Shout for Joy: My First Marathon

Denver Rock'n'Roll Marathon

Sunday, October 17, 2010
Faithful Soles Walking Team

m-a-r-a-t-h-o-n
From the Greek meaning you seriously expect me to keep moving,
of my own accord, for 26.2 miles, and somehow, enjoy it? Game on!

We've been training FOREVER for this marathon. Bob's 2nd, Ron's 5th, and a first for Me, Sarah, Andrea, and Mark. Now, gumption and chutzpah will only get you so far - one's body can only do so much!

Last week's blood sugar crash really scared me, making me wonder if I'd make it 2 miles, much less 26. Training while teaching 8 classes a day for 12 weeks was challenging, too. So, prayer it was. Lots and lots and lots of prayer!

Being walkers in a non-walker-friendly marathon, we knew we wouldn't be able to meet the 2nd checkpoint (we had to be at Mile 17.2 by 11am or we couldn't do the entire marathon), so we started early. EAR. LY. As in, we began our race at 5:13 am. Ouch.

Good morning, Campers. It's time for your marathon.
(And mind you, this is the time I headed OUT the door.)

You never really know what kind of characters
you'll run into at 5am on the streets of Denver.

Not sure what was creepier - the cold and total lack of light,
or Bruce following us, street by street, headlights glowing.

"The sun will come out...." Eventually.

SPRONK SIGHTING!

Bruce had this uncanny ability to quickly park the car and calmly plant himself in his lawn chair every few miles. It was awesome! We'd be walking along, and suddenly, SPRONK! What a guy!

If I was going to have to miss all three worship services this past Sunday, then I certainly was going to be extra-aware of the presence of God during our marathon!

Um...yeah. Did we mention it was the Rock'n'Roll Marathon?

The first runner to fly past us,
40 minutes into the official race.
Show off.

Autumn in Colorado. Love it.

We're blurry because we're moving soooooo fast.
PALM CROSS!

Sue Ann and Lindsey suddenly appeared!
They had finished running (yes, running!)
the Half Marathon! WOOHOO!

Some serious discussion time built into 7+ hours of walking!

LOVE that Parker! Happy boy!

The RTG

Mark and Andrea, all thumbs up!

Love those cheerleaders along the way! Parker, with Bob's wife (Jan) and sister, who, brought a VUVUZELA (you know, those crazy horns from the World Cup soccer games this summer?!)! It was awesome! I can honestly say there were NO OTHER vuvuzelas along the route. She blew it the first time, and barely anything came out. Next time we spotted her, she had clearly practiced! By the time we finished, she had the strongest vuvuzela lungs out there! Bless them for cheering!

RTG on the phone. Surprising, I know.

Survive and THRIVE!

On Mile #20-something, we walked past the home
where Bob and Jan were married! Go figure!

Still moving. I hadn't walked more than 21 miles before,
so seeing the double deuces was pretty crazy for me!

Honestly, the colors of the day were stunning!

Mile 23: YUCK. Hated this mile. Just about did all of us in. Seemed 10 times longer than all the other miles, swung out WAY over smelly roads and highways, completely unprotected us from the sun, and was uphill/downhill. Tons of fun....UGH. We saw the most struggling runners during this mile, and had all we could do to keep each other's spirits up. P.R.A.Y.E.R.

The END of Mile 23. Hope.

Still 'smiling' - well, conscious, at least.

Cheering on RTG and Mark, who were coming up the other side. Sarah and Andrea were right behind us, so the 6 of us were together for a brief moment during this wretched mile.

Back on track by Mile 25 - lots of water, texting, and hearing an encouraging voice on the other end of the phone (God bless you, Ruthi!)  will certainly help you re-center and charge your spirits! Almost there!

Oh. My. Goodness. Is that seriously the last
part of Mile 26? Don't mess with me...

Um...Sue Ann?

We will note at this time that Sue Ann has had time to go home and shower between HER race finish and OUR race finish. I think she also had time to do 3 loads of laundry, her taxes, grocery shopping for the week, donated some blood... Ok, so it took us a bit longer to finish...she's fast!

Seriously, having people to cheer us on
was AMAZING! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

THE FINISH LINE! We all caught up to each other at Mile 26 and walked the final 0.2 miles together. I was sooooo happy to be alive at that point, and had a total burst of energy! Pretty sure I was skipping the last part of that marathon! SO proud of my teammates! We did it! 7 hours 29 minutes and 18 seconds.

The Faithful Soles!
Bob, Mark, Sarah, Bren, Andrea, Ron

Congratulations, Soles!

The medal I will be wearing for the next month.

The verse I kept close: Isaiah 40:31.
"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Amen!