Bittersweet Reprieve: Rookie Season

July 27th started out a little shaky… pouring rain, thunder, lightening. Kendall and I looked at each other as we walked down first avenue, wondering if all that we trained for was going to end with a cancellation. It was Half-Marathon day. Ninety days of good intentions came to this day. About 15 minutes before the race, the rain stopped… and dare I say… I saw the sun. It was a bittersweet feeling, really. Bitter, because we actually had to follow through with the race. Sweet, because we actually had to follow through with the race.

Two hours and 56 minutes later… we crossed the finish line. It was bittersweet. Bitter, because we both felt we could have done better, and with less numbness in our joints. Sweet, because we did it, and still have the opportunity to do better…

I want to extend a gracious thanks to everyone who supported us with donations, prayers, and words of encouragement. We couldn’t have done this without you.

Finally, I personally, and humbly want to thank Kendall. A little over 3 months ago we had a conversation that went a little like this:

me: hey babe, you know how I have this list of the top 100 things I want to do before I turn 30?

K: yep

me: well, running in a marathon is on that list.

K: uh huh.

me: so I think I want to run in the NYC Marathon this fall.

K: [5 second silence] - how long is a marathon?

me: hmmm, good question, let me google it.

me: [googling]

me: holy s*&%! It’s 26.2 miles!

K: hmmm.

me: maybe I will do a half marathon first.

K: good idea.

me: so…

K: so what?

me: you wanna run with me?

K: [sigh] sure.

Kendall suffered through 3 months, and a long a$$, painful run for me (he caught a dreadful cramp, among other things, on mile three) … he kicked me out of bed to go work-out, he yelled at me when I ate french fries, he kept me motivated to see this through… and I truly wouldn’t have made it to race day without him.

Despite our nerves, we thought enough to document the event… check out our video.

Thus ends our Rookie Season… watch out world, its only just beginning. Next stop, China….