June 13, 2010 pt 2

My race was smooth. Like buttah. Mile 1. Done. Mile 2… this is easy. Mile 2.5 ish.. I see my friends. HOLY CRAP.. not only do I see my friends.. I HEAR MY FRIENDS. Steph,TC,Danielle,Heather,Jasmine,Hollis,Jen,Gina all there rooting us on. Cheering for Sandy, for Tom ( Jens hubby ) and ME ME ME! Signs. Cowbells. TOTAL EXCITEMENT. It fueled me. After running by them & hi 5′s all around, I slowed my pace down knowing that we were coming up on some hills .. and I was determined to get as much running on those hills as I could. We made it over Beechmont before I knew it we were on Salisbury, before I knew it again.. we were on May Street and two major hills from the race were over & done with. I was feeling fantastic! We head down Chandler and there they are again. My crew. The route back tracked on street, so they were able to stay in the same spot and see us again at mile 7ish. I can’t even put into words the adrenaline rush that they gave me alone. My heart exploded right then and there from the love & encouragement from this group.. after I passed them and I was just in a daze and was more than half way to finishing. I WAS DOING IT. Carmen looked over at me and she says.. your friends are amazing. I KNOW, RIGHT! I thank God every day for bringing them into my life, otherwise I would have withered away a long time ago.

We made our way through the city. We had trained on these roads, so that is how I treated this race. Just another training run, but this time I wanted to finish in a certain amount of time. Before I knew it we were at mile 10. TEN! Just a 5k left. My little toe got a wicked blister on it and it was painful… searing pain all the way up my leg. DUMB! Mile 11. Mile 12. lets finish this. Mile 13. I have point one to go. do you hear that? POINT ONE. I HAD DONE IT!!!!

Coming up on the finish line.. there he is. My man. Looking damn good for just having ran the 13.1 himself. He has my camera in hand and he asks how I feel and he was so excited and proud. I was almost there. Then.. there they are. My kids. My friends. My inlaws even came down to watch us finish. They were all yelling and clapping and shouting and the emotions took over. I yelled at them that they BETTER NOT MAKE ME CRY and there it was. FINISH.
I crossed the mat at 2:35:13. The medal was placed around my neck and I felt great. Tired, but I could have ran more!! I, me, Melody.. the couch potato, eater, drinker, knitter, 5k max runner, had done it. I had completed a half marathon.

Here come my friends & family. Sandy who ran an awesome race in under 2hrs.. Tommy T who ran it in just over 2hrs..and me. I wish I had got a pic of us 3.. DUMB. I dont have any pics of me with my girlfriends. DUMB . No family photos. DUMB. you’ll just have to take my word for it, it was by far the most amazing experience of my life. (other than having the m’s ofcourse)

I cannot thank my team leader Andy enough. My team all together who inspire and challenge and conquer their goals too. My parents, who were so proud from afar, but I think they were a little shocked that I had done this. They remember me when I was partier. not an athlete. My girlfriends, who cheered me on from Day 1… and now some of them are going to start out on their own running journy. Most of all. Sandy. He inspires, encourages me, supports and coaches. Now we have to flip a coin who gets to run what races, I dont think he ever thought that was going to be an issue.

I liked this ride, a lot! I wanna do it again.