Ironic... Umbrella was one of the songs that played on my iPod during my 7.2 mile run through the POURING down rain 2 Sundays ago. It made me smile. Actually I smiled the entire time I was running. While it was definitely less-than-desirable weather, I was well-prepared for the run & so happy to be doing this with my family. They are troupers. They did this because I asked them to do it with me and I love them very much for getting out there inspite of the rain!
Bob & I spent the night at the Sheraton Downtown so we'd be close to the race. The hotel was only a few blocks to the start line & right across the street from the Metro Link station I would need to get to my relay point. Our hotel room window, however, did not face out into the street. We had a view of the hotel atrium. Therefore, we didn't know what kind of weather awaited us until we went outside. Bob was our first runner, so he left our room by 6:30am to walk to the start line... the race began at 7am. I stayed in bed & tried to sleep a bit more, as I hadn't slept hardly at all the night before. Nerves I guess. At 7:15am my dad called me from his car laughing. Said he was going to wait in his car until he absolutely had to get out... it was pouring down rain. I almost started to cry just thinking about Bob already out there running for the past 15 minutes (almost 2 miles at that point). I turned on the news & they were talking about how hard it was raining for the the race going on. They showed a shot of the Arch & you could barely see it.
Bob came back to the room before I had to leave, completely drenched.
My family & I participated in the St Louis Marathon (26.2 miles) as a relay team. Bob ran first (6.25 miles), then he tagged my dad (who ran 6 miles), my dad tagged my sister (who ran 6.75 miles)...
and then I ran last leg (7.2 miles)...
The BEST part of the race was that at the end, they got to jump in with me and run the last .2 miles so we could all cross the finish line together...
We were all yelling & cheering & high-fiving each other. It was quite a celebration...
We all wore matching DKM shirts (that my sister had made through the apparel company where she works) + my sister & I wore matching running skirts. Unfortunately I had my shirt covered to keep an extra layer on me so I could fare well in the rain. In hindsight, I should've worn my long-sleeve under my short-sleeved DKM shirt, but I remained optimistic that surely the rain would stop & I'd be so hot that I'd have to remove it during my run. Nope. Didn't happen.
I am so proud of our performance. Our team goal was to finish the race in less than 4 hours and our time was 3:57:05 (our actual chip time... not the clock time above)! Sheesh, was I drenched though. It felt really good to take a hot shower afterward.
Such a fun & inspiring day. My family is the best.
Winners never quit and quitters never win...
You and your family is such an inspiration! And a beautiful family, too. So? how are you? I'm doing well, soon you will be seeing me more often since I'm almost done with school this semester! Yayayyyy. I'm dying to spend more time creating and having fun! Anyhow, I see you're doing fine so I guess I'll go now! LOL! Have a beautiful day girl!
Posted by: Diana | April 29, 2009 at 08:54 AM
Deana you guys are awesome! Congrats on a great time..
Posted by: Vickie | April 29, 2009 at 08:58 AM
what an inspiration you are! i seriously could never last as long as you! haha. and to think, you did it in the rain! a big congrats.
loving all of your pics.
i'm also done with my layout of bryn.
hugs,
sarah.
Posted by: sarah | April 29, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I am soooo impressed. I've always wanted to be a runner, but my body seems to have other ideas...lol! Way to go!
Posted by: Lisa Howard | April 29, 2009 at 02:47 PM
This is so inspiring! Glad you had a good time. I will be sending your camera out out tomorrow. Sorry for the delay, I went to the doctor and found out I have shingles and have been drained for the past two days. : )
Posted by: nicole renee | April 29, 2009 at 08:18 PM
*sigh* great photos....but *double sigh* I am SUPER DUPER SAD that U got that CAMERA from Nicole b4 me :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:( DUDE...its a KODAK!!!!!!! *sigh* dang computer virus....ok....running off to cry now!!!!! Love U! :):):):):)
Posted by: Julie | April 29, 2009 at 09:26 PM
Girl, you make me so proud! what an awesome story.
And HELLOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I love that layout below!! So beautiful! I love the cluster at the bottom! Just love it, babe!
Have a good day! Talk to you soon! :P
Posted by: Beth Perry | April 30, 2009 at 07:06 AM
You are awesome Deana! I'm so proud of you!
Posted by: Jackie | May 02, 2009 at 02:49 PM
That's awesome! Today was the Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati! I'm just a cheerleader, not a runner :)
Posted by: Andi | May 03, 2009 at 08:17 PM