106

This was my view during the foggy morning on the east-bound Narrows Bridge. I spent many nights leading up to this point with my stomach doing flip-flops, general anxiety, sleeplessness and diarrhea. I'm not sure if the fog was a blessing or a curse. I was terrified to walk over this bridge and it was almost the deal-breaker for the half marathon today.

Luckily, Annie stepped-up and said she would walk with me, if only to get my butt over the bridge. Somewhere in the middle of the bridge was a 5k marker. It was unbelievable that we had gone that far already. We continued and made it over the bridge. I only got woozy a couple of times when I looked over the rail to the water below and looked up at the crazy height of the stanchions. So, when my brain said don't do that anymore, I looked at the pavement in front of me and made it over the bridge. Annie was there to provide nonstop conversation, which was a real help. I am indebted to my free psychotherapist.

Mile after mile, Annie and I trudged along the course. Jason, Kelby, Jen, Trever, Mary and Sarah were far ahead of us because they were runners. At just about every mile, I did a small dance, we knuckle-bumped and then decided how far we would continue.



When we reached the 10 mile marker, we figured out that we still had an hour to finish the 3.1 miles, so we went for it and decided to finish. We finished the whole course in 4 hours, 11 minutes. But, who cares about the time. The best thing is that we finished the course when our initial goal was only to make it halfway. Oh, and the turquoise and pink women we trailed behind on the bridge and for the majority of the course? Well, we decided to surpass them at the end and we did. Kick butt.

What a journey...