Just a Jaunt...

I remember the first fall that we lived here, I arrived at church one Sunday to hear some girls (Michelle and Kelly... who I didn't really know at the time) talking about the race they had done that morning.  After inquiring a bit, I learned that Nike holds a women's full and 1/2 marathon here in the city every year.  I remember thinking... "that would be so fun... a little crazy... but fun".

Well... I thought about it, and thought about it, and a whole year went by, another race went by, and I still hadn't done much of anything but think about it.  I had tossed the idea around, but I knew that it would be a challenge for me, because of some knee injuries I've had (torn MCL, multiple dislocations... ya know).  Then came the news about "Tiffany's"... apparently they are sponsors in the race, and they design a necklace that each competitor gets when they cross the finish line.  Well... let's just say that for a "not-much-of-a  jewelry" person, I suddenly felt much more earnest, knowing there was a little blue box involved.  

I entered for a spot in the race and was drawn... blood, sweat and tears... I was on my way! 

 I began training, and only a few miles in, I knew I was in trouble... I would try to push through the pain, but that would entail not being able to walk the next day because my knee would hurt so bad.  Not so good.  So after having multiple people telling me I was crazy to risk permanent injury, and after a flood of tears (I'm not one to give up easily), I backed off and began looking for someone to take my spot in the race.  Keep in mind while I was dealing with this, other friends were training as well, and we had all planned on doing this together.  Well... tender mercy for me... not so much for Michelle... she got really sick and couldn't train for a good amount of time.  Then her husband had to be out of town for a couple of weeks, that also meant time lost for training.  

Her woes were my rewards!

One day she called me (not anything unusual, we usually talk multiple times a day), and said that she had the BEST idea... why didn't we just walk the 1/2 marathon and get our necklaces?

Genius!

So there you have it... that's why I've called it a jaunt, because you better believe that's exactly what it was.  We walked 13.1 miles and enjoyed every second of it.  I was actually surprised at how many people do walk it... it was one big party all the way.

Getting registered down at Union Square... ask me why we thought it was a good idea to bring all our little rascals along for the ride?  Chaos amongst chaos.

6:00 a.m. = Nausea

Most of  you already know that I'm not really a morning person... I can NOT wake up before 8:00 a.m. without a full on gagging attack.

Good thing the atmosphere was so electric, or I might have been tempted to ditch the race and go back to my cozy bed.  

There was all kinds of fun along the way... 

... nothing like a little gospel singing to get you motivated...

... I HAD to stop and get a picture with the Falcon Maltese

I'm obsessed with the bridge behind us... I get a big grin on my face every time I see or cross it.

The 1/2 way mark... 

... our husbands and kiddiwinks met us for a little hug and kiss...

... Juli made a sign to encourage everyone she knew in the race.

I wasn't kidding when I said we took our sweet time... these cheerleaders were my best friends by the time I was done with them... 

Right before the end, I met back up with Joel and Maggie, and I carried Mags on my shoulders across the finish line.  

(She had the crowd roaring, because she kept crying for her Dadda and reaching for him across the barrier... obviously she wasn't appreciating the moment like she was supposed to... here I was sharing the glory with her, and she didn't want anything to do with it... I don't think it helped that I had a hat on, because she couldn't really see who had her)

Nothing like crossing that line to crazy cheering, men in tuxedos greeting me with "the" blue box wrapped in a white bow, some Jamba juice, and energy boosting granola.

I was told that the Nike Women's Full and 1/2 Marathon is the largest one of it's kind in the world.

At this particular race there were 25 countries represented and all 50 states.  Woot Woot!

The price paid...

(Sorry for queasy stomachs, but I had to document... they were huge!)

The reward gained...