Pain is temporary, but pride is forever

This is the motto that was on the back of a runner's t-shirt during the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon this weekend. We must have took it to heart because by mile 11, I thought I was running to my death bed. My breathing was fine, but my muscles were shutting down. All I could think about was walking, but wouldn't let myself after all I had worked for so far... Must. Keep. GOING!

BUT, in the end, we were triumphant! Autumn, Maddie, Lizzie, Nick, Kathryn and I (among 25,000 others!) all finished in one piece. Kathryn and I ended up finishing the race together at 2:10:28! My goal was 2 hours, but I am extremely happy with this time (which originally we thought was a little less than this, but again, I'm so happy with my results!).

Some of the highlights:

• First and foremost, our adoring fans: Straubs, Steph, James, the Doherty's, Pat and Mary. It takes a diehard to wait on the sidelines for hours just to see someone run past in a matter of seconds. Thank you all!


• Also, a big thank you is on order for Pat, Kathryn's husband, who sacrificed his morning to forge through the incredibly bad traffic to get us to the race. I owe him a drink. Or two. Maybe another trip to the Little Red Hen is in order??


• The beautiful course, especially along Lake Washington.


• At one point everyone was pointing at this bald eagle and I overheard a lady saying, "Oh crap, is everyone pointing out another big hill?!"


• The funny water station volunteers who would be holding out water and yelling, "Bud Light, come and get it" or "Gin and tonic! It's your friend."


• Where the full marathoners split, there was a man yelling, "Come to the dark side" and all I could think was, "Oh, hell no!"


• The MJ tribute in one lady's lawn - complete with a framed picture and blasting Billie Jean.


• The makeshift band with a 10-year old boy taking his job oh-so-seriously.


• A woman in the blue wig or the lady with the sequined cape and shoe covers. There were just some overall fashion disasters going on.


• The mile 12 marker. Damn, it had to have been the longest mile in history.


• Somehow managing to gather enough energy to sprint to the finish line. DONE! (Well, until the next one on October 3rd.)


• Brunch with the Doherty's after the race - as Maddie puts it, we were playing with house money and could eat whatever we wanted. (I may have taken this too literally over the course of the day.)

Kathryn and me - I must say, it doesn't look like we just ran 13.1 miles.

Lizze, Maddie, Autumn and me dazzling the camera with our bright colors.