Coincidences & New Beginnings

I'm going to try to incorporate a couple different things in here, so forgive me if I'm a little scattered! I meant to write on Saturday, but we rearranged the family Easter dinner to Saturday, and then on Sunday Rich and I just had a nice, relaxing day.

Between Rich and I tag-teaming with the flu in the earlier part of the year, and the numerous dental issues I had to deal with during this month, as well as getting used to a new schedule at work (promotion!), and any other random excuse I came up with, my running has been anything but "on schedule" for most of 2013. I started getting back on a plan, fell off track, got back on, fell off again - it's been like that for the last few months. Natalie, one of the running club coaches at work (who is also one of the Biggest Loser organizers) let us know a couple weeks back that there would be a running program starting up at Fleet Feet in West Hartford on 3/30. It's a 10 week program, and Natalie said that work might be able to pay the fee for us (~ $100). I debated back and forth for a little bit, as getting up at 7am on my day off was not on my list of priorities. The upcoming races I've already signed up for do happen to be on that list though, and my ass needs to get training! I thought that signing up for something, and having others rely on me to be there, would be a great way for me to commit to running again. So I agreed, and she said work would foot the bill. Sweet!

So there I was on Saturday morning at 8:45am - at the Fleet Feet store with way more people than I had expected to be there! The program started out with "Week 1" being a 1.5 mile walk/run which I thought would be a piece of cake. We'd alternate 2 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking. About 4 minutes into it, the reality of how much time I'd taken off from running had set in. I was at the back of the pack already and got back into my old mentality. I became the girl I was when I did my first 5k. Why did I decide to do this? I'm too fat to be a runner. I'm not ready for this. Look how far behind I am already! Why did these other people sign up for this group when they're so far ahead of me? They ARE runners! They don't need this! They're not like me. And then I had to give myself the little pep talk. I am better than this bullshit voice in my head that keeps telling me I can't do it. I CAN DO IT! And I HAVE done it! And at that moment, as one of the trainers' iPod's went off signaling that we were switching from walking back to running, I heard "Let Love In" by the Goo Goo Dolls. As weird as this may sound, it let me know that I was right where I needed to be. Meeting the Goo's back in 2011 was something I was able to cross of my bucket list that I NEVER thought would ever happen. And in that same year, I crossed "finish a 5k" off the list too. Something else that I never thought I would do. Those two things went hand in hand - and were the reason behind me getting my latest tattoo in the latter part of that year. It was my symbol that anything is possible, and that I am capable of anything that I set into motion. As I crossed the last street this past Saturday, and headed back to the start/finish at the Fleet Feet store with 2 of the coaches at my side, I was the last runner. But I still knew that I was a runner. And actually, the timer beeped that it was time to walk again, but I ran that last little bit just because I knew I could :)

Today was my day off. It's a little weird having Tuesdays off and not getting 2 weekend days like most people do. But I normally get a lot of errands and stuff done on Tuesdays. I got my run in today like I was supposed to, and then I tackled getting rid of a lot of paperwork that I had been hanging on to. The amount of paper I've accumulated since the injury back in 2009 is astonishing. But my case is finally settled. I am putting a very rough part of my past behind me and moving on. It was tough going through all that stuff - it made the wounds of all I went through feel very fresh. I could feel the sting of my old bosses' lies. I could feel the pressure from each time I received another doctor's bill, wondering if my credit would become even more fucked up with each passing month. I could feel the stabbing pain in my leg as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months into years as I waited for the surgery. But with each piece of paper I tore up, I felt just a little bit freer. Each shred that went in the trash made me feel a little bit prouder of who I've become. Before my injury I don't know that I ever would have dreamed of doing a 5k, a marathon, or even a lap around the block. Everything we go through teaches us something, and I learned a lot about who I am and what I am capable of over the last 4(ish) years. When I arrive on Fleet Feet this coming Saturday morning, even if I'm still at the back of the pack, I will be proud that I'm not sitting on the couch and that I am doing something I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do. I will be proud of who I am, what I have accomplished, and all that lies ahead of me.

Looking back at 2011... Looking forward to 2012

This blog is mostly for the purpose of everything health/running related, but since I have yet to start my 2nd blog site, I thought I'd give a general end of last year/beginning of this year post here! Looking back at 2011, a lot of awesome things happened. I have spent too many years in the past feeling sorry for myself and for all that I didn't accomplish in the previous 364 days. On New Year's Eve, I thought a lot about the things that happened in 2011, and for once, it left me with a positive feeling.

- At this point, 99% of you are aware of the surgery and the 5k's I did last year. All of that was HUGE for me! I won't go into too much detail about it, since most of it has already been said. But it truly was the first time I can really say that I set my mind to something and gave it my all and was extremely happy with all of the results I got out of it. I followed my Dr's ordres to a T after the surgery - everything from the 2 weeks I had to sit on my ass and barely move at all, to the massaging of the scar tissue, to the sunblock anytime I went outside, to actually using my leg once it was time to do so! I honestly couldn't have asked for any better results than what I received out of that surgery. Dr. Silverstein was amazing, but I must say, that I did a pretty amazing job with it myself. And again, the 6 5k's and the Manchester Road Race.

- In July, I met the Goo Goo Dolls. This was also huge for me. If you know me, you know how much I love them and how much their music means to me. Winning the meet and greet was another example of making my dreams come alive. I put meeting them on my bucket list, as I sat on my ass recovering in January, and 6 months later, it actually happened!

- I turned 30! A lot of people freak out about getting a year older, especially when they hit a "big" number - 30, 40, etc. I knew when I did that first 5k in March, that when I turned 30 there were only bigger and better things to come for me. So far, I'd say my 30's have been pretty kick ass!

- I turned 30, Part 2 - My BFF Jamie came to surprise me! She and Rich had been planning the surprise for my birthday since (I think) January. Those two are two of my favorite people in the entire world. They are the people that I can go to about absolutely anything and everything. They understand all that I say and what I don't say. It's hard to have a best friend who you can text all the time, but never get to see. Jamie lives in NJ, and even though it's only about 3 hours away, we are lucky if we get to see each other once a year because of both of our schedules. To have the doorbell ring that day after coming home from work, and see her standing on the other side when I opened it... I can't even put that feeling into words :)

- I turned 30, Part 3! As the final gift of my "30 things for turning 30" basket that my sister put together for me, I got 2 tickets to see NKOTBSB! And not just any 2 tickets... FRONT ROW TICKETS!! I had wanted to see the New Kids for as long as I can remember. Whenever they toured in CT when I was little, I was away at camp, or we didn't have the money for the tickets. This was like a dream come true for me, 20 years later! It was another complete surprise for me, and for Siara as well, who went to the concert with me. For some reason, my sister didn't want to hear me scream for 2 1/2 hours :) The Backstreet Boys are one of Siara's all-time favs, so it was pretty effing awesome that the both of us got to see 2 of our favorite bands performing together at the same time.

- In August, Rich and I went to Myrtle Beach for 4 days. It was our 3rd year going there. His parents were going to be there for a BBQ festival (they live about 4 hours away from there) and Rich threw together an amazing last minute trip for us to get down to the beach! For 2 broke people, one of whom was unemployed at the time, this was huge for us! I think that because of that, as well as having complete mobility after the surgery/recovery, this was probably my favorite trip there so far. We had great weather the whole time, and some awesome drinks :) I will never hear "Sweet Caroline" ever again and not think of the last night we were there at the Red Parrot with the Voodoo Bucket & the dirty martinis!

- I got a new job! Technically I didn't start it until January, 2012, but I was hired on in December (with a huge thanks to Ismarie!). I was laid off in June from Iron Mountain, and it was a horrible struggle to try to find something new. I know I am fully capable of a job that a job that pays much more than this job does, but in this economy, I will take anything I can get! I have worked at some really shitty places in the past, but so far I must say that I truly enjoy going to work at TicketNetwork every day. The hours/days are tough, since it's opposite what Rich works, but as far as the atmosphere and the people there, I can't really complain at all.

I'm sure I could continue on with more awesome things that happened, but I think this will do for now :) I'm hoping I'm not forgetting anything major though! So, looking on to 2012....

Nearly everything you see and hear in the media in the weeks surrounding New Year's Day has to do with a resolution. The radio is talking about it. The posts on Facebook are talking about it. Your friends are talking about it! Everyone wants to know what it is that you're going to do different this year. For once, I'm not making any New Year's resolutions. I'm going to stick with the same thing that I did in 2011. It worked for me last year, and it's going to work for me this year too. Because I am determined, because I have motivation, and because I CAN!

In 2011 I made a conscious decision to stop making excuses and start making things happen. And thank God, for once it finally worked! And when it worked once, I wanted it to keep on working. I knew that I was capable of things that I had never before thought possible. I just had to put in the effort! My main goals for 2012 are for my running and for my finances. In addition to the numerous races that I want to do locally, I am also setting a huge goal at being able to afford a trip to Chicago and to run the marathon there in October. It will be a huge test for me both physically and financially - 2 things I have never really had a great grasp on through my entire life. In addition, I also want to try to eliminate as much debt as I possibly can. I want to owe less going into 2013 than I did going into 2012. I am not officially making any weight loss goals for 2012. In 2011, I made a significant change in my weight just by being more active and sticking to the running regimen. I believe that the same will happen in 2012; by continuing to be physically active and training for the marathon, I cannot imagine possibly weighing anymore at the end of the year than at the start of it. I am pretty excited to see what I look like a year from now though :)

As always, I welcome any of your comments. I also encourage you to feel free and comfortable to share any of your accomplishments from last year and goals for 2012!

"Ain't seen the best of me yet..." - Goo Goo Dolls

Tentative 2012 Races!

I put together a list of races that I'd like to do for 2012. The list is tentative, mostly depending on money and how my saving for the Chicago Marathon in October is going. But hopefully by this time next year, I will have completed not only a 5k and the 4.748 mile (let's just call it an 8k) Thanksgiving/Manchester Road Race, but also a 10k (or 2), a half marathon (or 2!), and a marathon!

This is what I've got so far:

January - ?

February - ?

March
O'Hartford 5k, Hartford, CT - 3/18/2012

April
Simsbury River Run 10k, Simsbury, CT - 4/29/2012

May
East Granby Ridge Run 5k, East Granby, CT - 5/19/2012

June
Amica Iron Horse 1/2 Marathon, Simsbury, CT - 6/3/2012

July - ?

August
Old Wethersfield 10k, Wethersfield, CT - 8/26/2012

September
Surftown Half Marathon, Misquamicut State Beach, Westerly, RI - 9/16/2012

October
CHICAGO MARATHON! Chicago, IL - 10/7/2012
Chester College Family Weekend 5k, Chester, NH (Depends on the date)

November
Manchester Road Race 4.748 miles, Manchester, CT - 11/22/2012

December
Hot Chocolate Run for Safe Passage 5k, Northampton, MA - 12/2/2012

Be proud of your achievements!

It feels like it's been forever since I've blogged! I've thought about what to write for about a week or so now, but just couldn't get any of my thoughts to really make sense. When I went out for my run last night, I tried to work on this. I came to the conclusion that it is much easier to write about a horrible experience and things that I need to change than it is to give myself credit for actually having a good running experience! To be totally honest, I've had 3 REALLY GOOD experiences lately! It almost seems ridiculous that I haven't written about any of them!

The last race I wrote about was the 4th of July 5k in Enfield. Ugh. What horrible memories. That is definitely one that I WILL NOT be doing again! I didn't participate in any races in August (it was rescheduled due to Hurricane Irene) or September (I think because of our vacation?). The next race I took part in was the 2nd Annual Chester College 5k in Chester, NH. This is where my niece Siara goes to school. My sister (Siara's mom), Rich and I decided we were all going to do this. It would be my sister's 2nd 5k, my 5th, and who can keep track of Rich at this point! I found it a little difficult to plan for a race that was such a distance away. It takes a little over 2 hours to get there, but we obviously left some extra time to allow for any traffic, etc. Hydration is usually one of my biggest issues, and it's hard to drink enough that you're hydrated, but then be in a car for 2 hours! My sister and I had taken a drive up to the school to visit Siara a week before the race and while we were up there we took a drive of the course. Wow! This was going to be hilly! We were determined though! Then a few days before the race I looked online and the course had changed from the previous years' course, so it was going to be a complete surprise when we actually ran it! There were actually only 67 of us who participated. This was by far the smallest race I've done! It was an out and back, which I kind of liked. I knew as I was going out for a mile and a half what the next mile and a half would be like. I really wanted to come in under 50 minutes, as my PR at this point was 56:48. More than anything I just wanted to get a new PR. I'd had so many disasterous experiences up until this point that I just really needed to have a positive one. I didn't even care that I was the last person anymore. I'd been last before, and it had pissed me off, but I knew that I was doing something special and beneficial, both for me and for others, at that race. In the end, as I came in last...

Chester College Family Weekend 5k - 10/22/11 - 52:54 PR!

I kept up with my original goal of doing one race per month on November 24th. Rich, Ralph and I signed up to do the 75th Annual Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving! This race is a huge deal, and very closeby! At this point, I think the biggest race I had done was with a couple thousand people at the O'Hartford 5k back in March. This race had a cap of 15,000 people!! It was going to be crazy!!

Also, up until this point the most I had done was 3.1 miles. This race was going to be 4.748 miles! And not 4.748 flat miles - 4.748 hilly miles!! The whole thing isn't actually hilly, but it takes place on 4 different streets in a big square, and the 2nd street is a HUGE hill! I'm not exaggerating. It was comforting to know that after I battled that hill it was all downhill and straight from there. A lot of people dress up for this one. I was mostly concerned with making sure I'd be warm enough because I really just wanted to finish the damn thing! Rich and Ralph dressed up though:

There were so many people that the start line was backed up for what seemed like forever! We parked at Ralph's place and walked down to the start line from there. Again, THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE! Racers, spectators, animals, kids, strollers, costumes, props - just so much going on!! We were stuck somewhere on the side as they sang the National Anthem and couldn't get through if our lives had depended on it! As the gun was about to go off, we snuck under a side barricade that someone held up for us, somewhere around the 35ish minute finish mark. I couldn't drive that route in 35 minutes let alone think about running it in that time! It surprisingly only took me about 2 and a half minutes to cross the start line, but after I'd gone under the barricade I had no idea where Rich and Ralph were anymore. I knew I was going to have to walk most of the 2nd street, so I told myself that no matter what, I had to continue to run the entire length of the 1st street, no matter how bad I wanted to quit! I didn't let myself down either - and it felt good! The hill on the other hand DID NOT feel good! It was horrible!! My calves hurt, and I was actually starting to feel hot, even though it was somewhere in the 30's out! I just kept telling myself that I would do so much better after I got to the top of that street though! Another motivating factor was that when I had reached the 1st mile split I was around a 16 minute mile, which for me is AWESOME! As I got to the top of the hill, I felt really accomplished! I still had about half the race to go, but I knew that the hardest part was over. I continued on by alternating running and walking, playing more mind games with myself. As I mentioned earlier, there were a ton of spectators, and it wasn't just at the start line. The spectators lined the entire race course! It feels so good to have so many people out there clapping and cheering for you! And it was kind of nice to be one of the slower ones and having had started towards the front - everyone was passing me and I could check out all the cool costumes! I must add that the race definitely had it's share of assholes. The pushing in the first third of the race or so was horrible. I got elbowed so many times, unnecessarily. Yes, it was crowded, but you know going into it that with 15,000 people you are not going to have a terrific race! I was really worried about some of the kids that were running, thinking that they might get trampled! It was a big drunk race also. People running with beers, carrying coolers of jello shots, people HAMMERED on the sidelines - at 10am!! It really got to me somewhere around mile 3 1/2 when some guy around 30 years old yelled out that we "needed to work on our running so we wouldn't be so slow next year". I yelled back at him, "MAYBE NEXT YEAR YOU'LL GET OUT AND DO IT INSTEAD OF YELLING FROM THE SIDELINES!" It just goes back to that old saying, "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." Anyway... I tried to keep positive! When I got to the 3 mile mark, I had noticed that I was right on time with what my PR was at the last 5k, so I was happy with that. I was pretty tired as I got around 3-3 1/2. I'd run, I'd walk, I'd run, I'd walk. I also tried to give high 5's to all the kids on the sidelines who had their hands out. I hope that maybe in some small way I can inspire at least one kid to take up running in the future! I also played a game with myself that for every kid that had his hand stuck out, that I would high 5 them, and then I would run a little bit. No matter how tired my legs felt. If I gave a high 5, I would run. And I did. And before I knew it, that 4.748 miles didn't even seem as long as it really was! As I turned back down Main Street, I knew that Rich and Ralph would be somewhere on the sides waiting for me to pass. My 3 goals before I started the race were to 1. Finish! 2. Finish under 1:40, and 3. Finish under 1:30. As I came down the last little bit, I passed the guys and gave them both high 5's and I finished in...

75th Annual Manchester Road Race (4.748 miles) - 11/24/11: 1:22:57 PR!

The last one I'm going to write about here is the 5k that Rich, Mandy, and I just did on December 4th. It was the Hot Chocolate Run in Northatmpton, MA to benefit Safe Passage. Rich did this one last year and it was CRAZY! It was the biggest race I had seen at that point. I remember how freezing cold it was as I waited for him and was so thankful that he was a fast runner :) It was the first run that had gotten him back into running. I remember him telling me last year that I had to do that one with him this year. At that time I had no idea where I'd be after the surgery the following month, and the hills in NoHo scared me so much that I never thought I'd be able to do that! This year was all about doing new things (AND SUCCEEDING!) so I signed up for it and really wasn't THAT scared, especially after I knew the hill that I would be battling at that Manchester race :) I liked the cause that this race supported also. Safe Passage is an organization that helps women and children effected by domestic violence: http://www.safepass.org/

They increased the capacity from 5,000 to 5,500 for this year, with a separate start time for walkers and for runners. We wanted to wear some crazy costumes for this one as it's another big costumed event, but time and money became an issue. We threw together some cool outfits though:

This photo is deceiving though. It looks like Rich was the most dressed out of all of us. He was actually the least dressed - he ran in his Santa hat and Santa shorts! The organization hasn't posted their photos yet, but when they do, I'm sure they'll have a pic or two of Rich running shirtless (in 30ish degree weather!), and I'll be sure to add it!

I again wanted to try to come in under 50 minutes, but I really just wanted to give it my best shot. Like I said, NoHo is pretty hilly. The race starts out with a short, very steep, hill right in front of you. Once you get to the top, it's flat for a good portion. I was again pretty happy when I got to the 1st mile mark and I was around 16 minutes. I had a shot at coming in under 50 if I kept that up, but I knew that I'd have more hills ahead of me. I was a little disappointed with some of the organization of the race. The trailing car and the trailing police car weren't actually "trailing" - they passeed those of us at the end and stayed in front of about 20-30 of us, which I thought was rather unsafe. It's tough to try to do your best at a run when you not only have to worry about form and pains and the normal running stuff, but also cars driving past you when you're not facing them because of how the race route is designed! The course was also very scarce for supporters/spectators except at the start/finish line. I kept my headphones on pretty much the entire time. I did pretty decent for the 2nd mile and geared up for the last mile where the other 2 hills were. Ugh. It's one thing to have hills at the beginning of a race and be done with them, and another to have the hills at the end of the race! They were pretty killer, at least for me. But because I knew the route ahead of time, it was comforting to know that once I got up and over them I would be golden! I got to the top somewhere around 48 minutes, but didn't have enough in me to finish it out in 2 minutes. The calves were tired, cars were going by at this point so we had to run (against opposite foot traffic) on the sidewalk, and I had to RUN THROUGH A BAND! I can only imagine what I looked like going down that huge hill that we had to run up at the start, but the band took up the whole length of the side street! I ran through part of it, over to the side, jumped up onto the sidewalk, down off the sidewalk, and booked it down through that finish line!

Despite the hills and some of the disorganization that came with being one of the slower people, it was actually a pretty cool race! Mandy actually KILLED her previous PR! Rich kicked ass, as usual :) And he told me when we got back home later that it meant a lot to him that I did that race with him this year :) As for me...

8th Annual Hot Chocolate 5k - 12/4/11: 51:45.69 PR! 



ING Hartford Marathon

The last couple weeks I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas to arrive! Rich was going to do his first marathon on Saturday, 10/15, and it felt like it took forever for that day to get here. Every day was like an eternity! I asked him numerous times how he was feeling in the 2 weeks or so leading up to it. If you've ever met Rich, you know we're a lot of the same, but a lot different at the same time. I'm more outspoken, to say the least, and Rich is much more reserved and not very talkative. It seemed he got more and more excited as the days went on, but lets not forget that we have different meanings of excitement. He was ready to just get out there and run, not talk about it for 2 weeks. One night he asked me how I was feeling about the marathon. I wasn't even sure why he really asked me. I told him I was anxious. I couldn't wait to be there - to see him start, to see him finish! And then I said, "a little jealous." He responded, "wow... that's honest." And it was. As proud as I was of the feat he was about to tackle - and conquer - I still wished I was at the level that he was at so that I could get out there and do it with him. If I had gotten off my ass years ago and started making the improvements in myself that I'm making now, I could've been there too. But that's water over the bridge and we are where we are. And if I couldn't get out there and run, I knew for damn sure I was going to give him all the support I could! I read for hours and hours and days and days about suggestions, recommendations, stories that other marathoners had told about their first marathon or their 50th marathon. I passed on every little bit of info I could - even if it didn't mean much to him this year, I knew it would stick with me for when I eventually got to that point.

Thursday night we went to the Expo at the XL Center in Hartford to pick up his bib. You could pickup on Thurs., Fri., or Sat. morning, but we figured that the sooner we got everything straight, the easier Saturday morning would be. Plus, they were giving out free beer between 5-6pm on Thursday night. 'Nuff said - Rich was there!

He got his t-shirt, his bib number, and we walked around looking at different booths. We ran into a woman who used to come into Mobil years ago when we worked there (she was giving out free granola bars). I also ran into a guy that my mom used to work with years and years ago. Another bonus was that Rich was able to pick up the Gu he wanted to bring with him on race day and a stick of BodyGlide, saving us a trip to Dick's on Friday after he got out of work. We walked by a mannequin wearing an ING Hartford Marathon sweatshirt and a medal around its neck. I pointed it out to Rich. He said, "Oh that's the medal that the winners get?" I said, "That's the medal that YOU are going to get!" He had no idea every finisher got a medal!

In true Rich fashion, all of his stuff was laid on out Friday night - highly recommended for an easy Saturday morning! Bib number was pinned to his shirt. Shorts, socks, sneakers were out. Gu. BodyGlide. KT Tape. Not sure if I'm forgetting anything. Also, the tuna casserole for carbo-loading worked out really well! Saturday morning we were up at 4am so we could leave by 6. You never would have known he was about to run his first marathon!

The drive to Hartford was smooth - that's probably the first and last time I'll ever say that! It was a little bit of a chilly walk to where the start line was. We had just over an hour until the gun. I know he just wanted to get going and hated waiting around. Better to be there early than late though. The people started crowding in and I couldn't believe how packed Hartford was! This was by far the biggest event (outside of a concert) that I had ever been to. It was AMAZING! We people watched for the most part until it was time for him to run. I love looking at all the cool outfits people put together. One of our favs was a guy (with a CRAZY moustache!) in a t-shirt that said "Where the ___ is the finish line?" Rich wants that shirt :) I left him around 7:45 as he got in with the crowd and I made my way to the opposite side of the start line so I could see him take off.

They played a recording mentioning 11 of their highlighted runners, did the National Anthem, and then it was go time!

The runners just kept coming and coming and coming! I spotted Rich as he ran by, but he hadn't noticed me. I started to cry a little. I couldn't believe my baby was running a marathon! As soon as all the runners had gone by, I hiked my ass down to the Mile 5 point. I didn't think I'd have a chance to get to any other spot on foot to catch him, but figured out I could make it there and still have PLENTY of time to make it back to watch him cross the finish. I got there in time to see a good majority of the half-marathoners (who had split from the full around Mile 1) pass by. It was about 5 or 10 minutes until the marathon leaders ran by. It was barely 25 minutes and these people were already at Mile 5! Little by little, more marathoners were coming by and I clapped and cheered for all of them. It was so overwhelming being there! The smiles I got, the people saying thank you - these people were running 26.2 miles and they were thanking ME! It was so inspiring seeing these people of all shapes and sizes out there running. Just under 50 minutes, I saw Stephanie (actually, she saw me!), a girl I had gone to high school with who I just connected back up with in the last few months or so. She ran from the other side of the street over to me to give me a high 5! This girl had to run another 21 miles still and she was using up energy to give me a high 5! I was so happy to see her! I knew her pace was just a little faster than Rich's normal pace, so it wouldn't be long until I saw him. I had my eyes out for his bright green shirt like my life depended on it. And then I saw him! Ahhhhhh!!!



Rich didn't think he'd see me again until the finish line, so I was happy to be able to surprise him there. He smiled when he saw me, and gave me a high 5 too as he ran past. It felt so good to see him out there in the middle of the race :) I knew it would be at least another 3 hours until he finished, and I was just going to be waiting around anyway, so I stood there and clapped for every other marathoner that walked and ran past me. All that clapping though, my arms HURT! But I told myself that if these people could get out there and run 26.2 miles, I could deal with the pain for an hour or so of clapping. I know from personal experience how good it feels to have someone cheering for you, especially when you're at the end of the pack. I've been there many times, when most people have gone back inside or headed to the finish and you're left with no one out there but yourself. I made sure that every one of those people got the support they deserved!

I walked back towards Bushnell park, talked to Rich's brother to give him an update, and walked around where the finish expo/celebration was. I had plenty of time to kill! Then I made my way to the finish line. I watched numerous half-marathoners finish. I saw the winning male AND female marathoners finish - and I'd like to add that the winning woman was running her FIRST marathon! I saw people collapse. I saw people cry. I saw people puke. A lot. I was as close to the "after" side of the finish line as you could get - right on the fence. I told Rich I'd be there at the finish and I had no intention of leaving until he crossed that line! When it hit 4 hours, I knew it was getting close. Rich had said he'd finish in around 4:20/4:30 as long as all went well, but it could be much longer if anything happened. At 4:15 I saw Stephanie finish - YAY!

Rich was only about 4 minutes behind her when I saw them at the Mile 5 mark, so I figured he should be there not long after her. 4:20 came and went. 4:30 came and went. 4:40 came and went. Even with a few port-a-potty stops along the way, he should've been there now. I thought for a second that something had gone wrong. I was supposed to get texts at 13.1, 17, and 20 to tell me where he was (not from him, from the organizers), but I never got a single one. I was worried for a minute, but told myself I had to keep positive. I kept the camera on the whole time, afraid I'd run the battery out, but afraid that if I turned it off he'd get to the finish line and I wouldn't catch it. And then, just a few minutes before 5 hours, there he was!

YAY!!! I can't put into words how happy I was at that moment! I pushed my way through a couple people next to me (and kind of into the elite area) so that I could get to him. He walked over to me and I hugged and kissed him. And then started crying :) I noticed him limping though as he walked over to me, so after what seemed like the longest hug ever I asked what had happened. It was his hip - an issue he had a couple months back when he was walking home from work one day that had disappeared up until Mile 18. He said he started to feel it around Mile 17, really felt it at Mile 18, and knew at that point that he shouldn't push it. So he walked (super fast!) from Mile 18 to 26.2, and did a quick run just to get under the finish line!

I met him around the side to take his picture and help him hobble over to his free beer (pretty much his whole motivation to make it from 18 to 26.2!). The guy at the Ten Penny Ale booth where Rich got his free beer had a severe lack of personality to say the least. He was actually pretty douchey for someone who was greeting people who had just run 26.2 miles! It's great that you're giving something away for free, but you're still promoting a business dude. Along with his free beer, there was a hot dog table in the beer garden for the runners to get some free grub. As I helped Rich make his way over there (through the Bushnell Park mud I must add, after the downpours the night before), the woman told us that there were no buns left, just hot dogs. WTF?!?! So he got 2 hot dogs and put mustard on 'em and ate 'em with his hands. I suppose it's better than only having buns left and running out of dogs, but still! Also, the port-a-potties in the park were pretty scarce, and the ones that we did find were pretty full. I'd say that the beer dude, the hot dog buns, and the port-a-potties were really the only big complaints of the day though. It was a very well organized event, and Rich said the most well-organized event he'd ever done.

In the end, he finished with a time of 4:56:24 - still under 5 hours! An AWESOME time for his first marathon! Next year he will run one with me. For now he's working on recovery, and lots of eating :) Congratulations to him and everyone else who finished the ING Hartford (full and half) Marathon - and everyone else who sets out to conquer a goal!