sweating a little bit!) I told Dainna later that I felt like pouring a margarita on them and going to town. LOL...you get to thinking about things like this as you are plugging away at the miles and your legs are sore. ha. Dainna and I took off after the last rest stop and finished so strong it felt like we were sprinting the last 1/2. checking off people like they were roadkill (running race term I picked up at Hood to Coast in Portland years ago) I had a little "starry eyes surprise" on my ipod which always gets me going. We were never in it for the finish time, but we felt so good, it was fun to finish....we even cheered as we ran past the guy that proposed to his girlfriend who was running the marathon, he had written on a big cardboard sign, "will you marry me". How cool is that... and they weren't the only ones, there were other stories, like the couple we came across Sunday night at the ice cream shop that we were getting a cocoa from... they told us the whole story and he hadn't even thought about doing it until they were a few miles from the finish and said, "I thought to myself, wouldn't it be tight if i proposed at the finish", she thought he was cramping up when he got down on his kneee. I'm such a sucker for that stuff! LOL. Dainna and I held hands and raised 'em above our heads over the finish line. Success! Yay! Other inspiring stuff: the Iowa chapter had a team member that was recognized for her fundraising and that was really exciting... $50K since January and she lost her husband to Leukemia in February. Very emotional time as he was at my table at the kick off in December... brings to life the amazing impact and reason we had for all of the fundraising. There are so many stories from the weekend, the 1/2 marathoners from our team that got mixed in with the marathons and realized at mile 17 they couldn't get off the course but laughed instead of cried, the 2 blisters that Stacy had the looked like new toes they were so big, Jonna's coffee, oatmeal and shower regime that she did even on race day at 3am, Dainna and I giggling in delirium and staying up past our bedtime chatting, icing feet and "rolling" with our new "stick" that we bought at the expo. Don't ask. LOL... let's just say it helps you work out your sore muscles. The amazing pizza and wine at Sammy's Sunday night that the 4 of us celebrated our finish and rode in a rickshaw to get there as we were to tired and sore to walk to the LampPost district pizza shop. The inspiring speeches, the heart tugging stories of loss, the positive energy of support on the course and the feeling that I just can't stop smiling. Thanks to my awesome friend Dainna (and congrats on her first marathon!), thanks to all my family & friends that have had to hear my stories of cold wintery runs, toenails or lack thereof, intestinal concerns more than once and overall running chitchat. Thanks to all the people that donated to the cause as it means more than you know to so many people fighting blood cancers and fighting for their lives. Trust me, every cent makes a difference in research & hope. My thoughts and honor to those that have survived and lost the battle... I had names pinned to my jersey and my thoughts went out to many as I ran these miles in their honor.

My final thoughts... this is what IT is all about. I'm going to enjoy the ride. Every step of the way.
p.s. the only photos I have Dai and I took at 3:45am before we took off. I didn't have my cell phone with me so I couldn't take any pics on course or after. I'm sure I'll post some more intense ones of our finish later. :-)~ Although a 3:30am photoshoot on race day is pretty intense if you think about it.