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| At the start of the race |
Incredible. Unbelievable. Fantastic.
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe March 31, 2012.
Christmas, birthday, 4th of July all wrapped into one day.
I got up at 4:30 and found an email from Lee at Ironhorse Formatting, which included the Smashwords, Kindle, and PDF versions of my book. “Whew,” he
said. “That’s a thick book.”
I knew Smashwords would go online immediately so I
took what little time I had and uploaded the manuscript. Then I cried, but it
was a good kind of cry. I quietly said goodbye then got ready to leave for the
race. I had a cup of coffee and oatmeal, showered, and by golly, I
curled my hair (then put it up in a ponytail), put on makeup and jewelry. This was a big day, and I
wanted to look my best.
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Strider Nation
I missed the picture!
Katie is in the green shirt |
I arrived at Keeneland and found several friends, including
Katie Cleveland, my running buddy for the day. At 7:30, my friend Connie Lester
called to tell me she was stuck in traffic. We decided to pray over the phone
instead of risk missing each other. I cried for the second time. Another
good kind of cry.
At 7:45 we lined up for the start. Ken sent me a text asking
where I was. I got out of line and found him for a kiss and a hug, gave him my
jacket and earrings, then got back into place.
The weather was great, I started strong and quickly settled
down to a good pace. At mile 3, I told Katie we had 10 more to go. We had run 10 during training runs
so we knew we had it in us to finish the race. Weird logic, I know, but it seemed to work.
At the
mile 4 hydration station, I had my first of 3 energy gels.
I hit mile 6 and turned on to Old Frankfort Pike knowing the
real challenge would be the next 2 miles. The hills were big and never-ending. My
daughter called at mile 6.5. Running time at that point was 1:35.
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| Mile 7 Hydration Station |
“You’re halfway, Mom," my daughter said. "You can do this.”
Miles 7 and 8 were tough and I felt pressure in my
hip. Nothing bad, but the hills were hard on my body. I finally left Old Frankfort.
Whew! What a run.
I knew the hill at mile 10 would be difficult. I walked every bit of it. It was
like climbing the steps of a 15-story building. That might be under-estimating the
climb. I came out of it with a big smile for the photographer!
At the mile 11 hydration station I got a hug and a dose of
encouragement, took an Advil, then headed on for the last two miles.
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Rick & Cherie Sebree
Running buddies |
I had expected to be dragging at the end, but I wasn’t. My
Sweetie met me with a kiss at the turn before the final stretch to the finish
line. Then I saw my running buddy Rick Sebree. He’d already finished the race,
but ran with me to just short of the finish line.
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Chris and Cyndi
Running buddies |
My sister Mimi, her husband Ned, my brother Bob and his daughter
Taylor, and my friends John, Donna, and Connie were waiting for me all wearing
their Team Kathy t-shirts. Awesome! I was #1436 to finish the race at 3:15:14.
To have been running for only 6 months, I was pleased, and I hit my goal of 3:15.
A woman put a medal around my neck and I grabbed a bottle of
chocolate milk. The moment seemed surreal. Even as a writer, I find it
difficult to describe. I wish I could cross the finish line again and put the
moment on pause so I could take in everything around me - the sights and sounds
and smells, the beating of my heart, the incredible sense of accomplishment. In four
hours, I had published the book of my heart that I had worked on since October, 1997, and I ran a half-marathon.
I capped off the race with 2 Bloody Marys and a cheeseburger.
After a shower and a nap, I draped my medal on the side of my monitor and went to
work. If there’s one thing I learned as a paralegal, it’s that you only get to
enjoy successes for a short time, then you get back to work, and the real work
is ahead of me. I have a full marathon to train for and a second book to finish
and release within the next six months. And, of course, the biggest challenge
of all, marketing! What good is it to write a book if no one reads it!
What a ride! The Lord Jesus was with me every step I took.
Without His power and grace, I couldn’t have even crossed the starting line. God is
awesome. He is awesome indeed.
2 comments:
Fantastic post, Kathy. You made running sound fun! Congrats on the race and the book release!
Laura, it is fun. Crazy at that sounds, it truly is. Somedays I run with my hand lifted, celebrating and thanking God for giving me this passion and desire to be the best version of the person He created me to be.
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