Anyhoo, the weather in Ottawa today was again pretty friggin' hot. There was a nice breeze which made things somewhat pleasant.
I was having a STELLAR race. I was on track to run a 2h20 race, until I hit kilometre 17. Thats when my calf decided to seize. It seized in a gigantic ball. I walked until kilometre 18 trying to stretch it out.... started running again, about 2 minutes into it... same thing. Between kilometres 18-20 I kinda run/walked as much as I could.
A woman ran by my with a "Running for Mom" with photo of her Mom on the back of her shirt. Seeing that made me think of my own Mom, who would hopefully be proud of my accomplishments over the past 17 years. (she died when I was 11)
It was about that time that I saw the 20k marker, and I decided to buck up and give'r. I wanted to make my Mom proud. And as corny as it may sound, I was suddenly painless and I SWEAR there was a huge gust of wind to push me along. I have to wonder if it wasn't her, cheering me on from above.
After crossing the finish line, I stopped the woman to tell her she shirt made me sprint to the finish ... (I'm sitting here sobbing as I type this) and she replied "She made me spint too" and we actually both started crying and hugged each other. A rather special moment between strangers, no?
So yes, I'm disappointed in the time. But, what the hell... I DID IT! I tend to be so obsessed with perfection and numbers that I tend to overlook the overall accomplishment. I DID IT!
Here are some shots captured by my amazing husband who showed up at several different locations along the route. I love him to bits, and I am so thankful to have such a wonderful man as a constant supporter. Thank you Andrew! xoox
33 comments:
WTG Amy!!!!! You did it!!
I am a new reader to your blog, but you inspire me. I am training to run my first half in Oct. :)
Congrats on your race today. :)
I'm so proud of you Amy!
Your post made me cry. I know your mom would be so proud of you!! My mom passed away when I was 13 and I have moments like that where I know that she's looking out for me.
You are such an inspirational gal
xoxoxox
You are too cute for words<3
I am SO proud of you <3
Your mom is looking down with PRIDE <3
You did it!
I'm sure your mom would have been so proud of you. Hell, we don't even know each other and I'm proud of you!
You rock.
Great job, Amy!! Your Mom is proud, don't you forget it.
Awesome job Amy ... you ROCK!!!
Congratulations! Upright and smiling is all it takes for a successful race.
Your post made me cry--thinking about my dad and how proud he would be of me always gets me through the hard parts of races. And the gust of wind part gave me shivers. I know your mom's proud of you, too!
H =)
Way to go! You did it!!!!
What a story. What a connection.
I am so in awe of you and your accomplishments...thank you. Thank you for sharing your journey and weightloss marathon...you are a real inspiration!
Now, want to train me for the Army half in September?????!!!!!!!!! HELP!
Wow, you are definitely inspiring! I used to run in high school and worked out a ton in college but have let it go for the past five years... I've recently taken up running again and it's TOUGH! Bloggers like you definitely keep me motivated! Way to go!
Awesome job Amy! Definetly teared up at your very sweet story...especially close to my heart as I lost my mom when I was 16.
Big hugs!!!
You are awesome!
What a beautiful moment you and your stranger friend shared!
Congratulations :)
Ahhh!!! Tears while reading your comment!!
Congrats and so glad you had a great experience!!
Congrats on a great job Amy!!
Good for you!!you make us all proud.
Congratulations!
aw...I cried after reading that as well....Amy, I am so proud of you for that!!!!
My mom is actually running her first half marathon this weekend! And I'm doing my first marathon too. :)
Should be a memorable weekend!
Awesome race report, Amy. I was there cheering people on and was so moved and inspired by everyone. I was thinking that each of them has their own story, but man, yours is very powerful.
My dad has been gone for 24 years and I still get moments where I feel him with me, so I love how your mom helped you finish the race.
Way to go! You are an amazing woman!!!
Awwww shit. Having lost my mom and young age (19), I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my cheeks... at work no less.
Great race report. Love the hat, of course.
Congrats Amy!
You had ME in tears talking about your mom and I KNOW she was teh one helping you out with the wind and taking the pain away.
you did it. You freaking ran almost 22k. Again. You never cease to amaze me.
Ah man, you made my eyes well up!!
So proud of your positive take on your race. Your Mom is totally proud and I am sure you are right that she was there with you.
Good job!!!
Congrats!!!
OMG you have MEEE sobbing too!!!!!!! So proud of ya kiddo! (I always am) ;-)
Great race rockstar!!!
Great post and congrats.
I actually was looking around in the start corrals to see if I could spot you and all. I mean, there were only 10,000 people there so it was possible right? :)
Good job, Amy!
Great Job girl!!! and great to hear that you had an extra bit o' help from above for the end! It warms my heart to know that Angels watch over us in every moment, and always show up when you need them the most!
You are truly an inspiration for all us "runner-wannabee's"!!!
Amy I just wanted to say that I could totally relate to your post.
I lost my dad in August unexpectely at 55 years of age.
After he passed away I joined weight watchers and started on my journey.
I also signed up for a 5k, never ran before in my life.
I accomplished this 3 days after the his first birthday that he wasn't here to celebrate
On that day I signed up for a 10k which I am doing in September.
He is the wind that pushes me home, I am a strong believer in that.
your mom would be so proud of you.
WTG!
Thank you for your support Amy.
Amy, you're such an inspiration!!! Seriously, 9 HALFS?! That's awesome, hope you're damn proud of yourself! :)
Well done!!
Next year, I am completely and totally skipping this event. This is how bad the 5K was.
Wonderful Job! Hope you feel absolutely awesome, because you are.
GREAT JOB!! You finished it and kicked some butt - 2 things to be so proud of. Who cares about times!! You did something that a lot of people could never do let alone attempt and you have done NINE of them!?!? You are amazing!!
Hi,
I was searching for calf cramps and came across your story. Quite inspirational, and nice job with all of your race and weight goals.
I'm wondering if the calf cramps aren't caused by a mineral deficiency, as both times I had then I was doing extreme runs (Pikes Peak Ascent (HM) and another time at 15.5 miler) and it was summertime. I've starting drinking 32oz Cytomax or Heed sports drinks now before the race (and after) and haven't had any more problems with calf cramps.
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