Thank You Cheerleaders!

If you've followed my blog at all, you know I signed up to participate in the BMO Harris Phoenix Half-Marathon. My sisters, brothers-in-law, and a nephew participated too. My one sister and her husband are multi-Ironman finishers (Ah-Ma-Zing!) and my other sister and her husband and son have done this before as well (again, amazing). My other sister and husband couldn't make it this

Go Charlie Brown!
Look at all that trash the
volunteers had to clean up.
Thanks team!

year, but we're hoping for next year! And maybe my hubs can join then too.

I told them originally that I would participate with the caveat that I was not running. I just don't enjoy that (and neither, really, does my body). Some people's bodies are meant for that. Not mine. And I'm so OK with that. I started walking almost daily in preparation, including some running during each mile. I was pretty confident that I would be able to walk/jog the course in less than four hours. My sister and I finished in 3:06:28! I was super excited about that.

Enough on that. I want to thank everyone who came out and cheered us on. People I knew, people I didn't, older people, kids in strollers, kids holding signs. It was incredible. I mean that. It made me cry more than once that they would be so generous with their time to come cheer people on during the race. It really made a difference. Walk/jogging a half-marathon is an accomplishment I'm excited about. It took preparation and determination. But the joy came from the people. The people we raced with, the people who volunteered at the water/gatorade stations, and the wonderful people who cheered us on as we ran past. THANK YOU!

And a huge thank you to my sister that walked with me who was my biggest cheerleader and encouraged me the whole way.