Some Marathon Pics

Thanks to Daniel's mom and dad for these pics (and much more):

Coming up on mile 20!

Dan and I with (from left to right): Daniel's dad, Daniel's mom, Daniel's sister Sarah and her fiance Chad.

Best running partner EVER! Love you, Dan.

Post-race lunch. Best food ever!

Love them. This was Sarah's fourth marathon and Chad's first, too.

Us with Sarah's first marathon buddies. Heather (by Sarah) finisher her 5th marathon!

Raced for the Kid,

Stephanie

Post Marathon FAQs

Q: How'd it go?

A: Good! Awesome!

Q: Did you finish?

A: Yes!

Q: How long did it take you?

A: 5:19:03

Q: How many miles was that?

A: 26.2

Q: How are you feeling now? Are you sore?

Monday A: HECK YEAH! The longer I sit down the harder it is to get up. (See this video)

Todays A: Only a little bit.

Q: Are you going to do another one?

My A: I might! In a few years. I will never take 18 units and train for a marathon ever again.

Daniel's A: Not in the foreseeable future, but I may do a half someday. Or a 10k.

Q: So, when did you hit your wall?

My A: I hit one around 13.1 and 20. But I was weirdly optimistic the whole time. Daniel is an AWESOME encourager! And a lot of people were praying!

Daniel's A: Mile 9.

Q: How as the weather?

A: AMAZING! It was raining Saturday night, but let up around 3 am and started again at 1 pm. Perfect. It was about 55 degrees and most of the course was shaddy. Ideal running weather.

Q: Can I still donate?

A: YES! Please do! I think I'll pass on the money around Christmas time. So you still have time!

WE DID IT!

We're marathon finishers!!!

Thank you all so much for all your support!

More to come, I promise. But right now I'm going to bed. Seriously.

Raced for the Kid,

Stephanie

Less Than 36 Hours

I'm so excited about all the donations coming in. Keep them coming. We'll probably pass over the donations around Christmas time, so you still have time after this weekend to donate, too. (For those of you waiting to see if we actually finish before you give... haha!)

Pray for good weather. According to the latest forecast, it is supposed to start raining between noon and 1 PM. This is right when we will be finishing, so I pray it stays that way!

Dan and I are excited about the cool long sleeve running shirts we're going to get. And of course, the medallions! Here's a pic of what they look like this year.

Racing for the Kid,

Stephanie

AH!

Hey!

If all works out as planned, a week from right now we will officially be marathon finishers.

I am so stinking nervous.

I am also excited.

I am also relieved that it's almost over... it's been hard.

I am excited to "work out like a normal person."

Daniel and I had an amazing Thanksgiving with his family. Today we drove the first part of the course when we were driving back to school and when we crossed the starting line in the car Daniel turned to me and said, "I have butterflys." O my gosh, so did I. Totally nervous. There are going to be so many fierce people there! I'm afraid of making a mistake or... not finishing.

Anyway. It's coming. Fast.

The lovely Becky posted about Dan and I today on her blog. She put up a pic of me from 8th grade when she was my volley ball coach. I forgive her. Haha! I was relieved that is was a picture from AFTER I started managing my eyebrows. Very sweet post! We love you Becky and Mark. Check it out here.

Money Talk: I know some of you are still planning on donating, and you have time. You don't have to have it postmarked by a certain time or anything. Just send it my way when you get a chance.

Here's some fun pics from the course tour.

Definitely scared of being in the porta potty when the gun goes off.

This will be Dan and I...

Daunting! THE WALL at 20 miles.

We'll be running RIGHT behind our church on this stretch. We're not the only ones missing church for the CIM, though. City Life is such a hip church like that.

I was bummed when I found out Dan and I won't be crossing the finish line together. To make up for it, we finished our 20 mile run hand-in-hand... SO cheesey, but SO worth it. He's the most amazing running partner (and boyfriend) ever!

Racing for the Kid,

Stephanie

Looming

23 days until marathon day! What!?

This is going to be us... though I don't think they hold up a banner and take a picture of those of us who do not finish in the top 10... This is the mens 2008 winner, Halefom Abebe of ETHIOPIA!!! Where else!?

And tomorrow, Dan and I run 20 miles! That will be the longest we run until the marathon. I cannot believe it's tomorrow. The big 20 has been looming in the distance for months now, and it's almost here.

I'm not going to lie. It will be nice to be a marathon finisher instead of a marathon trainee. I'm so nervous about the marathon. I keep having mara-nightmares in which I cannot find the finish line, don't make it to the starting line in time, never finish, get hurt, die... It's ridiculous.

But at least I'm not Daniel, who as of today is now working 2 jobs, finishing up his last 4 weeks of undergraduate education, and training for a marathon all at once. (And he is still finding the time to be an amazing boyfriend, too! What a guy!)

Money Talk:

We are SO excited about the money coming in! If you are still wanting to donate, you still have time. Send in those checks. There are also plenty of shopping bags left for anyone who donates $25 or more! Check HERE for details. I know there are some of you who've said you wanted to donate, but still haven't. So I guess I'm talking to you. You know who you are. ;)

FUN:

Here are some fun links about the CIM course. Check them out.

-Course map: Folsom to the capitol. (Dan and I don't get to cross the same finish line?! LAME!)

-Course profile: Fastest course in the West, ya'll!

-If you want to see what we will be seeing, take the course tour!

And here is a picture of us at a Halloween party... which we attended after running 17 miles earlier that day. :)

Much love to you all!

Racing for the Kid,

Stephanie

2 cool things!

First, Daniel and I ran 17 miles on Saturday! Marathon = just a little over a month away. I had to tell you that first, because once I tell you the second thing, you won't care about how far we ran...

Second, last week, Becky called me to tell me some exciting news! They got a referral for a beautiful little boy! I SO wish I could post a picture, but I cannot since they have not met with the Ethiopian judge yet (he is so stinking cute!).

What's next? They hope to be able to travel in the next few months when they will meet with the judge and get to meet their son. Then they will have to leave and wait for his visa to go through. This can be up to 6 weeks.

Please pray that this process will go smoothly and quickly for them! I cannot imagine how excited they are to meet their son.

It's really exciting to be able to run with a little face in mind for this last month of training. (Especially on the really long runs!)

Racing for the Kid,

Stephanie