- The Weather - the forecast called for 40% Chance of Rain-yikes!
- What to wear - short sleeve/long sleeve? Pants/shorts? Hat/no hat?
- Potty stops - I wanted to be able to run the whole time without stopping - enough said
- Wake up time - we were not sure how far the start was from our hotel-nerve racking!
Needless to say I was a nervous wreck, a worry wart - call it what you want. The truth is though, I had prepared. I had been running since the summer. We'd run in 100 degree weather and in 40 degree weather. We'd given up numerous Saturday mornings and week nights away from our families. I know the thing I feared the most was the fear of the unknown. But boy, what a race we had.
I can honestly say that race was one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done and I give God all of the glory. The race went close to perfect and I don't mean how I ran - I just mean the experience itself.
Our hotel ended up being extremely cute and quaint. What a blessing it was - more importantly though was the fact that we could walk out of the hotel and strait to our starting corral. It could not have been more perfect. There was no standing in line for a port-o-potty; no waiting in the cold for an hour before our race; and no fighting our way through the crowds. We literally walked out of our hotel and started the race - how awesome!
One of the biggest blessings was NO rain! That's right - the weather, although chilly at first, was perfect running weather. I cannot tell you how blessed we were for that! The weather stayed perfect all 13 miles!
We were also blessed by finding the perfect running attire - Philippians 4:13 running shirts.
In fact, we had people come up to us during the race and tell us that our shirts were keeping them going! How amazing! We were able to be a witness in our wardrobe!
I cannot tell you how many little things went right for us, from the restaurant we ate at the night before, to the awesome music mix we listening to during the race (thanks Pastor Cole), to our friends showing up to cheer us over the finish line (thanks Carson family), to Vanessa being able to facebook updates and photos during the race (gotta love technology). Oh - and no potty stops needed!
The biggest blessing of the weekend was my awesome running buddy Vanessa. Not only did she allow me to train with her, but she provided me with constant encouragement, advice, friendship and support! I was blessed to be able to cross the finish line with her!
Yesterday was one of those days that I feel like I really could feel the prayers that were being lifted up on our behalf. Thank you to those who prayed and supported us along the way.
Our next race might not go as smoothly, but it was wonderful to see all of our hard work pay off! I've already been asked if my next stop is a full Marathon - we shall see! After yesterday - I feel like anything is possible!
