Very humbled to run for Starlight Ministries and Team Paul, and so thankful for the prayers of family, BSF group, and friends along these training months and on race day. I felt God's blessings over and over throughout this journey, especially when He delivered Curt as my "angel" to help me finish my first ever 25k! Many thanks to Mitch for his constant support, encouragement, and help with the kids during the many Saturday long runs...and the kids for their cheers and encouragement when I would get home every Saturday! :) And I cannot forget those that inspired me as we ran together...Jenni, Wendy, and Kelly...great running partners!
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| Kids and Nana Bareman waiting to see Mom! |
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| Just after mile 6 and feeling good! |
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| FINISH! 2:27.33 |
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| Me and my bro...so glad to have him run with me...brings tears to my eyes as I think about how the Lord provided him by my side at my weakest moment in the race and how he was there for me every mile of the way! |
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| The awesome signs Kaden & Makenna made with Mitch for me! Best Mother's Day gift to have them there cheering me on and the hard work they put into these great signs! :) |
Start of the race...lined up at the 8 minute/mile pacer, worried about congestion and a slow start...
Mile 1...ran with my running partners, Jenni & Wendy...a little anxious that my iPod wouldn't start up because of a lack of GPS signal, but had my watch to time myself too...(felt like I was at a MI football game too, with all the cow bells I heard from the crowd at the beginning! :))
Mile 2...still feeling good, but giving some space from Jenni & Wendy to try and pace myself (knowing the most miles I had run to date was 13.1 miles and my pace needed to be slower than theirs)...17:30 after 2 miles
Mile 3...staying on an 8:45 mile pace so far, but trying to pace myself while I let people continually pass me by...nearing Indian Mounds...guessing 26ish min. after 3 miles
Mile 4...realize that my watch has suddenly quit working, leaving me to rely on the mile marker clocks (so thankful for those)...and downed my first goo of the race...excited to see the kids & Mitch in a couple more miles...also finally on the long Indian Mounds path...35 min. (guess...no clock at this mile marker that I saw)
Mile 5...wondering where the 9 minute/mile pacer is...thinking they should be catching up to me soon!? Looking forward to seeing familiar faces soon...44:30ish after 5 miles
Mile 6...saw a friend at about mile 6 and we both were wondering where the 9 minute/mile pacer was, and she continued on past me...saw the Pells (neighbors), saw a few other familiar faces, and then saw a pink & a blue sign and Mitch, Kaden, Makenna & Mom Bareman! Passed off my shirt & dud iPod to Mitch (Curt passed by Mitch a few minutes later)...53 min. or so after 6 miles
Mile 7...saw several more familiar faces along Johnson Park, including Lea, Bryson, Rylee & Jean Oosterheert! Got a little emotional after that stretch and felt my best before the halfway point (and band to add to the excitement)...1:02 after 7 miles
Mile 8...headed towards Millenium Park and the first hill of the race...starting to wish I had a running partner to motivate me for the second half of the race...getting a little anxious about my endurance and starting to feel some cramping in my calves...1:12 after 8 miles
Mile 9...passed Millenium Park only to be approached by none other than my brother, Curt..."what's up?" he says to me and I hug his neck and tell him he's my hero and that he can't leave me now! So excited to have him running with me, but can't believe he found me and was willing to run after little training...1:22 after 9 miles
Mile 10...the miles are becoming blurs as I just want to be done...still having some leg cramps and trying to take in as much water or Gatorade as I can at the aid stations...trying to take one mile at a time, but having trouble not thinking about the fact that I have 5.5 miles more to go!! 1:32 at 10 miles
Mile 11...more small hills up and down as we finish off Butterworth soon...I believe this is where we see Curt's brother-in-law, Joe, go crazy as we pass him...oh, and I appreciate my brother's easy going nature about the whole run, telling everyone he sees in Michigan "go blue" (as he was wearing Michigan too :))...and also encouraging me to take it slow through aid stations and stop and stretch the cramping calves if I can...I hate to stop running as it makes my body feel worse...I think the 9 minute/mile pacer passed us during this mile…1:41 after 11 miles
Mile 12...getting closer to the zoo...I believe I almost choked on one of 4 or 5 gummies that I have consumed up until this point and have a moment of panic...see another friend at this point...trying to keep pressing forward and thankful for my brother's companionship..."I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" keeps playing through my mind...1:50 or so at 12 miles
Mile 13...John Ball Zoo...getting closer to the end...reach the furthest point I have ever run in my life! So thankful that my previous injuries were not impacting my race…wishing I was done and thinking about Starlight and Team Paul for motivation…roughly 2 hours at 13 miles
Mile 14…Just trying to keep moving…encouraged that I have less than 2 miles left…couldn’t wait to reach the finish line…so happy I was getting close…thought about the runners at Boston that couldn’t finish their race because of the bombings and told myself to finish strong for them…2:11 at 14 miles
Mile 15…WAHOO…just a half mile left…rounding the corner by VanAndel we quickly stopped to stretch before turning onto Ottawa for the hill up and finish line…2:21 at 15 miles
Mile 15.5…FINISH just after seeing Makenna on Mitch’s shoulders on the sidelines, grabbing Curt’s hand and crossing the finish line with our arms high to the sky…told Curt I would never do this again! ;) Final time: 2:27.33 (9:30 average pace)
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