Bee inspired…

We ran a half marathon this past weekend.

When *I* said I was going to run Cincinnati’s Queen Bee Half Marathon back in July, I really had no idea it was going to become a *we* thing.  My goal of challenging my body to get to prime fitness, daring to fail, and Do Today Well, every day, led me go for it.

I was heavily dependent on God during this whole thing: at times the training, the wear and tear on my body, the time, and the obstacles against me seemed too great to overcome.  I focused on one day at a time, as I tend to do, and I felt there were many times that God blessed me with the one thing I needed: no pain one day, a marvelous sunset another day, a light misty rain on a particularly hot day when no rain was in the forecast, Brad’s prompting when my own will failed, and many more.  Most of my runs were solo runs, but the running app  was monumental in making this a team experience.  Over and over and over, I saw His goodness.

The training was brutal, the sacrifice real, and the fear was prevalent.  I was pumped when it looked like it was really going to happen:

My people were supportive, encouraging and rallied around me.  Right?  That’s what you expect of my village, I know.  I too walk daily in the knowledge that I am so well loved.  My people are extraordinarily amazing.  Even so, my people outdid themselves in a plethora of ways.

Many signed up to run, and one even flew in from out of town to do it alongside me.  And she organized thirty-five shirts for the runners and cheer squad and packed them into her teeny tiny suitcase.  Another friend organized a hotel room so we could minimize the morning logistics and the husbands sent us some chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne.  Perfect pre-race dessert–ha!

That’s what it looked like when we crossed the finish line.  A tribe.

Thirteen point one miles is a long road.  Most of us were newbies to anything greater than a 5k.  Two had never been runners, period.  We had the most amazing cheer squad who did almost as much running as we did; they were in and out of their car to be along the route as often as possible.  They had signs and bullhorns and noisemakers (aka, children!)  The cheer squad met up with us at miles one, four, seven, ten and twelve, which means they were frantically tracking us on the race app and being creative with alternate routes to get around all the closed streets.  At one point, they were able to drive alongside us as one lane was the running route, and one lane was open to traffic.  We had at least five cars worth of cheerers, so this was no small endeavor!

Mom (aka The Rozzinator) walked the four-mile event with some friends, and her last words to me at the start line were: “Be sensible!” (Gotta love her!  Haha!)  Several staff from my oncology office ran too, and it is so neat to blur the line from professional to personal friendships with them.  Spontaneously, Brad jumped in to run the last two miles, and Maren and her friend jumped in to run the last mile.  Can you tell that the mojo we had going on that day was sensational!!?!!

The race was a hoot.  We had opportunity to eat (yes, eat) at least twenty times along the route.  According to my race-savvy friend who has done these things before, Cincinnati is unique here: most places don’t feed you!  However, on our day donuts, cupcakes, Twizzlers, Swedish fish, beer, mimosas, Jello shots, and more were offered.  Some were race-sanctioned offerings, others were set up on card-tables by families who live along the race route.  I passed by all of them with no regret until I passed by the beer station.  I had beer remorse a half-mile after I ran by it because I’m all about a good anecdote for the story-telling.  Around mile ten I went for the Jello shot, admittedly thinking there’s no way this is a loaded Jello shot.  But, it was loaded.  Ha!  At mile nine we passed another beer station, so I took one of those too.  We talked along the route, we stepped outside of the racing lane to hug and high-five our cheer squad, and we laughed as we ran.  I had no vision of my race time and did not track my pace in any capacity; my goal was to finish with a smile on my face.  I ran most of the way, but walked through the water stations during the last half to ensure that I would in fact be smiling at the end.

We finished and spent hours in the finishing chute, the after party in the park, and lunch at a local favorite barbecue spot.  We got our medals, hung out together, and reveled in our sense of accomplishment.  All the medals came engraved with something, but the messages varied and were distributed randomly.

Bee strong

Bee confident

Bee amazing

Bee inspired

As happens so remarkably often with me, it was so much more than I thought it could be.  The blessing of the village all around me, God giving me the strength and endurance to do it, and the unique touches of support from so many individuals was bamboozling.

I’m so proud of us for doing this day so very well.

I’m so grateful to everyone for stepping in.

I’m so inspired.

**If you have pictures, please share them with me somehow!