***Spoiler Alert*** I
married Marion…. That said, the goal of this blog is to use it as an outline
for a book, so when that book deal happens, I promise to devote a big, fat
chapter to my courtship with Marion, but in the meantime, I will keep the
nitty-gritty of it all off of the internet in respect to key players, but just
know that when the book comes out, that chapter alone will be worth the
purchaseJ I will share that our wedding included
skydiving, dirt bike riding, and lots of dancing; Peter nick-named it the
“X-Games” wedding, which was quite fitting.
However, the absolute best part of that day in early November, 2006, was
that I became a step mother to an amazing seven year old girl named Hannah, who is
now fourteen…… yikes… time flies….
Marion and I started dating officially on September 19th,
2004, just two days after my twenty-fifth birthday, and two weeks before
marathon #7, the Cowtown marathon in Sacramento, Ca. We had been friends for months, so he was
well aware that I was a runner, and that I was nearly fanatical about
qualifying for Boston, he even knew what time I needed finish in to do it. Which is why I was truly touched when he left
me a voice mail message at 10:40AM on Sunday, October 3rd the day of
the marathon saying, “Hi, it is 10:40, so hopefully you have finished by now,
and if you did, you qualified for Boston!”
Pretty cool.
I flew up to Sacramento the day before the race, it is a
quick flight from LA, and far more easy on the legs than the five hour drive in
the car. I rented a car which was one of those gigantic Lincoln’s or something,
picture your grand parents last fly ride, and that was me rolling around our
State’s capital. My hotel was nothing special,
and barely a hotel at all, but it would do for the purpose of this trip, which was to
get in and out of Sacramento as quickly as possible, meaning with the fastest
marathon to date. The expo was not very "expo" like at all, but it was simple,
and efficient, which I appreciated; I didn’t really need another energy gel,
anyway.
My pre-race nutrition was not quite honed in yet, but a huge
smoothie and fore-arm sized brownie for
lunch, then a box of Junior Mints later than night when I watched the movie
Ladder 49, yummy. Before I went to bed I
knocked back some trail mix, and Gatorade, not a perfect pre-race meal, but not
too dangerous either. I slept, which was
a blessing, but I was thrilled when my alarm went off, because my body was
primed and ready to go. The race started
in a park in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, the crowd was on the small side, which I
loved, it felt intimate, like I already knew these runners, because they were
real runners, but I just nodded and smiled among them, knowing today would be
more than just a race that gave me my seventh finishing T-Shirt, one to wear
every day of the week, but something more.
The race started off well, I was running at a quicker pace
than I needed to meet my qualifying time, which was perfect, it meant I was
banking time for when I really needed it.
The course weaved through neighborhoods lined with trees heavy with
leaves that had yet to fall for Fall, which meant lots of shade underneath
nature’s umbrella, a check in the “pro” corner for this course. The only not-so-scenic section was the
stretch between miles 12-14 on the frontage road to the freeway, but I did not
think much of the ugliness because I was way ahead of schedule at the half way
mark, yay. My energy started to wane a
bit around mile 17, which is normal for me, but that is where I saw a gorgeous
couple come galloping across the park yelling their beautiful faces off for me
to “Go”, it was my friend Sarah and her boyfriend, Mike. They came to the race
to surprise me because Sarah knew how important Boston was for me, and that I
was betting on this race for it to finally happen. Sarah is an amazing human being, she was the
first friend I made my freshman year in college, and is a Pediatric nurse today,
I am very thankful to have her in my life. Also, she has perfect timing, because I needed
some pep in my step at that moment of the race, and she and Mike gave me the
jolt I needed to keep pushing my pace, I was so close. She told me that my younger sister Sarah,
along with Tim and his family were waiting for me at the finish line, which was
like drinking gummy berry juice; I was good to go to finish strong!
The final mile of the course looped around the park toward
the finish so I could see it about half a mile before I made the final turn,
and I heard the announcer reading off times, I looked at my watch, it read
3:35; I did it. I would finish under
3:40, I had punched my ticket for Boston, finally. My official time was 3:37, whew, and Tim was
the first person to come up and tell me that I qualified, which made it extra
special. I was impressed with my
execution, I did what I needed to do, but I was in shock that after three attempts
at qualifying for Boston after my San Francisco “Do it by 25” goal, I did it,
and would be running the Boston marathon in six months. I could not wait to call Marion back after
his adorable message to tell him I did it, and ask if he wanted to come with me
to Boston, and everywhere else for the rest of my life.
Can't wait for your book!! :)
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