I LOVE You Guys!!!!

THANK YOU for my 5 messages to come home to!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!! I am 45, feeling 80, and can barely walk. No lie. I have NEVER had a recovery like this one. I am sure it was from waiting in the pouring rain for 2 hours before the start and then having it rain the WHOLE time I ran (my Garmin said I ran 26.32 miles in 4:04:06...the official chip time was 4:06:17....whatever... I missed the four hour mark.) Physically I think that is the hardest thing I've done next to my c-sections. I was SO COLD. The wind was killer. I thought my toes were broken off. We were all completely soaked before we even started. The fires were a comfort while we waited but you can't take them with you. My brand new IPOD shuffle NEVER worked. I think it got too wet. UGH. At mile 19 I really wanted God himself to come down and bless it better or to strike it to smitherines...either.
I ran into Vanessa Rapier who had never run sub 9 minutes miles before and it was a gift to be able to 'babysit" her through. The gang was cheering for me at the finish. That is always an out of body experience. I'll write about that some other day.

I think the hardest thing for me was worrying about Megan. Most of you probably don't know that on Thursday she got the hairbrained idea to just run the marathon and see how far she could go....she decided to see if she could get Kristin's tag. She got it. Yep, the farthest she has run all year is 7-8 miles. The mother in me just got sick as I kept thinking how cold and unprepared she was. Every hill I looked at it like I had to do it twice. I'm wierdo sick that way. By mile 20 I was past worried and on to selfishlly mad that I had to worry about her. My true motherly feelings returned about mile 24 and just wanted to make one of the aid people go find her and save her. But what was up with me? Yes, she was freezing, wet, cold, hating life...BUT SHE LOVED finishing!!!! She still hasn't taken off her medal. I just laugh every time I see her. I feel jealous that I don't love my accomplishment the way she does. Anyway...I have a few pictures....the one of my totally wrinkled foot at the end is my favorite. I am too tired to put them up tonight. I'll get them on tomorrow. I am so grateful for all the people who helped the race still go on...they were out there in the freezing wind and rain handing us water and fruit and goos and rubbing us down with Ben Gay....they need some kind of medal!!! I'm grateful that at 45 I can still do this. I can. I did. Why do I? Couldn't tell you.