Mission Complete

That is us over towards the right - holding hands.

You know you have officially become a blogger when you start thinking of how to word your post way before you actually sit in front of your computer to type it out. Well...it either makes me a blogger or a really big nerd - either way that is how this post has been coming to me - it little snip its since Friday.

As you all know - Chelsea and I departed from Lexington on Friday towards Louisville to complete The Derby Half Marathon. I think she would agree we were both too excited for "real nervousness" to set in on Friday. I told her before we actually left Lexington that she should know I usually experience a little bit of depression post-race because it kind of leaves you feeling like "now what?" Janine would agree - as she and I experienced the same low after our triathlon was over.

When we arrived in Louisville (by way of Spain, Chelsea's Dad would say - I am geographically challenged, okay?) on Friday we went straight to the expo to pick up our packets and check out the vendor selection. I am happy to report that I found the exact sports bra I have been wearing and currently only own one of - YAY! Let me just tell you that finding a well-fitting sports bra after nursing a child is no easy feat so it was an exciting moment.

After the expo we checked into our hotel room and then headed to carb up at the Spaghetti Factory. Dinner was so yummy and we definitely carb loaded for sure....maybe a little too much actually. After dinner we got organized and got ready for bed. We both headed into sleepyville while watching some show called Chimp-Eden on Animal Planet. This is the part where my sisters would say something like "why do you always make people watch that crap". Well- I didn't make anyone watch anything - it's just what we ended up on. I am sorry to report that we fell asleep and are never to know the fate of those chimps we learned all about. We did however gain some interesting discussion material for during the race. ha!

Chelsea's parents were nice enough to drive us to the start line first thing Saturday morning so we got to avoid the craziness that was the shuttle arrangements as well as the whole waking at the crack of dawn thing. I gotta say I was a little worried when we first woke up because it was already a balmy 73 degrees outside - we didn't train in weather like that.

First stop after parking - the porta johns: where else? The lines were ridiculous but it was important to get those nerves out and take care of business. Guess who we ran into while in line? Courtney and Tammy: ha! Fancy meeting them there. Hee hee.

Our timing was dead on because as soon as we finished using the restroom - it was time to find our corral and line up. We were no sooner in our spots than the group started moving. Go Time!

The race was hot and parts of it were hilly. The race highlights for me were: seeing Anne Maria (one of my TNT mentors was there cheering), seeing Chelsea's parents, running with a group of dressed-up Elvis dancers complete with back up singers and a boom box - they even sang and clapped while they ran in their costumes and fake hair: wow and just knowing that Chels was about to complete a major big first for herself - she looked strong (hot and a little angry, but strong)!!!

We completed the race in 2 hours and 15 minutes and both got a little teary when we crossed the finish line. She has come a long way - only began running in August and just finished her first half ever and did it in a really respectable time too. I was so proud of her and so thankful that we did it together.

Ever since I started to really run and do bigger races like this people always have said things like: "I could never do that" or "I can't believe that, how do you even train for that" or simply "wow". I have always said that anyone can do this - you just have to lace up your shoes, walk out the door and start. I still believe that to be close to true but there is one other thing it takes: DESIRE. Anyone can run and I believe anyone can train themselves to run FAR but not if they don't REALLY want to do it. There is a time in any type of endurance event where your body kind of "gives up" for lack of a better description. Once your body goes there, it is all up to your mind - can you push yourself to go farther, can you believe in yourself that you can do it? I have ran with lots of different people - different sizes - different paces - different mindsets and some people truly innately have this DESIRE and some people just don't (which isn't a negative thing).

Chelsea did awesome because she had that desire - she dug deep and she pulled it out even when her legs were tired and sore and even when she wanted to kill me she just kept pushing. It is an incredible thing to see and watch and girl, if you are reading - I hope you continue to feel that "runners high" and pass it on! I look forward to hearing about more long runs in your future.

True to my advice prior to leaving - I have been a little down since returning home. I have floundered a bit in my "what next" mind frame. I am planning to start a program called P90x next week and it will hopefully beat me into matron of honor worthy bridesmaid dress shape. My plan had been to rest all week and just recuperate. Guess who was up at 5:30 AM this morning for a run? I am a sucker for good cardio, what can I say. It was raining so Courtney and I did a Biggest Loser video instead but it was nice to get my heart rate up after several days of rest. Chelsea plans to run today too: ha! We are so sad, huh?

Until next time....