Marathon Weekend and Pictures

Last weekend in Jacksonville was one of the funnest weekends I've had in a long time. I left Friday morning with 3 friends - Katie, Jenn, and Keri. My boss showed me a route on back roads that he says is faster. Maybe it would be faster if there had not been a GRASS FIRE to slow us down. We got to know some locals in McRae, GA which kept us laughing for hours!

Jeff met us at the hotel in Ponte Vedra Beach. After a yummy dinner, our wild night ended and Katie and I were asleep by 10pm! :) We laughed that as the mom's of 1 year olds - it was a treasured night to be able to fall asleep knowing we wouldn't be awakened by a "Mama!"

Saturday was filled with picking up our race packets and shopping. If I thought about the approaching marathon I would get so nervous that my teeth would chatter. Thus the shopping and of course the constant laughter was perfect and kept me a bit more relaxed.

Katie, me, & Jeff at dinner Friday night

Keri, Katie, & Jenn shopping

Jon, Sarah, and my parents joined us Saturday afternoon. Friday night was my 1st night away from Sarah, and I was so glad to have her and Jon down there Saturday. That night we had a pasta dinner and went to bed early. By about 4am I was awake. I was thankful this marathon started at 8:30am, because often they start as early as 6am. So the morning didn't feel rushed. Keri, Katie, Jenn, Jeff, and I drove to a near by hotel to catch a shuttle to the starting area. Of course the laughter continued! Once we reached the starting area, I said good bye to them. They were all running the half marathon.

Keri, Jenn, Katie & I on race day morning

Jon, Sarah, and my parents were an incredible support crew! I saw them at mile 5, 10, several times around mile 13-15, mile 20, and then Dad joined me around mile 25.5 and ran almost the last mile with me. That was great! The last few miles were HARD, both mentally and physically. Crossing that finish line was incredible! I thought a lot over those last miles if I would ever want to run another marathon (and I was thinking NO at that point!). Yet now, a week later, I say YES let's go! The camaraderie is fantastic, and as the case in Jacksonville, fan support is great! There was not a section of the entire race that there weren't people cheering. That sure makes the miles go by faster!

Starting to feel a bit tired by mile 20!

post race

Sarah was SUCH a trooper! 16 hours in the car in 2 days, plus lots of stroller time as they hurried around to catch me as many times as possible during the race.

I did qualify for the Boston Marathon, and Jon and I decided this is an opportunity not to pass up. So I've registered, and will be joining 25,000 other runners to run the famous Boston Marathon. We're so excited about the big weekend in Boston - Red Socks game, US Olympic Marathon Trials, exploring, and most of all spending a weekend with 2 of our favorite friends, Tim and Jess!