We got the runs!

My story: So last spring, my friend Brittany convinced me to start running. I don't know how or why I said yes because up until that point, I don't think I had ever run one consecutive mile since middle school. So I decided to start small and just start running at the gym before yoga. Starting in the fall, we decided to form a team so we could run the White Rock Marathon Relay! In order to get ready for it, Peter and I ran the Gary Burns Fun Run on October 30. We had fun doing that together and it was a good starting race. So Brittany and I needed 3 other girls to join our team. I convinced my sister-in-law, Elisha to run with us and she brought her friend Veronica from work. I also talked to my friend Becky who had already run a 5k and she joined our team. So we voted on a name and decided on WE GOT THE RUNS! 26.2 miles was divided up into 5 legs. I ran the fourth leg which was 4.5 miles and the longest I had run prior to the race was 4 miles. We were all first time runners and just decided not to worry about making a certain time. We were just in this for fun. Training was pretty miserable because I hate running. Always have and still do. I also started to have knee problems that I had never had before, but I pushed through.

Peter's Story: As we started forming our team, Peter decided he wanted to run as well. He didn't mess around and wanted to do the half marathon! When he went to register for the race, they were sold out so he put himself on the waiting list and didn't hear anything for a month and a half. Exactly one month before the race, he got an email stating that they ran the card on file and he was now registered for the half marathon. SURPRISE! He didn't think he would get in so he wasn't training and now he had one month to get ready to run 13.1 miles. He trained really hard for the next month and his longest run was only 8.75 miles. He was actually able to run the entire half marathon only walking 0.4 miles. I am so proud of him for taking this on and doing such a great job.

The night before the race, our team decided to have dinner together. This was the first time some of us had met!

We woke up at 4:30 that morning and met everybody at the DART station in Dallas. We didn't want to mess with parking and I actually think taking the DART was a good idea.
On the DART on the way to Fair Park:



See that packet to my right in the picture? Peter and I went to pick up our race packets and shirts the Friday before the race. I was responsible for holding on to our bibs, the timing ankle thing, and our pins. We also got like $10 in quarters back from buying our DART tickets that we put in that bag. Well, we stepped off the bus and I left the entire thing there. I remembered right away and went back on the bus. Some guy had just sat in that seat and I was freaking out, literally on my hands and knees looking under the guy's legs. The train started shutting the doors and I had to jump off empty handed. Right as it started to take off, I watched the guy lift up the bag. It was like everything just happened in slow motion. So now we had no bibs, no timing chip, and I was $10 poorer. Luckily we got there really early and we found the right person to talk to. We gave them our best puppy dog eyes and they gave us bibs for another team (the Running Penguins) and we were ready to go.

B & me at the starting line

Freezing before we get on our busses to our exchange points:

I took a bus to my exchange point and waited. We all texted each other when we finished a leg so we could gauge our time of when we would switch legs. So I decided to get out in the FREEZING COLD and try to stretch/go to the bathroom. They way the exchange points work is that they would call out the last 4 numbers on the bibs of the previous person's bib (each team has teh same number on the bib). As I was standing in line waiting for the port-o-potty (the worst part of the race), I hear them call the last 4 numbers on my bib! I thought I still had an extra 25ish minutes! I ran over there but could not find Veronica anywhere. I called Elisha (she was the second leg) and she said she had just handed off about 15 minutes ago and Veronica had to run 6.5 miles. I guess there was another team with the same last 4 numbers but the first two numbers were different. So now I had to get back in line at the port-o-potty and start all over again. It was so cold that I could barely stretch so my muscles were really tight. I found Veronica really easily and took off on my leg. From the first to the last step, my knees hurt so bad. My leg was a really nice run because it was right on White Rock Lake. After the first 2.5 miles, I was running on a main road. It was really hard on my knees because I had 3 inclines but I kept pushing myself. Right when I wanted to take a break and walk, I hear my name from behind me. Ricky (my younger brother) picked up Brittany (first leg), Elisha (second leg), and Veronica (third leg) to meet me at my finishing exchange point and they saw me running! It was awesome because they were right next to me for about a half of a mile. They kept yelling at me and I told them that now I couldn't walk because they were watching me. Everybody running around me kept laughing at us.

That was the best part of my leg because my knees hurt so bad but that totally kept me going. I made it to the exchange point and was greeted by the rest of my team and my brother. My parents were meeting Peter and the end of his race and after I handed off to Becky, Peter met us on the way back to the car! It was such a great feeling to finish my part and to meet Peter who had just finished his half marathon. Then, we headed to the finish line to watch Becky finish for our team.
Right after I finished my leg:



We saw Becky cross the finish and pick up our medals. I am so proud of our team of first time runners and I'm proud of Peter for doing such a great job.
At the finish with our medals, we made it!




In the car on the way to finally eat some lunch:

After the race, we ate at Cafe Brazil (if you haven't been, you must go):


It was awesome to have my parents and brother there meeting all of us at our exchange points cheering us on. We were both in so much pain for the next couple of days but it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am not a runner and I don't like training but I would totally to the relay again. it is just so inspiring to watch people run 26.2 miles. Even more inspiring was seeing the guys in the wheelchairs doing the entire marathon. That being said, I have no desire to ever run that far. I'm proud of myself for doing 4.5 miles :)