sunburst!!

about a year ago john and i purchased a treadmill with the agreement that we would both use it at least three times a week. of course, we both were very faithful for the first month or so and then neither of us used it at all. in november, i decided i was not going to let our money just go to waste, collecting dust so i started running again. that's when my friend jess (see link to the right) got this brainy idea that we should run in a race. i thought cool...a 10k would be fantastic. however, she wanted to go all out and we decided to run in a half marathon. i never in a million years thought i could do it. i have never been a runner and the most i've probably ever run at one time was two miles during walk/jog class in college. i really wanted to do it though because i wanted to prove to myself that anything is possible if i put my mind to it.

i began training...it took a lot of time. in the last 13 weeks i've ran 139 miles to prepare myself for the race. that's not even counting the running i started in november through the middle of march. john was a great source of encouragement and always took over greyson so i could get my runs in. jess was also my source of encouragement as we trained together but separately. she would always check up on me and ask me how i was doing and if i was getting my runs in.

well, yesterday was the big race. the sunburst starts out at the college football hall of fame and ends up at notre dame stadium. we got up bright and early to get our packets and gear. it was a wonderful, chilly morning. i woke up at three and could not go to bed. i wasn't really in the mood to run 13.1 miles but also kept telling myself this was the last big run i'd ever have to do! the gun went off and so did we. i was actually running in a half marathon!

we had two goals:

1. run the entire thing (no walking)

2. finish in less than 3 hours

let me tell you how amazing jess was. seriously, this girl set the pace and kept pushing me to do my best. the first ten miles weren't too bad, but the last three were torturous!!! i wanted to stop so badly and kept telling jess she could go on without me so i could walk (oh, how i wanted to walk!!!). being the awesome and amazing encourager that she is, she would not leave me and kept saying we were in this together. when i would slow down, she would grab my arm and pull me along. one time she even got behind me and started pushing on my back to help me keep going. i was thankful for her dedication to me, she wanted to see me accomplish the goals we had set together. without her, i would not have been able to do it. i would have stopped and walked...no doubt! she is such a great friend and even though she could have had a better time if she left me, she didn't. she was faithful to me and wanted to see me succeed too. thank you jess! this spoke volumes to me. :) you are a woman of character who is selfless!

we finished the race in 2 hours and 42 minutes and we ran the whole thing!! our goals were met. i'm proud of us and glad it's over. :) it was definitely an experience that pushed me to the max and helped me become a more dedicated person.

we had a crew of cheerleaders who watched us cross the finish line. thanks to matt, alicia, landon, emerson, john, greyson, and amos for your support!! amos also ran in the race, but he finished before us! :) congrats to amos too!

i am very sore and every time i move i am reminded of the 13.1 miles i ran. hopefully it doens't last too long!! here are some pics that were captured to remind us of this painful, but glorious day...

this was taken during the last half mile...notice jess smiling...i'm not! :)

a picture of our supporters. thanks again guys! it made our day to see you there!

the racers with our medals! we made it!