We did it!

The first thing I need to say is Whoohooo (compliments of Debbie!!)!! We have a new PR - 4:09!! So, much better than 4:16! ;-)
What a day, well, weekend really. Brooke and Tralaine and the rest of her family went all out to make the smallest marathon I've ever ran in one of the best! We (Brooke, Michael, and I) left for Wichita around 10:30am Saturday morning. Got into town in time to visit with Brooke's grandparents then to Tralaine's to get unpacked, make posters, put together Don (the first timer's) new shirt, and the goodie bags that would be carried by all of our support team! We had Brooke's step mom Diane and her husband Alan as group 1, of course Michael, Calvin, and Tanna as group 2, Sharron as group 3, Jackie (Don's girlfriend), Don's brother and another friend as group 4, then Tralaine's mom & sister as group 5.

We all went to Diane and Alan's for a pasta feast Saturday night - spaghetti & meatballs w/ marinara, ziti w/ chicken & alfredo, salad & bread! So yummy!! I of course had my mandatory 2 glasses of red wine - victim of superstition! After dinner runners were given packets (thanks to Tralaine & Sharron) and supporters were given there bag of goodies and signs. After dinner our group went back to Andy & Tralaine's to shower and get ready for bed. I opted to go read while most of the others played some Wii.

Got up around 6am - ate some oatmeal - got dressed - put on the pace tatoos and were out the door to head to Derby, KS. Did some stretching at the Rec Center then it was out to the road for the start of the big race!! We got our team pics - and everyone commented on our cool orange shirts!

The first section of the race wound through some neighborhoods in Derby - it was nice - not too hilly, tree lined areas. Brooke, Angie and I all stayed together through this section. Water stops and our trusty support staff were awesome during this section. At mile 9 we hit the air force base (where we knew we wouldn't have much support till mile 13, then not again until we left the base). Going into the airforce base we were basically on chat roads - not exactly what we were expecting - after a couple miles it went to black top - then to concrete (very hard). Around mile 12 there was a loop back where we were able to see Don, Frank, Andy, and Tralaine and cheer them on. At 13 we saw Sharron, and right after that we ran around some of the display planes, then through a path lined with fallen soldiers, then we turned and went uphill and into the wind! OUCH!! I don't think any of us enjoyed that section. We finished up the air base with a run through the air force museum and then by the air field. It was so refreshing to see our supporters upon the exit of the air base!! We even saw our friend from the beginning that was tracking everyone's progress on his bicycle. He told us we had two more hills but that the wind should be with us for the duration. He was close. The last 6 miles really weren't too bad. Although I'm sure Brooke would disagree - she wasn't feeling quite as well. I had toe and knee issues, but overall I felt surprisingly well. We ended up on a walking/biking path that was in the shade and helped. After that, we only had a little over a mile into the Old Town area to the finish. I was so excited - I could tell we were going to get our PR and I still felt good!! I think I had tingles all the way in. We hit the finish line in 4:09!! I'm still very happy - that will last for a few more days before I start contemplating doing my next one and improving my time again - lol!!! :-)