Thursday, May 26, 2011

Halfsies

Hi All (and by all I mean about seven of you who faithfully read my nonsense, you're great! thanks!)

Many if not all know I did something very crazy last Saturday: I ran 13.1 miles with 7,000 other people up in Fargo, Nort DakOOOOOOtah. Let me tell you, hardest, most challenging, best thing I've ever done in my life. The atmosphere, the people, the supporters, the hilarious signs, the PAIN (during and after) all added up for an awesome experience. I'll give you some highlights:

1. Our hotel.

My friends, Sara, Abby O, and Little Stader (LMM or Megan), stayed at the Grand Inn, the epitome of luxury....not.  For 14.25 per person for a night I shouldn't complain too much, but I have to tell you about it: this place was hilarious. We pull up and it looks as though a drug deal is taking place. Lovely. Since Fargo (and all of Morehead spare our grand room at the Grand Inn) was booked, we had to take a smoking room. I think I still smell like a cig. Ick. The bed was my favorite: those old school blankets that fuzz up and you get the fuzzes everywhere and they have the fake silky ribbon things sewn on the ends...we had that, in a mustard-y orange, someone just fed the baby cheetos and she vomited color. Ok I'm done complaining because I am very grateful for Sara finding us a place to crash before we pushed our bodies to the brink of extinction (ok sorry, that's dramatic, not that bad).

2. Signs

The support from the people from Fargo (and wherever else they're from) along the race route was AMAZING! The entire race there were people cheering you on, saying we looked great (they lied, i didn't care), saying "you're almost there!" (another lie, i'm over it now) etc. etc. The signs they brought were HILARIOUS. Here are a few of my favorites:
 a. A man dressed as the Grim Reaper with a sign outside the fargodome at mile 12.75: the end is near (so much for the world ending
 b. Chuck Norris couldn't run 13.1 miles
 c. Naked cheerleaders one mile ahead!
 d. Free Beer!
And my favorite:
 e. Don't sh*t your pants.

3. Chaffing

(for those with sensitive stomachs skip down to 4. Fargo Dome. for those who want to laugh at my expense, read on)
People, when you run 13.1 miles, you chaf in places you never thought possible. My poor bum hurt so bad post-race I had to walk holding it up. I can imagine the thoughts of people who saw me waddle around, arse in my paws, like I had just gotten off a horse.

4. FargoDome

One of the highlights of the race was definitely running into the FargoDome for the finish. I felt like Marion Jones (pre-steroid bust) running across the finish line with the stands full of people cheering for me. Me! "Heck yes, I just ran 13.1 miles, yeah I know I'm a pretty big deal, hey boo, what's your sign?" Ok, that was another dramatization. I didn't say any of those things. I actually teared up. Awhile back at my brother's graduation my chiropractor and my dad were talking about my race and the conversation went somewhere along the lines of Did you ever think she could do this? In my heart and in my head I knew I could. And in that moment I was so proud of myself and everything that had happened in my life to lead me to that point: two knee surgeries and nearly three years of pain. Running has long been my getaway, my stress-reliever, my drug, but up until that point, I wasn't aware of how far I could push myself.  I am so happy I did it, I'm so happy I proved to myself how strong I am. The back of our medals say: I can do all things...(Phil 4:13)  It's awesome what we can do when we believe.



This is us, post-race, in all our glory.  Holla!

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