My Marathon Man

Brian ran his 2nd marathon today and he couldn't be happier that it's over. :-) The training for this marathon seemed to be plagued with weird injuries and he was very nervous going into this race wondering if he had gotten in enough preparation. He felt great the 1st half and even took 7 minutes off his time for the first half of last years marathon. (In fact it was a personal best time for any 1/2 marathon he's run...which is quite a few.) But around mile 16 his legs started cramping and it got worse with every step. In all his years of sports and running he has never suffered leg cramps so he was unsure how to get rid of them and just kept powering through. By the last few miles he was stopping often to stretch to try to help ease the pain but it was taking a lot of time to do this. He ended up finishing about 15 minutes later than the goal he set for himself and he is really trying to "come to terms with failure" as he puts it. I reminded him how few people ever finish a marathon and he had a huge accomplishment today, it just happened 15 minutes later than he planned. :-)

I always stand in awe at the finish line of these races (marathons & half marathons) as I watch the runners cross the finish line...some finishing strong, others needing help to get across and others collapsing the minute they hit the finish line. They sacrifice so much for this accomplishment but inspire so many in doing so. Our friends came with us this time to support Brian and Krista responded just as I have on so many occasions...tears flowing freely. :-)

Coming to the finish line...it's almost over!!!! :-)

We're so proud of him!!! He's our running hero! :-)