MIND OVER MATTER!

4:15am came extremely early this morning. I woke up and took an extra long, hot shower that got me ready to go. I made some waffles and began packing for our day. We found a parking lot that was free and began the long hike to Congress Street. I snapped this photo to get me in the mood. It says "Run Austin"! As we approached the start line, I snapped a picture. We had to go all the way to the end to get in our spot.

We took one quick shot together before we checked in our bags. I was nervous to do this but everyone else seemed secure and I was confident they had done this a time or two. We took off our sweatshirts and began to freeze waiting for 7:00am. We put our chip on our shoe and began to hop around to stay warm.

I took this picture with my IPhone at 7:00am when the race began. We began walking forward. We finally made it to the start line at 7:12am and began to run. As we started out, Bill and I began dodging walkers. Walkers? That's right, people were already walking after 1 mile. The first three miles were a straight shot and went pretty smooth. Bill right away took off in front of me and left me in the dust. Every now and then I could see his bald head bobbin'.

Here is the 13.1 mile map. Doesn't look like much....

So I felt good. No stomach problems. No aches. Feeling this run! I got to the mile 8 mark and felt my energy getting zapped. I took a GU that Bill and I bought for energy. It worked!! I was so surprised. It was a thick nasty gel of strawberry banana but seemed to help me get moving. At this point, I still hadn't walked.

AND THEN... I began to ache. My left knee felt like someone had stuck a screwdriver in the side and wasn't going to stop. I hurt so bad. I tried modifying my run and made my groin hurt. I was limping and wasn't sure how much more I could take. I pushed myself as hard as I ever have in my life. I made it to about 9.5 miles and felt my world about to crash. I began to cry and moved to the side to walk. I didn't do it! Sadness fell over me as I began to limp. Walking became a strain. I stopped. I was leaning over massaging my knee when my legs went numb. I thought I was going to fall over when I got it together. I began to pray asking God to make the pain go away so I could finish the race but I began to doubt. I couldn't walk. Then a man came over to me and asked me where the pain was. I explained to him what I was feeling and he asked me to walk with him. I began to wobble along side him. The pain was unbearable. I began to run and felt the pain every step. This began my walk/run the rest of the way. I told myself I had to finish. Once I got to mile 11 I knew I was going to make it. A little girl came running at her dad screaming, "Daddy, what took you so long?" I began to cry again. Such emotions were going through my head but the pain never stopped. Finally, mile 12 and it was all up hill. I walked up the steep hill and began a small trot through the stop lights. I could hear the music. I could see the capitol. My dream was about to be fulfilled. As I rounded the corner on Congress and was faced with the back of the capitol, I began to cry again. I had to suck it up because as a came around to the front their the people were, cheering and yelling for us to finish strong. I was going to do just that. I crossed the finish line at 2:56. My goal was under 3 hours. I did it!!!!

I couldn't take it all in because as I stopped running my knee tightened again and I could no longer bend my knee. I grabbed a water and a banana and looked for Bill. I found him and we began to trade stories. We kissed and said Happy Valentine's Day. This will be one day neither one of us will ever forget.

Now for those of you that don't know my husband. He will stop dead in his tracks, ANYWHERE, to pick up coins. He thinks it is bad luck if you don't stop to pick it up. So my honey was so proud because on this day he earned $0.27! He couldn't have been happier.

We snapped a post race photo. As you can see, it is now light outside.

Here I am cheesing with my new diamond. Wait, my new piece of hardware.

I had to get a shot of this. Male and Female port-o-potties. Finally, someone got smart. We headed back and as we got closer to SA our bodies began to ache. In a way that I can't even describe. We stopped by my parents house and ate pizza. Then we got in the pool up to our knees. HEAVEN!!! It felt so good. Now we are at home and sleep is calling our name. I am so thankful we got through it. It was a goal I had to accomplish. I never fully understood the term Mind Over Matter. After today, I know exactly what it means.