What a weekend! Aaron and I began the drive down with sunny skies, turned cloudy and rainy, and hit sunshine again by the time we arrived downtown Nashville to pick up our registration packets. The drive was fantastic, who knew how fast 6 hours could fly by - a quiet car, quite a variety of musical tunes playing (you just have to know Aaron), times to get a little shut eye (that is, when your husband doesn't hit the rumble strips - repeatedly!) some great reading, and just some time for thoughts, uninterrupted - very precious.
Thanks to the generous hospitality of the Schroeder family, we enjoyed a fabulous meal, great conversation, and a good night sleep. This race was indeed special in a unique way. Our great friends, Matt and Rachel, have a very special daughter. Her name is Taylor, and she is 13 years old. In celebration of her life, we wore shirts in remembrance of 13 miles for 13 years. It was a privilege and an honor to not only participate together, but to simply share our lives this weekend. There's something about traveling a road together, that just brings to life sheer goodness and joy.
Favorite memories:
- The first 2 miles, everyone is cutting up, it's all business after that :)
- We were blessed with beautiful blue skies, despite the nasty weather forecasts. We didn't feel the first drops until we were heading for our cars - only God.
- A cool breeze at just the right moment while inclining over a bridge.
- The one flat part that lasted about .25 miles.
- Watching by husband lead as we zig-zagged around part of the 30,000 runners that participated. He always seemed to find a pathway that allowed us to keep our pace.
- A much needed apple slice that Aaron handed me around mile 5.
- A little girl handing us a water bottle that saved us for about 2 miles.
- Forgetting my I-pod, only to hear the amazing sounds of country bands, and people breathing hard :)
- Hearing the voice of angels, only to draw nearer to a church where their praise choir actually lifted me up with their song (as well as my hands), just a reflex. I still remember the goose bumps.
- Loosing Aaron in the crowd around mile 10, only to have him pop up out of no where to hand me some fabulous jelly beans. Some guy had a candy stand!
- Watching a few people receive medical attention, and thanking my Jesus for giving me the experience of a pain-free, enjoyable race!
- Crossing the finish-line with nothing left but praise!
Thank you Aaron for another great weekend! What a privilege and an honor to be running this race of life with you! The opportunity to run, rest, and simply enjoy great food, music, and company has filled me with nothing but sheer gratitude. Every day of training was worth it. I'd do it all over again. Oh yeah, we are doing it all over again, in 3 more days. Can't wait!
3 comments:
It was awesome. Well, except for the hills and stuff :) The best part was getting away from the day-to-day with my best friend. I can't thank you enough for putting up with my insane iPod playlist, singing in the car, texting while driving and frequent visits to the rumble strips on the highway. It's all part of the journey I guess. There's probably a deep message in their somewhere about how it's like our marriage too. Your grace for my ability to be all over the place is what jumps out the most. I love you and look forward to 3 more weeks of 1/2 marathons and an eternity of life together.
you two are amazing!! i admire you both.
My sweet friend! Loved sharing this event with both of you and hope more adventures are to come! Thanks for your help with the chauffeuring while we continued our trek in TN after the weekend. Thanks for your wonderful support of Taylor and our family.
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