He Will Win You Like a Champ
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Today Jeff ran his first marathon!
He was up at 3:45am and we were out the door just after 4am to take him to the finish line where the busses were waiting to take the runners 26.2 miles up Snow Canyon to the starting line. I went home and slept for a few more hours while he was waiting to start his big run.
Yesterday we went to the convention center to pick up his race packet and the kids made signs to cheer him on. They came up with some pretty hilarious and cute signs:
"My Dad is faster than your Dad!" -Isaac
"He will win you like a CHAMP!" -Isaac
"Run like the wind Bullseye" - Kate
"Run (Tree) (Tree) (Tree) (Tree) Run" -Kira
(Forest)
"My Dad will win you like a wrecking ball" -Mikey
"You Rock Dad!" -Isaac
"We love you dad do good your awesome" -Mikey
"Go Grease Lightning!" -Mikey
I signed up for the text alerts so every time Jeff passed a milestone in the race, I got a text telling me how far he was, his pace and anticipated finish time. It was awesome. I wanted to make sure we saw him at least once on the course so we went to the spectator location at mile 24 and waited with our signs and little megaphones to cheer him on. We got there a little early so we waited for a little less than an hour until we saw him, but we kept busy cheering all of the other runners. At first, I couldn't even cheer because I kept choking up every time I tried. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I watched runners go by. Some looked like they had pushed it so hard they didn't have much left. Some were limping. Some were old. Even the young, fit, happy people made me cry a little. It is just so inspiring watching people do something that is so hard like a marathon. Kate was a little confused and embarrassed "Mom, WHY are you crying? It's not even Dad!" "Mom...seriously...stop crying." She wasn't mean, just a little embarrassed. ;)
Kira was awesome. She cheered until she nearly lost her voice! "You've got this!" "You're almost there!" "You can do it!" "You're an animal!" "You're my hero!" People smiled and cheered back. She made hundreds of people smile today. After a few minutes I stopped tearing up and started cheering right alongside Kira. Kate, Mikey and Isaac were a little embarrassed at first, but they soon joined in with their megaphones and cheered with us. Finally we saw Jeff and the kids went crazy...jumping up and down and cheering madly for their Dad! We were so proud of him! And he looked great...he was smiling and in the zone, ready to reach that finish line.
As soon as Jeff was out of sight, we sprinted back to the car to try and meet him at the finish line. But with traffic, road closures and parking, we didn't make it in time. He said as he was crossing the finish line, the man in front of him had his legs just start spasm and give out. The paramedics had to rush to him and he literally crawled across the finish line! Talk about inspiring and emotional!
We met Jeff at the end and the kids piled on him with hugs and congratulations. He was a little wobbly so they backed off and just jumped around him with excitement. It was an awesome moment. I am so proud of Jeff and this accomplishment. He is really amazing and it has been inspirational to watch his transformation. A year ago, he wasn't really even running at all. I kind of thought I was the "runner" in the family, but now there's no way I could ever catch up or ever keep up. He is running so fast. His average pace for his runs under 10 miles is a 7 minute mile! That is crazy fast for a 44 year old who just took up running less than a year ago. And the best part is that he genuinely loves it. He really enjoys the challenge and measuring and improving. He's lost probably 25 pounds and is eating super healthy (most of the time). I think this is probably just the first of many marathons for him. (I'll be his cheerleader all the way...probably not his running partner)! I don't care either way...as long as I'm with Jeff, I'm happy! :)
Today Jeff ran his first marathon!
He was up at 3:45am and we were out the door just after 4am to take him to the finish line where the busses were waiting to take the runners 26.2 miles up Snow Canyon to the starting line. I went home and slept for a few more hours while he was waiting to start his big run.
Yesterday we went to the convention center to pick up his race packet and the kids made signs to cheer him on. They came up with some pretty hilarious and cute signs:
"My Dad is faster than your Dad!" -Isaac
"He will win you like a CHAMP!" -Isaac
"Run like the wind Bullseye" - Kate
"Run (Tree) (Tree) (Tree) (Tree) Run" -Kira
(Forest)
"My Dad will win you like a wrecking ball" -Mikey
"You Rock Dad!" -Isaac
"We love you dad do good your awesome" -Mikey
"Go Grease Lightning!" -Mikey
I signed up for the text alerts so every time Jeff passed a milestone in the race, I got a text telling me how far he was, his pace and anticipated finish time. It was awesome. I wanted to make sure we saw him at least once on the course so we went to the spectator location at mile 24 and waited with our signs and little megaphones to cheer him on. We got there a little early so we waited for a little less than an hour until we saw him, but we kept busy cheering all of the other runners. At first, I couldn't even cheer because I kept choking up every time I tried. Tears trickled down my cheeks as I watched runners go by. Some looked like they had pushed it so hard they didn't have much left. Some were limping. Some were old. Even the young, fit, happy people made me cry a little. It is just so inspiring watching people do something that is so hard like a marathon. Kate was a little confused and embarrassed "Mom, WHY are you crying? It's not even Dad!" "Mom...seriously...stop crying." She wasn't mean, just a little embarrassed. ;)
Kira was awesome. She cheered until she nearly lost her voice! "You've got this!" "You're almost there!" "You can do it!" "You're an animal!" "You're my hero!" People smiled and cheered back. She made hundreds of people smile today. After a few minutes I stopped tearing up and started cheering right alongside Kira. Kate, Mikey and Isaac were a little embarrassed at first, but they soon joined in with their megaphones and cheered with us. Finally we saw Jeff and the kids went crazy...jumping up and down and cheering madly for their Dad! We were so proud of him! And he looked great...he was smiling and in the zone, ready to reach that finish line.
As soon as Jeff was out of sight, we sprinted back to the car to try and meet him at the finish line. But with traffic, road closures and parking, we didn't make it in time. He said as he was crossing the finish line, the man in front of him had his legs just start spasm and give out. The paramedics had to rush to him and he literally crawled across the finish line! Talk about inspiring and emotional!
We met Jeff at the end and the kids piled on him with hugs and congratulations. He was a little wobbly so they backed off and just jumped around him with excitement. It was an awesome moment. I am so proud of Jeff and this accomplishment. He is really amazing and it has been inspirational to watch his transformation. A year ago, he wasn't really even running at all. I kind of thought I was the "runner" in the family, but now there's no way I could ever catch up or ever keep up. He is running so fast. His average pace for his runs under 10 miles is a 7 minute mile! That is crazy fast for a 44 year old who just took up running less than a year ago. And the best part is that he genuinely loves it. He really enjoys the challenge and measuring and improving. He's lost probably 25 pounds and is eating super healthy (most of the time). I think this is probably just the first of many marathons for him. (I'll be his cheerleader all the way...probably not his running partner)! I don't care either way...as long as I'm with Jeff, I'm happy! :)
Leaving the house at 4am!
Jeff and Mike (our neighbor) after the race.
I was teary just reading about it! Way to go Jeff! You are amazing.
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