After the expo, we hit the streets of Chicago, and just enjoyed being together without the kids!!! Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law for coming up here to keep them so we could have the weekend to ourselves! We enjoyed dinner that night at the Grand Luxe, and then retired to our room for a good night's sleep.

The bad thing...I couldn't sleep!!! I was so keyed up. I tossed and turned and finally fell asleep around midnight. Our alarm was set for 5 am...ugh. But thankfully, I had all my gear ready to go. So come morning, I didn't have to do anything but put it on.

Then it was race time....

We stopped at Starbucks and downed some oatmeal and juice. Then headed out in the dark, cold morning to find the starting line.

We met up with Team World Vision, and had some prayer and pep talk time. I really enjoyed running with them. It was for a great cause, and they helped keep it fun! They had huge cheering sections at different points on the course. And there were soooo many World Vision runners. I don't think there was one point during the race that I didn't see other orange and white jerseys besides mine and Robert's.

Now for the nitty gritty...

We started the race with the 11 minute mile pace group. We had been training for that and felt pretty confident that we could pull it off. We had our ipods going, and we were ready to run! Mile 3 came, and we were in our zone. Then mile 8, 9, 10...we were still feeling great! We came upon mile 11 where Team World Vision had a HUGE cheering section. Their high fives and "you can do its" really propelled us forward. Then we saw the sign for 13.1...the half! I felt great! I beat my previous half marathon's time, and I hadn't pushed myself at all. I was on top of the world!!!

At mile 15 though, I started to cramp. It was bad. I new I was going to have to stop and wait in line at the port-a-potty...yuck! I don't think I have ever peed that quickly in my life! Hahaha! I didn't want that to make my time suffer. 

We were still doing good. Still on pace. We felt like rockstars!

Then mile 17 hit Robert with a wall! It was awful. The temp was working its way up into the 80s. He was hot and dehydrated. He was feeling nauseated. And, for some reason, I felt it was my duty as his running partner to go Jillian Michaels on him! So for the next two miles, I barked orders at him and tried to push him as hard as I could. (I'm terrible... I know!!!) He didn't fall for it though. He knew his limits, so he just fast walked along while I blabbed away. Finally, he told me to run ahead...that he would be fine. I'm sure he was sick of my mouth! Sorry Babe! :)

I ran ahead determined to still finish in under 5 hours.

At mile 20, that aching cramp came back! Ugh...another bathroom break. This time though, I had to stand in line FOREVER!!! When I finally got back out on the course, I realized that there was no way I could finish in under 5 hours. I was so upset. Seriously...I muttered a string of four letter words, but I kept going. I crossed under the China Town arch and heard another World Vision cheering section. When I high fived some of them, I realized that my time didn't matter. I was going to finish this thing proud of myself no matter what my time was.

Then I looked in front of me, and there was Robert fast walking like he had been when I left him at mile 19. I ran up to him and immediately apologized. He passed me while I was stuck in line at the mile 20 bathroom. Funny...I know!

I stuck with him this time. He fast walked and I slow jogged. We were doing good. Happy that the end was getting closer. 

By this mile 23 it was after 12:30 and around 84 degrees. We were exhausted. We were hot. We wanted to be finished! I couldn't take it anymore. I started crying. The spectators were giving me sympathetic looks and hollering encouragement. That morning I had borrowed a pen and wrote Cowgirl Up on my forearm. I glanced down at it through my tears. I knew I could finish. I knew I could push myself for 3.2 more miles. My hands and feet were swollen to the point that my wedding ring and running shoes felt like they were a size too small! But I knew I could do it.

The next thing I knew we were at mile 26! We only had .2 miles to go...

And

It 

Was

All

Up

Hill...

Ugh! We decided that we would conserve what little energy we had left getting up the hill, and then when we saw the finish line, we would run as fast as we could.

As I topped that hill and turned that corner, the finish line came into view. I mustered up the strength and gave it everything I had left...which was nothing more than a slow jog. Hahaha! But we made it! We held hands and put them in the air. We crossed that finish line with the crowds screaming our names and the paparazzi snapping their cameras! It was AMAZING!!!

I gladly received my medal and posed for pictures. We joined up with Team World Vision and had lunch. They were so thoughtful...they had a golf cart picking people up from the finish line to take us to the lunch tent. I couldn't wait to sit down. My feet ached and I was starving! 

We recovered well. We took a nap that afternoon and met up with some friends for dinner. I was sore for about 2 days. My feet took the worst hit though. It's been 3 months since the race, and I still have 3 bruised toenails. Battle wounds I guess. 

But it was a great experience that I will one day do again...just not any time soon though. :)