Vida. Risa. Amor.

So I finished another half marathon today and even though I'm experiencing the expected soreness and toe and knee aches, I'm actually feeling pretty good.  What started out as a fun "idea" to do with a group of mom's, turned into a real accomplishment, and I was glad to be a part it.  And support effort for a cure.

What I loved best about this "race" was being surrounded by a bunch of Mom's and women, and seeing so many varieties of pink apparel, from tutu's, head-bands, knee-high socks, shoes, to tank tops.  My favorite sign of the day I read at mile #8 got me a little choked up:  "Run like a Mother"....because, let's face it, as Mom's we sure do a lot of various forms of running around.  I spent my entire last week/month running each of my kids to several different locations, and though I don't mind that aspect of my life, it was nice to just spend a day with a bunch of fun Mom's.  One Mom in our group is basically the "glue" that kept us together, and she's my good friend Lainie whom I have known since our 7 year old boys were in preschool together.  She has a gift about bringing people together and knew how to keep us all organized from matching our tank tops to packet pick up to the finish line.  She also brought enough snacks at the beginning of the race to feed all of us and a few extra's around us...and wasn't shy about passing out her chocolate "energy" balls to random runners. 

After a few races "under my belt", I know my body's limits and I knew if I didn't try to run the first 8 miles before my knee and toes cramped up then I'd be walking most of the way.  And though I didn't run the entire time with the group and we all ended up splitting off into different groups, we all seemed to find each other again at the finish line.  Today wasn't about reaching a certain time...just having a bunch of laughs together and to finish.

I'm always so happy to find my husband showing his support for me in the crowd when I'm finished and he brought my biggest supporter Aydan today too, (who shares my fascination with collecting "trophies" and admired my flower shaped medal). 

But my favorite part of the day was the drive home with my feet hanging out of my husbands window, when he squeezed my hand and said, "I'm proud of you, and that you set such a good example to our family of keeping healthy, and always finishing what you start." 

That was better than any pink ribboned medal in my book.