Saturday, May 02, 2009

Country Music Marathon...Taste of Victory

I love this picture for a lot of reasons. It definitly describes us all three as individuals.

Brent: Chicago Bears Hat, Softball T-shirt, next time just wear a sign that says "I'm not a runner, but my best friend annoyed me so much I signed up"

Dusty: All the marathon, road running gear he needs. If it wasn't so hot, I'm sure he had another 26.2 in him.

Jimmy (me): Trail racing t-shirt, Ironman Triathlon hat. This obviously isn't my kind of race, but I still had a blast with all of my friends! Which is what life is all about! Well sort-of...
By far my favorite picture! They busted out crying, my wife and I started crying. It was all-out waterworks. We were all in need of some gel-therapy (inside Ironman joke). Only a spouse understands all of the hard-work and dedication it takes in training to complete a marathon. You did it Dusty! Congrats! You are a marathon runner for life.

After I finished I crashed under some shade with some water, and then got back out there and ran to about mile 23 or 24 to brink Dusty home. On the way, it looked like a freaking death march. Unfortunately, I was passed by more ambulances than I can count on one hand, and even saw a guy have a seizure. I thing after this one, Dusty will want to put the Badwater Ultramarathon off for a couple of years.
Back story. I have an amazing wife that ran the last two miles in my Ironman Triahtlon in flip-flops with our 6-month old strapped to her front. Becca, my wife's best friend and the sister I never had is right up there in support as she is 5 months pregnant and she got out there to run a little with her hubs.
In the end, I had a horrible race as my right knee blew out on me at mile 11. It didn't matter though, because my legs were shot after the first five miles of hills .Like I said in the beginning, I had a blast with my friends and I would do it all over again just to see my daughter try to eat my finisher medal.

p.s. All of the pictures are from my awesome Wife - thanks for keeping life documented!

4 comments:

Becca said...

What a fantastic post and great birds eye view on the race!! I love the differences in all three runners and you nailed it on the clothing matching their running personalities.
This was a fantastic experience that we enjoyed sharing with all of our great friends! I hope we make it an annual event, including the "Push Your Tush Pasta Dinner" on Friday at the Whitaker's.

BRENT said...

It was truly an honor and a life changing experience! Thank you Jimmy and Dusty for making me look like a runner for a day!

Jimmy said...

Thank you for your AWESOME HOSPITALITY (READ: Best cooking I have had quite possibly all year, and a free place to stay!)

Whit said...

Congratulations to you and your friends! Finishing a marathon is a very big deal!