Hills and Mountains

This was taken right around mile 10. I was hot and tired and feeling a little snap-happy. :)

I had an entirely too detailed post on the half-marathon ready to make "live" - and then, I changed my mind. Only my trail cohorts and I are interested in the blow-by-blow war stories. So here are some highlights:

1. Our Team. Doing the marathon with what ended up being eight peeps was amazing. We had a little team effort going - through the training, our "night before" carb-loading celebration and throughout the actual course. Words can't really do it justice. Here's a shot of us the night before...and the morning of.

In the back..Lee, Danielle, Kris and Ginger. In the front...Liz and Consuela (aka Connie). Our back deck after a full-meal carb deal. :)

This is the "morning of." About 30 minutes before race time. Lee and Connie are having a moment - topic shall remain "unspoken." The Lord heard and Lee needed a porta potty on the course. Nuff said. :) So this is Lee, Kris, Liz, Ginger, Danielle, Lori, Connie and Cindy.

2. The course. When they said "train for hills" they really meant "train for mountainous, energy sapping, long-winding mountainous climbs. That's what they meant. Is it fair to say that 3/4 of the course was a hill? I think it probably was.

3. The duration. We all came in about 20 minutes from one another. Lee was first with a pretty amazing 2:52. We trained to walk - but Lee jogged the first 4 and blew his knee out. He walked the rest of the way and still made great time. Ginger followed 20 minutes later; Connie/Cindy 20 minutes after that; Danielle/Lori 20 after than and Liz/I 20 after that.

4. Mile 10. A few things happened at mile 10. I realized that I was going to have to walk up the three huge hills I had just come down, but put it to the back of my mind. I was still hopeful at that point. I passed my husband as he was looping back (we turned around at 8.5 miles and retraced steps to the end of the course). He didn't have the heart to tell me that I was still 2.5 miles from the turnaround point. I was enjoying some of the only flatlands on the course down by Ruston Way and a GU pack that surprisingly gave me a a needed boost of energy!

Waterfront view along the flatlands of Ruston Way. A mile or two before heading back up the mountainous hills.

4. The final hill. It was unbelievable really. Just after mile 10, my right calf seized up. But it was "stretchable." Liz caught up with me and we tailed one another for a spell. After another GU hit and some stretching, I caught that the hills were truly seizing my calves. I just decided to push through. At points, those poor calves of mine felt like they were going to pop from the pain. Have I mentioned that we didn't train for hills? Not even once. ;)


5. We lied. There are four more hills. It's true. We reached the top of Schuster Park way with a small wave of nausea. We were on mile 12 and knew 13 was just around the corner. Actually it was around 5 corners - and four of them accessible by one steep Tacoma hill after another. Liz and I took turns encouraging one another. I had already pretty much claimed Schuster Parkway for the Holy Spirit adn thought my preaching was done. Little did I know that more Jesus pleas were to be had. I actually reminded myself (outloud, ask Liz) of the kids in Africa who travel miles for clean water (duh, one of the reasons we were walking in the first place!) and the people of Myanmar who are facing such desperate/dark times. This was nothing. Right?


6. The finish line. Was, PRAISE GOD, on a downhill trek. The only one of the last 3 miles - but it was downhill and looked glorious. Liz jogged over it. My screaming calves and I strolled. And did it in 3:52. I had been aiming for under 4 hours - and did it. I lost a lot of time in the last 4 miles...but I am SO okay with that.


High fives, victory hugs and whoops and hollers were all part of our big finish. My sister in law, Karen spent the night and brought Hope up to see the big finish. Our names were called as we crossed. We received medals and our times are posted on the web. And we hobbled down a very long flight of stairs to reach the free food. Bananas and Tim's Cascade chips never tasted so good. :) It was a for-real marathonin' experience.

Tacoma News Tribune Pics: http://www.thenewstribune.com/942/story/357337.html

I'm really so proud of everyone. It's been fun to catchup, share details and war stories and still be encouraged! We all worked so hard - and everyone completed what turned out to be a REALLY hilly and challenging course. I'm ready for the next one and have some new goals in sight. Consuela is with me and has even more challenging goals set for herself (and to that I say "booya!").


Besides the comraderie that we experienced, the huge laughs along the way and the bonding of the marathon trail (and the mystery of the portapotty), Connie and I have been fundraising for the past few months. We are at the 38 percent mark of a really huge goal ($4800 for a well in Africa). I think we are both so amazed and blessed by the amount that we've been able to raise. Thank you, Jesus! :)


So that's it in a nutshell. My original blog took you through ever stop, nook, cramp and cranny of marathon day. You should be glad I spared you. Or maybe this was worse? :)


Lee and I weren't really sore yesterday - but find ourselves hobbling and limping around when moving from sitting to mobility. :) It's provided a few laughs, that's for certain. It's been a nice Mother's Day ... sitting on the other side of a huge and accomplished goal.


Thanks for the support of those who have been praying and for those who have donated so selflessly! If you're still in interested in donating, we're keeping the site open for one more week!


www.lifetoday.org/goto/teamlivingwater


"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

Be Blessed!!!