Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Running half crazy? Scrapbook it.



It's funny. Sometimes if I share with someone that I'm running a half marathon, they'll say, "Wow--that's crazy!"

Maybe so. But if I'm crazy, I'm crazy with a whole bunch of other people. Thousands of people. Hundreds of thousands of people. There's something to this "running thing," folks.

Beth (sister), Todd (brother), Drew (Cliff's cousin), Tricia (me), Cliff (husband), Andrea (neighbor)
After logging roughly 200 training miles, I finished my 3rd consecutive Green Bay Half Marathon on Sunday, and it was a beautiful day. It was my husband's 9th. So, we're consecutively half crazy. :)

Cliff running his 9th GB Half Marathon. Mile 4.
We had an extraordinary start-line moment with 26 seconds of silence in remembrance of the Boston tragedy on April 15. Every runner received a blue bracelet that said "Boston 2013; We run as one." You could have heard a pin drop.

26 seconds of silence at the start.
My sweet neighbor, Andrea, ran her first full crazy marathon on Sunday. She was absolutely extraordinary, finishing the 26.2 miles in 4:09. I used to drive Andrea to middle school every morning, and to see that gal round the corner to the finish after circling Lambeau Field literally brought tears to my eyes.

Andrea just after the finish, still smiling!
Brenda Nejedlo, CS staffer, completed her second half . . . run/walking an awesome race with the support of her husband, John and enthusiastic Bichon, Missy.

Brenda found me in the Lambeau Field atrium before the start. 
My brother Todd and my sister Beth finished well. Oh, and my dear friends Lara and Russel, and my great pal/cousin/3-time Boston Marathon finisher, Drew, who brought home a 3rd place award in his age group.

Drew's plate-sized top finisher medal.
I'm proud as punch of my running friends. We celebrated our accomplishments with plenty of great food afterward. Entertaining a large tribe of runners post-race prevents stiffness from setting in, I suppose.


In celebration of our weekend, I wanted to put the last of the Marathon Collection on sale for a special buy. This is the last of it, my dear running friends. It's a cool collection and will be gone soon, especially at this crazy price!



Are you a runner? Are you a walker? Are you a runner wanna-be? I got started many years ago with this nifty "couch potato to 5-K program". I was the girl who said, "Oh, I don't run. I'll start running when I start seeing other runners smiling." Well, I can tell you that I smiled for almost 13.1 miles straight on Sunday. Thank you, GB Half Marathon organizers and volunteers for a great race day!

"Nobody said it would be easy. They said it would be worth it." -- Anonymous

Looking forward to hearing your running stories!

To your good health . . .
Tricia
Cliff, me and Todd sporting our hardware in front of Lambeau Field.

6 comments:

  1. Did you really start with C25K? I've just started that myself. My goal is much more modest - I just want to complete a Disney 5K. Thanks for being such a great inspiration on so many fronts.

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    1. Yes, that's exactly right! I think it was about 7 years ago. And, maybe 30 pounds ago? :) It's a great program. All the best to you on reaching your goal!

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  2. Congratulations, Tricia, such an admirable feat! And congrats also to all of you reading this who get out there and DO something!

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  3. Way to go Tricia, you are my inspiration! <3

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  4. Wonderful achievement, Tricia! I just run in the gym (which I believed i would never be able to do!), who know what I do in the future!

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