Do you ever have one of those mornings when you wake up and wonder, what the heck did I get myself into? I had one of those on Saturday as I prepared to run in the Inaugural Monument 1/2 Marathon.
The morning regret was actually the culmination of second guessing my sanity. I started to question it when I received these lovely gifts:
Were they trying to butter me up to make sure they were in my will?
Second-guessing and all I made it out the door.
 |
| My speedy sisters-in-law |
Yes, that is our hair blowing in the wind...to the tune of 30 mph gusts. Welcome to Western Nebraska!!!
 |
| My awesome co-workers. Go Team ESU 13.1 |
 |
| As someone pointed out to me...good thing we aren't ESU 26!! |
And the race started. Honestly, at this point, I can't tell you if it was a bang, someone waving a flag or some other creative way of getting 300 people to move. I just remember following the crowd.
 |
| The view from about 1 minute into the run and about 15 minutes from the start of the first rain storm. |
I can honestly say that I was NOT excited about having people I know cheering us on. I really didn't want them to see me looking like a sweaty mess who was close to death. However, once I was actually running and they were there to cheer us on, I was wishing they lined the whole race!! Thanks to all who came out in the "beautiful" weather!
 |
| Love my ESU 13 friends! |
 |
| Mason's sign |
 |
| My cute cheering section having a donut break...if I would have known, I would have made them bring me one!! |
 |
| The beautiful view along the canal roads |
 |
| Water, please!!!! A MUCH needed aid station. |
 |
| Headed to the finish line after the ????th rain storm. We had an escort. |
 |
| We survived!! Rachel was wisely staying warm in the car with the kids at this point. |
I've been told that if all it took to get it to rain was to have the marathon, then we should have one every weekend. So, I guess all of us running yesterday deserve a little pat on the back or even a small commission for helping end the drought in Western Nebraska. OK, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but who knows!?!?! It might be the beginning of a good thing.
When I told people that I was going to do this, I wasn't even sure that I was going to be able to do it. I got lots of "I didn't know you were a runner" (I wasn't one and I'm not sure I can be qualified as that.) I also got several "You??"s. Yup. I'm a sucker for punishment!! Now that I have done it, the next question is will I do another? Hmm....not sure. It was a great accomplishment and I'm glad I did it. We will see what the future holds.
