Together

While I was running the Emerald City 1/4 marathon on Saturday morning, I had the greatest idea for a blog post. It started out with a compelling sentence that would inevitably draw you, the reader, in for more. Unfortunately it seems that I forgot what I was going to say, but I didn't forget what this would be about, so bear with me.

First, the ever-important background information.  Back in May/June, we signed up for the Emerald City 1/4 marathon (6.55 miles) so that we'd have a reason/incentive to run this summer and keep up our cardio workouts. The training was going well until the 90+ degree heat hit in August. Each week, we said that we'd get back on the wagon, but didn't. At least, we both kept up regular appointments with our trainers, so all was not lost. However, neither one of us ran more than 3 miles in the weeks leading up to the run, so we knew that if we did it, it wouldn't be pretty.

Fast forward to race day. The night before, crazy thunderstorms and a crazy mutt interrupted our good night's sleep. When the alarm went off around 5:15am, we both groaned and then hoped for a torrential downpour that we could use as an excuse to skip the entire event. No such luck, so we put our gear on and trudged out the door. We arrived at the race, just as it began to rain. Both of us were cranky and now we were damp. As we waited under a tent, the race officials announced that the storm cell was passing around us and that the race would go on as scheduled. What surprised me was that instead of being bummed that the race wasn't cancelled, I was relieved.  

As Nick and I walked over and joined our pace groups, the rain actually stopped. Since I planned to finish in around 1:30, he planned to finish around 1:10, so we wouldn't be running the race together. I kissed him goodbye and said I'd see him at the finish, then went and joined the crowd.

The race began and my body felt good. I was jogging slow, trying to pace myself. As I continued, I noticed that my breathing was regular, and my legs felt strong. I kept my pace until around mile 2, when I began to run/walk. Around mile 4, I began to notice my lack of training. My legs felt heavy and my knee was feeling sore, but I continued walking a song, running a song...until I reached mile 6. At mile 6, I knew that it was time to finish. I turned up my power song and told myself that there would be no walking until I reached the end. I rounded the corner and started RUNNING. I saw Nick, cheering me on as I ran as hard as I could. 

When I looked up, I realized that I beat my goal by 2 minutes, finishing in UNDER 1:30. I was proud that I didn't give in, proud that I finished and proud that I even began in the first place. However, that wasn't the best part. The best part was that Nick and I had completed the race together. Although we didn't run side by side, we were together in our decision NOT to skip the race. We both tested the water, but held strong and kept going. The day before and the hours leading up to the start were tough, but once we arrived, we knew that there would be no looking back. Had I said the word, Nick would gladly have gone back to bed and skipped the whole thing. Had he said the word, given me permission, if you will, to skip the race, I would have done it in a heartbeat. But, neither of us did. We went through with it, suffered our punishment from lack of training and did it together.