Oklahoma City Marathon 2009

Running against the wind...very painful! 24-42 mile an hour gusting winds...oh joy!:)

Crossing the finish line....very happy!

Me with my parents after the race

Everyone came to see me race--thanks guys!

Me after the race at the OKC Memorial

This past weekend Greg, the kids and I went to OKC for me to run in the OKC half marathon-13.1 miles. My parents came down from Kansas City to watch me run and my dad got some great pictures!
We had to stay the night on Saturday because we had to be up bright and early for me to start the race. Thank goodness my parents were there because the kids slept in their room so they didn't have to get up at 5am! Greg was kind enough to take me to the race and stay with me until it started. There were 19,000 people running in the race (marathon, relay, half and 5K) so it was crazy crowded but that made for some intense energy that got everyone hyped up and ready to race!
I am not gonna lie-- the race was a challenge. The wind was super strong and I had to really focus and pray the whole time because I wanted to stop and drop out a hundred times. I was very happy to see my parents and kids at mile 10 and 11--they gave me some great encouragement at just the perfect time! It was so precious to see the kids watching me run--Reese's face lit up and gave me that last push I needed to make it through! Thanks guys!

At first I was kinda frustrated with my results but after getting some sleep:) and some great advice from friends and family I came to my senses. I am very thrilled to have finished especially in the conditions I had to face this year! This running stuff is teaching me so much about myself and where God wants me to be with Him. Just today I was reminded that it doesn't matter about my time and it's not about me but it's about the Lord. Every step I take I want Him to get the glory! I know He will continue to teach me and be patient with me when I fail but my hearts desire is to see Him get the praise for everything I do!

For now I have no races planned in the near future. I plan to take a step back and see what the Lord wants for me. I don't want to continue racing just to race-- I want to do it if it's what God wants so we'll see where He leads!

My official time was 1:58:41
I was thrilled to find out that I finished in the top 7% overall -I came in 796 out of 5,778 half marathoners ~I am very proud of myself!
I also came in 46th out of 574 in my age division (30-35)