My Rocket City Hero - #112

Ok, I haven't been very bloggified lately... so I'm late on this post. We'll start with Saturday morning. My alarm went off at 5am and I met my parents at 5:30 for a trip to Huntsville to watch my sister, Lana compete against herself for a sub-4 hour marathon. Also running this race was Michele, David, Lisa, & Tom. Before the marathon started I wished Lana luck, the gun went off, the music started & all the sudden...... I feel emotional. Excited, scared, worried, pumped UP, and HAPPY :-) that I am there. That Lana (race particpant #112) is racing... shooting for her goal she has trained so hard for. Nothing I can do bout it now but pray & cross my fingers. So, we jump in my dad's truck & find the 6.2 mile marker. We stand & wait on our athletes. My dad (the flash) is on a mission to find Lana, his oldest daughter whom he could not be more proud of! We spot her! I hear him say "Blue shirt blue shirt!!! That's her! There she is! Does Kathy see her? This is IT!" I look up the sidewalk to see my mom jumping and clapping for her. I walk out into the road to snap a pic with my phone & I get a big high-five from my sis, a big smile & she says "Feeling good! Feeling good!" (Whew! Thank God!) She is right on pace for a sub-4! Somehow I miss Michele & David?? We leave the 10K mark & wait at the 11 mile marker. This time I see Michele & David running beside Lana. She seems to not feel as well. I confirmed this when she told me she was off pace & only feeling "ok." I tried to encourage her and tell her not to worry about it & just enjoy the run. So off we go to mile 18 where my dad was prepared to make the transaction of 2 additional fuel belt bottles & I am to jump in to help push her through the last 8 miles. We wait...... we wait....... we keep waiting. David sees me on the sidewalk & informs me that Michele & Lana are both not feeling well & have dropped back. My heart is filled with sadness, but that is ok. We will make it! Finally we see Lana & Michele & neither of them are feeling well. You can see it in their eyes. They are dissappointed. They are sick too! I join in & we walk a little ways & when we get to mile 19 I can tell something isn't right with Lana. She turns pale, then begins to cringe. I knew it was coming. She tosses about 2 gallons of lemon-lime OS Endurance. Oh man..... it was a scene. When I was comfortable with the fact that she had completed her final woosh, I bend down and wrap my arms around her, tell her it's going to be ok, help her up & we begin to walk. For most of the rest of the marathon I carried a bottle of water & a cup of gatorade. I tried to remind her to take small sips so her stomach isn't gushed with fluid. Her lower back was really hurting her bad & there were times when I was worried we needed to stop at medical. I was really glad to be with her. We ended up walking/jogging to the finish. Even though she didn't meet her goal of sub-4, that girl is my hero. I've never seen anyone fight so hard to finish anything in my life. Humidity was high, nerves were frigid, & OS Endurance didn't want to cooperate that day. Given the circumstances, I declare her a soldier! Sub 4 is in her future - no doubt. December 8, 2007 just wasn't the day. Congratulations Lana! Congratulations Michele! Congratulations David! Congratulations Lisa! You guys did awesome! Now... all of you just remember on April 26 (CMM) I'm going to need some support! I don't know what it feels like to run 26.2. I'm scared!!!

Lana and I found a real nice way to celebrate yesterday at lunch. It's pecan cobbler and MAN is it delicious! We declared it the best post-race food in the south. :-)



Monday night Bethany took me to Cracker Barrell to eat for my birthday, which is this week. Thanks girl! Had a great time as always!

Yesterday morning I met Lana, Mary Beth, Tim, & Lee at the rec center at 5am for 5 miles. Tomorrow, I plan to do the same & I'm thinking I want to trail run on Saturday.