AWESOME!!

What an AWESOME experience today was! I got choked up several times as we ran past huge crowds that gave us really loud and continuous cheers. Cady loved it! There were a few groups of girls in pink or yellow shirts that gave us the loudest cheers. Some people had cow bells and whistles. You would have thought they were cheering for Justin Beber. The crowds on the street were really important, especially towards the end of the race. That last mile was tough: there were two consecutive hills and I was really winded at the crest of the second one. But I kept hearing people tell us, "Good job!", "Keep going!", "Almost there!", and giving us thumbs up and applause.

The day started with rain and humidity; we were pretty wet before we even started. Poor Steven stepped in a couple puddles and thus had soaking wet socks for the entire race. Chris and I just laughed at him. A few minutes before we began, the rain stopped. We met Brian, a man who raced in a hand-crank wheelchair with a couple escorts; they've done a lot of races, including the Boston Marathon. I'm going to try to stay in touch with him - he said he'd love to run a race with us. And then, just before we were set to begin, Dick and Rick Hoyte approached the start line. I only got to say hello to Rick; Dick was crowded by people saying hello. Runners have a pretty close circle of friends that they must see at lots of races. I told Rick how inspired we were by his efforts and wished him and dad luck.

I was grateful to have our two escorts (Chris and Steven), especially for the first mile or so. There were still a lot of pedestrians and cars on the roads and it was good to have them keep an eye out for the traffic. It also made for a more enjoyable run; we talked about our trip to Disney and other things to pass the time. Somewhere between miles 3 and 4 we saw Chris' family and stopped for a minute to say hello. Then, just before mile 6 we saw Kelly, the kids and Jess (Steven's girl friend). I got high-fives from Callia and Kiefer before continuing on.

Overall, it was a really positive experience. I'm glad we did it and I'm glad we were able to raise some money for a worthy organization. I'm already looking for the next race and for anyone who wants to run with us. Just comment on this blog or on our facebook page if you have any ideas or are interested in running with us.



Team 'Running for Strength' before and after the race.

Pretty close to the lobster roll Steven and Chris shared after the race.

After the race, we drove to Dennis to spend the afternoon with my aunt Jane and a few of my cousins at the beach. Cady hopped around in the wet sand and carrying her was like having someone rub sandpaper all over my chest! I'm still sore. She and the kids had fun, though, and it was nice to see some of my family that we don't see too often. After seeing the lobster roll from earlier in the day, I had to have one myself; so we ordered a few from a restaurant down the street.

That's it for tonight. Kiefer has camp starting tomorrow and I have to get him to go to sleep. Hey, I need some rest myself.