Well, I crossed the finish line in 4 hours 10 minutes and it was the hardest and most painful yet the most exhilirating and rewarding accomplishment I have ever completed in my entire life!!! There aren't enough words to fully describe the magnitude of what my teammates and I accomplished this season. We are a part of 1% of the population who have completed an endurance event. What a feeling!

Vancouver is an amazing city. We spent Friday and Saturday walking around downtown, enjoying the food and fabulous beer, shopping on Granville Island and preparing for what lied ahead. We attended a Team in Training carbo-load pasta party on Saturday night where we ate and listened to Tiffany, a cancer patient currently undergoing treatment. Tiffany is finished with chemotherapy and has begun radiation. Her voice was fried & she looked fairly tired yet she was prepared to walk a half marathon the following day (13.1 miles). It was when I heard her story I knew I was doing something amazing.

Sunday morning the alarm went off at 5AM and I felt like I was going to be sick. I slept very well but the minute I realized what I was about to embark on nerves went wild and the butterflies took over my stomach. It rained pretty hard that morning but by the time we left for the bus it was cool and perfect weather for running. We took the bus to the start and waited around from 6:30AM - 7:15AM when a voice over the PA said, "15 mintues until the full-marathon race begins (I am getting butterflies in my stomach as I write this)." I preceeded to hop into the mix of approximately 13,000 walkers / runners and stood behind the 4 hour pace bunny (which was my original goal). The canadian anthem played, the countdown began and the gun went off...and finally my nerves settled down.

The first 8-10 miles was nice and easy for me - just a matter of getting into a groove and a breathing pattern. Around mile 12 we headed into Stanley Park. The course became pretty hilly and the weather more and more humid. My knees started to ache which was unusual for me as I don't usually start hurting until miles 18-20. I think a lot of the pain was from the uneven roads, the hills and humidity. Stanley Park was absolutely beautiful and peaceful. We were surrounded by huge trees and gorgeous flowers. In some parts of the park the trees actually made a tunnel for us to run through. We came out of Stanley Park around mile 16 and headed over the long & uphill Burrard Bridge. Miles 18-22 were the toughest as they made this part an out & back. This means that we ran up one side of the road and turned around at the top and headed back down. It was hot, I was tired and hurting by that point so seeing people at the 22 mile marker coming toward me while I was only at 18 was really tough. The most important part for me was seeing my coach, Philip, at mile 24 to help me once again cross over the never-ending uphill Burrard Bridge. I really needed to see him and have him run with me in order to keep my sanity (although I did have a smile on my face at that point). I was home free after I crossed the bridge and saw the mile 25 marker because the rest was downhill or flat all the way to the finish line. The last mile seemed to last forever but I remember running down the long stretch of screaming and cheering fans and hearing things like, "GO TEAM" for Team in Training or "GO TEXAS" since I had the state of Texas on my race shirt. I came around the bend and started to cry as I saw the finish line about 200 feet ahead of me. It was an amazing feeling to cross over the finishing pads with my hands in the air and tears rolling down my face. It is so hard to explain the feeling to someone who has never finished a marathon but it is the most amazing experience and feeling in the world!

The day after the race I could barely walk and I felt as though someone had taken a bat to my lower body. My knees throbbed, my lower back was in pain and every part of my legs were sore. The 4-hour airplane ride back was not fun on the body either.

Today I feel a bit better. I still need help getting up out of a chair as well as off the toilet! But, it is a good hurt and well worth it. Fall season starts this Saturday and I have been asked to be a mentor. I can't wait to start training for the next one...San Francisco here I come!!!