The St. Jude Half Marathon

This picture was taken in the lobby of the Marriott where Jimmy, Roan, Kelly and Lynn stayed and it is where we all met up to walk to the stadium. Most of us had new headbands. I went for the sarcastic saying, "Start off slow, then back off!" Yonea's said, "Running is cheaper than therapy!" Lynn, Emily, and Roan went for the cute-everything matches look.

This morning, we woke up at 5:30 to get ready to run the half-marathon. It was a brisk 24 degrees when we left the house (and I decided to wear my running skirt, with no leggings at all). I was beginning to regret my decision to go with fewer layers, until the race started and things started to warm up. I was ready to ditch my jacket and gloves at 1 1/2 miles, but decided to at least wait until we ran by the Mississippi River because sometimes the wind is really cold blowing off the water. I could not believe how fast I got to mile 1 and then mile 2 and then mile 3. I started to believe in myself that I might beat last year's time of 2:57. As the miles went by, my race strategy changed by the minute. Instead of running 8 minutes and walking 2 like I had done in training, I ran until I couldn't breathe and then walked a little and then started running some more. The only thing that I can figure out is that I was running a faster pace than I realized and couldn't run as long. At times, I was ready to walk a long way and then I would pass another mile marker and I would do the math calculations in my head and realize that I was at least 15 minutes under where I usually was by that point. But I realized that I was getting more tired and wondered if I could keep up my pace. I was having a mental war in my head between good and evil. My evil side kept telling me that I could walk more and my good side was telling me that I would regret it if I got close to my goal and did not make it. So my good side won out and I kept on trucking. I was at the 10 mile mark in 2 hours and 2 minutes YEAH! I decided that it was actually possible to get in the 2:40s like I had picked as my goal months ago, but had tossed out the window the last two months. I struggled the whole last mile but with 8 tenths to go I was at 2:38 and realized that I needed to just RUN and SHUT UP about it already. I crossed the finish line at 2:41:22 (on my watch, not official time - which has not yet been posted). That time is 16 minutes faster than last year and I am so excited and glad that I decided to run in spite of knee and hip issues. Our merciful Father allowed me to run all day with no pain in my legs at all. It was an emotional day as we ran through the St. Jude campus and saw the families who are staying there and even a few children. The spectators were out in full force and they cheered us on even more this year than last year. One of the posters said, "Blisters don't need chemo!" and I decided that nothing I could go through on this day was as painful as what these families live every day of their lives. Two women had shirts on in memory of a 3 year old child who died in October of this year and they were out running the race; what do I have to complain about? Knee pain? Hip pain? Breathing troubles? Just shut up and run. So I did and had a great race and so did most of the people that I know who were running today. Many friends from Memphis and Georgia as well as several Spartan parents ran today and we all had a great race or a great time, depending on expectations for the day. I am almost ready to sign up for next year's race right now, but I think I'll hobble upstairs and go to bed instead. LOL