2810 Is My Man

This post is long, LONG overdue.

C's marathon was on June 12th. Corralling the pictures from 3 different cameras has taken a while, but not this long. I don't really have a valid excuse, but better late than never. Especially for something this amazing! C rocked it.

He had to take off to the starting line at 3:30 in the morning. I am sincerely not a morning person and C was very OK with me not getting up with him. I did, though, want to make sure he felt like I supported him. I don't make a fuss over him near enough, and what he was about to do was MAJOR. So, I sent him to bed early and made a quick trip to the store.

In the morning, he woke up to this set-up:

Chocolate milk [his favorite recovery drink], power bars, orbit mist [a fabulously quenching gum, just like the commercials say], blister band-aids, and a rubber bracelet with Alma 44:4 on it [his family's scripture that reminds us that God will support].

Behind the shoes, I laid out the shirt I'd be wearing to the finish line, so he'd be able to find me on the sidelines and at the finish easier.

I couldn't sleep because I was terrified I'd miss the finish like last time. And then, I proceeded to wake up late, due to a dream I was having about trying to get my family out the door to the finish line. Yeesh. I decided against make-up and took off for mile 21 to snap pictures, running numbers in my head to try and figure out if I'd missed C or not. I hadn't. [woot!]

He came around the bend, looking great! I was so proud of him! His training partner and cousin, Nicole, was about 50 yards ahead of him, which was nice to have a heads up that he was coming soon.

He was making amazing time and in as much pain as could be expected after running 21 miles. He gave me a quick smile and headed on down to the finish line.

I ran back to the car to meet Emilee and her cute little girl at the finish line. We cheered Nicole on as she crossed the finish line, positive that C would be a few strides behind. He didn't. I started seeing people I remembered being near by him at mile 21. More and more people came in and C was nowhere to be found.

I started getting really really worried. I really knew something wasn't right. C is one strong, determined man and he wouldn't just roll over and die, even if he was in pain.

Right before I entered complete melt-down mode [30 minutes later], C came around the corner.

I finally got to see him at the finish line. After he caught his breath and gave me a good smooch, he explained what had happened. Around mile 22, his entire legs cramped up so bad it knocked him over. He had to take some time to stretch, walk it out, and try to get back on the horse. He would jog for a short distance and they would cramp up again. [A little disheartening for being within 4 miles of the finish line!]

He finished strong at just over 4 hours. I got him some chocolate milk and we headed back to the massage tables. His masseuse kept asking him to relax his quads because she couldn't do anything with the state his legs were in. [ouch!]

Left to Right: Julie [Nicole's Mom], Nicole, C & Kiara [C's Twin Sister]. Julie & Kiara ran the half. Nicole finished in 3 hours 37 minutes and qualified for Boston!

After a nice long nap, we headed up to Rodizio grill so C could get some serious protein. He definitely earned it!