Staying the night in Fort Worth was definitely a good idea. We went to bed early, got up early and had time for snacking on energy bars, drinking a cup of coffee and stretching inside. The latter was quite a good idea, as the ferocity of the wind surprised us when we left the hotel. It was a blustery, chilly 6-block walk to the starting line.
Kelly was a tad bit concerned. He'd already said that if he didn't meet his goal of breaking the 4-hour mark on this marathon, he was going to end his attempts and concentrate on running shorter events.
I was nervous for him, so nervous that I was shaking. But that could have been the cold.
He found the 3 hr 50 min pace group to help him stay focused and at 7:30, they were off!
I was left holding his jacket and my nearly dead iPod. I'd forgotten to pack the recharger.
So I hiked back to the hotel, dropped off Kelly's coat and exchanged my iPod for his (he was running with a very lightweight iPod shuffle). Back out to the race course, dreading the wind even more after having been out once, for my 5k.
I, along with hundreds of strangers, huddled near buildings until our race started at 8:15. There was no sense in warming up - I don't think it was even possible.
I ran a good race. No clue on my finish time just yet, but I was on pace with my previous races. I thought that was quite good since it was very cold and windy, and there were hills. Oh, were there hills!
All of these things stayed in mind while I walked back to the hotel to clean up and lounge in front of the lobby fireplace. How was Kelly doing? Did the wind let up once you got out of downtown? Was he staying on pace?
This was the first race that we'd opted not to have me try to spot him. We'd agreed to a meeting place post-race, he'd left his cell phone in the room, and that was that.
I finally headed to mile 26 at the 3 hr 30 min mark. I didn't expect to see him for a while. The pace runner for the 3 hr 40 min group passed with his small band of not-so-merry runners. I checked my watch and settled in to wait for another 10 minutes before really starting to watch for Kelly.
And then! Who was that rounding the bend?? It was KELLY!!! Oh my gosh! I was so excited that I almost started crying. I yelled and clapped and ran along side him for two blocks.
Me: Kelly Hayley! You did it!
Kelly: I did it!! I'm rocking it!
Me: This is Your Race!
Kelly: This is MY RACE. I've DONE IT!
Me: Just another 1/2 block!
Kelly: I'll see you at the finish line!
And off he went.
I am just so proud I could burst. Kelly told me over lunch that he knew he was going to make it when he saw his time at the 14 mile mark. He'd actually passed his pace group and had stayed ahead of them the whole time.
He'd checked his time all through the race at each mile marker (except for mile 25, which he missed altogether - too bad his friend Michelle wasn't there to cheer for him this time!), and knew that he had this race in hand.
The goal was to break 4 hours. The result was much better than imagined.
So now it's time for new goals. I'm thinking it might be time for me to train for a 10k. Kelly's thinking he might try to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Think we can do it?
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