The day I ran a marathon (give or take)

6:00 am: AWAKE. Rush (give or take) to window to see if it's raining, as had been predicted (100% chance of rain) on the news. It does not appear to be raining, although it's still dark, so hard to know for sure.

6:02 am: Am bolstered, even excited, about driving 45 minutes. On Saturday morning. In the rain. To pay money. To run a longer distance than I have before... Miracles never cease to exist.

6:03 am: Think...well, maybe "Excited" is too strong a word. Consider staying in bed. Consider benefits of this. There seem to be several - mainly, not driving 45 minutes. On Saturday morning. In the rain. To pay money to run.

6:05 am: GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE! GET YOUR ASS UP TEXTS FROM RUNNING FRIEND. Ok, am up.

8:00 am: Arrive at race. Tis slightly drizzling. S'okay. Compare running outfits with friends as we "stretch"...or something.

8:15 am: Race begins. Everyone walking! This is good. Maybe in races you really just walk?! No room. Slow. 10 seconds down. I remark to friend "Oh, this isn't bad, I can totally do this!"

8:16 am: Uh-oh. People are actually beginning to run. Looks like we must run too to avoid being trampled by actual runners.

8:17 am: Running.

We actually make it the whole first mile without stopping. Feel Fabulous! Running is AMAZING! Tsk tsk at myself for not having become a runner sooner.

This is the point where I don't remember a whole lot.

These are the things I do remember:

- There are volunteers standing every so often cheering you on. They are cheering for me! Feel important.

- There are volunteers with cups of water that you get to pick up while running, drink, and then throw on the ground (just like in the movies).

- There are signs with children's pictures on them who are currently suffering from cancer. Their names, ages, and illnesses are listed. We are running for them. Every time we pass one, huge emotion comes bubbling up my throat and I come close to completely losing it. Feel honored and overwhelmed to be a part of something so powerful. Thank you Heroes for Children!

- It is over faster than I would have thought. 39 minutes after we started, we turn the corner to arrive at the finish line. Huge crowd of people! Cheering for me! (ok, maybe not only for me). Cross the finish line with J and D to cheers from friends. YEAH!

I'm not gonna lie, I seriously had my doubts about getting out of my comfort zone, putting forth some effort, all that. But this? Was SO WORTH IT. So worth it to do something you didn't know you could do and be a part of a huge group coming together for a common cause.

DISCLAIMER: We did not run the WHOLE time. We ran about 75% of the time, which we feel darn good about.

Pleased. Now I can check "be runner" off my list.