Thirteen point one...

The feet that took us 13.1

My sister, Calist, and me

Hollie and me

This was the hardest run I have ever had,

The farthest distance I have ever run,

The biggest sense of accomplishment I have felt in a while.

On Sunday, September 27th, at 8:30AM, I started my run through the city of Lansing. I was feeling nervous and just okay. I was doubting that I could even do this and to top it off, my GPS that I was counting on using wouldn't pick up a signal. It was up to my mind, body, and clock to pull this one off. I decided against the pace group. I wanted to do this one on my own.

So, I started picking people to pass around mile three. It all started with a lady that wouldn't hold a steady pace...and that bugs me. I just started picking them off one by one. Before I knew it, I was at mile 6. I raised my hands up when I passed the red banners, knowing I was almost halfway there. I was feeling great and the trail run was beautiful. I think this is when I started praying for people. The song, Surrender came on my Seventh Day Slumber...no joke, I played it for the next two or three miles...over, and over, and over.

Around mile 8 or so, I picked a lady to pass and just before I got to her, she came to a screetching hault by a tree and started puking. I held my breath while I passed. Then, I had a big tall guy in my sights that I had saw at mile one who was sprinting and then stopping, sprinting and then stopping. I picked up the pace a bit and passed him. A few ladies dropped like flies and had to be assisted off the course...I didn't want to be like them. I passed the 10 mile marker and thought of The CRIM and how I could have been done by now...my time was almost on the dot of what my CRIM time was a month earlier. I lifted my hands again, thanked God for taking me this far, and thought of the 5K I had left to run.

It was around mile 11 that I started to feel like crap. My legs felt like I had 20 pound weights slapped to my ankles, my knee was bothering me, and my stomach wasn't feeling too hot. This is where the mind games began. My body was telling me that I needed to stop and walk. My heart said, "You've come to far to quit!"

The next 2.1 miles were HARD. I saw the big buildings over the tree tops and knew I was getting closer. I back tracked on Forrest and played Surrender a few times over to keep me going. I had the finish line in view, Life is a Highway was playing in my ears, and I sprinted to the finish line. I passed three people and crossed at 2:21:47. It was a little slower than I was hoping for, but I felt a great sense of accomplishment...and a great sense of pain in my legs.

I headed to the water station where I met up with the lovely Calist who had finished a couple minutes before me. We sat on the grass, not beliving it was already over, and waited for Hollie. Before long, we saw her coming up the hill to the finish line.

All the hard work,

the sucky runs,

the evenings where we would have much rather been inside,

the mornings where we would have much rather been sleeping,

the aches,

the pains,

the exhaustion,

the runs in the rain,

the swallowed bugs,

the tears...

all of that for about two and a half hours of sweat, pain, and sheer enjoyment of a race run well...a race finished. Is it crazy for me to say that I am SO looking forward to next year?!

Calist and Hol, once again, this was a blast. I feel so lucky to not only have run with both of you last month, but to get a chance to have a "reunion" this month. It meant so much to have two of my sisters there with me. I love you, girls. Way to go on a job well done and another race run. I am praying that God gives us another year!!

Last race of the season: Pumpkin Fest 10K

Goal: Hoping to get my time well under 1 hour.