We Did It!!!

*Here is the post about the Grand Rapids Marathon that I put on my family blog!!!!!!

Over the weekend, my dad and I ran the Grand Rapids Marathon!

That's right...the ole man and I did 26.2 miles together!!!  (As my favorite sign said, "Because 26.3 would be CRAZY!)

It was a great weekend all together.  We arrived in Grand Rapids on Saturday afternoon.  The kids (and Rob and Aunt Katie) napped while while we hit the expo.  Then, we all headed to the local "establishment" to start our carb loading with some pumpkin ale!  :)  After that, it was off for pasta for more carb loading.  And we ended the night with the highlight for the kids....HOTEL SWIMMING POOL!

I should mention that it was cold and SO WINDY on Saturday, so we weren't sure what to expect for the race.

My dad and I headed out early Saturday morning for the start of the race...in the cold and rain.  But there was no wind so we felt hopeful.  An hour or so later, by the start of the race, the rain had stopped and we got the absolute perfect weather for a race...cool, no sun, no rain, no wind.  It was great!

My dad and I had a great race.  I have to say, my dad is an AMAZING runner.  From about mile 16-mile 22, I contemplated stopping many, many, many times!  But he kept me going!!!  I am proud to say we never stopped once to walk except through water stops!!!

The Grand Rapids Marathon is great.  There are so many fun runners who do this race.  Some of the highlights were:

-Our shirts!!!  My dad surprised me with shirts for the race.  My dad's said WINK and mine said SMILE because the song we danced to for my wedding was "We go together like a Wink and a Smile".  I LOVED IT!!!!!!!

-Pickle Juice around mile 16 and 20 (sounded gross but it was refreshing and awesome)

-Wedding at Mile 16

-My Team Triumps (runners who are pushing wheel chairs, it was amazing and I was inspired...more to come on that soon)

-Reading fun signs (Marathon runners run 26.2 because 26.3 miles would be CRAZY).

-Port-a-potty madness....let's just say we almost missed the start of the race.

-Ray, our running buddy!

This is my 7th marathon, and somewhere in the 40s for my Dad I think, but I can say this was a highlight for me.  I would say very, very, very few people are ever able to do something like run a marathon with their dad..and I'll always cherish it!

I should mention, we didn't do too shabby either.  We finished at 3:43:27, which is about 8:30mins/mile average.  My dad finished 6th in his age division and in the top 297 of the 894 men who ran.  I finished 15th in my age division and in the top 78 out of 712 women.  My dad also qualified for Boston...again! 

Seeing our amazing fans at Mile 4

Our biggest supporters

3 of the best cheerleaders

Cheering at the finish

So cute!!!  (But how did NO ONE fix her hat?????)

26.1 miles into it!  :)

Off to the finish line!

My amazing family who sacrifice a lot so I can follow my passion of running!

The highlight of the trip for these two!!!!  :)

Thank you to everyone for all your support, especially our amazing fans who traveled 3 states to cheer us on!  :)

Do You DM????

Daily Mile. 

One of the greatest things I found since running.  It's a site full of runners (and bikers, walkers, swimmers, etc) cheering on other runners.  I heart it!

When I first starting running, I ran in Chicago with a group called CARA.  Me and hundreds of my closest friends out there running every morning.  I found so much inspiration and motivation through other members.

Now I'm a mom....in the burbs....with 2 kids.....and a crazy schedule.  So running with a group is out the window.  My hubby golfs.  My kids have dance, gymnastics, birthday parties, etc.  And we still try to have a social life.  So running is "whenever I can get it in."  Most times it's Sunday morning, but it may be Sunday evening, Saturday morning, or an awesome Friday night followed by wine and a firepit!  :)

So I have found dailymile.com.  I log my runs.  But I also find so much inspiration and motivation.  People actually take time to tell me "great run".  And I learn about so many fun races, racing gear, etc.

On Sunday my dad and I will be at the Grand Rapids starting line...and I have a whole bunch of DM friends who will be out there with me.  It would be cool to meet them!!!  If you run, you should DM!  You WILL be inspired!

What happened????

Kids. School.  Training.  Life.


I can't believe how long it's been between posts!  I apologize...life got away from me.

Next weekend is THE big run...Grand Rapids Marathon!  My dad and I have been training pretty well despite some injuries.  We ran 2 20 miles (one with major hills), a 19 and 2 18 miles, so I'm hoping we are ready!  I am nervous because I am used to running marathons under 3:40, but this time I'm just trying to finish...no time goal!  My dad and I trained together and our goal is to have fun and finish (and maybe he will place in his age group).

I'll be back soon!!!!!  If you are new, comment so we can chat!  :)  Happy Running!