Go Uncle Mike!

Normally my husband is full of boundless energy that won’t quit; but at this moment he is collapsed on the bed in, no movement at all. I usually only see him like this if he is fast asleep, and even then…not so much. The truth is, he really hasn’t moved much at all today. Completely absent from our Sunday church meetings was the constant, fidgety leg bouncing that shakes our entire pew. All was still on this particular Sabbath. This afternoon you should have seen him coming up the stairs from the basement. Let’s just say… it took awhile.

The reason for this….

…yesterday Mike ran his first marathon. Today, he is paying for it. His body is telling him, in no uncertain terms, that it did not like what happened yesterday. It is screaming “NEVER AGAIN…PLEASE! NEVER AGAIN!”

Mike claims that running a marathon has been on his bucket list for as long as he can remember. I want to state, for the record, that running a marathon will never be an item on mine. I am not a fan of the insane, masochistic-like phenomenon of marathon running (I personally feel running a marathon is more about earning bragging rights than anything else). But, nevertheless, somewhere around Father’s Day, in a moment of total weakness, scrawled in a love note accompanying some new running shorts and socks, I pledged to be a supportive wife in Mike’s ill begotten marathon venture.

Aside from one fairly large argument, and maybe a few incidences of verbally questioning his sanity, I think I was pretty supportive. (Okay, I really wasn’t that supportive) But hey… I went and cheered him on anyway; because I love him dearly. And that’s what you do when you love someone. Even if you’re starting to question their sanity.

When all was said and done, I had to admit…he did great.

We found a corner somewhere near the 20 mile mark and patiently waited for Mike to appear. Mike’s mom and dad and my brother Eric and family joined us in the cheering section. (Thanks for the cute poster Em!) While we were waiting, the kids were being true Boy Scouts handing out cups of Gatorade and packets of Goo to the runners as they ran by.

Jonathan found his true calling in life…helping to fill cups with electrolytes for the weary runners

Jeffrey poured a cup of red Gatorade (Mike’s favorite flavor) and faithfully guarded it from all other thirsty runners so he could give it to his daddy when he ran by.

Watching the runs go by I was feeling a bit nervous, until I got a glimpse of Mike’s familiar stride as he rounded the corner into Millville.

You can see Mike coming up the road there (wearing black, checking his watch), but some of you might also recognize the biker in the bright yellow jersey as well. Yep…Uncle Brad (a true-blue supporter of marathon running, having run several himself over the years) was there for Mike during much of the toughest parts of the race, pacing him on the Red Rocket, and cheering him on. A thankful shout out to Uncle Brad today. Mike said he could not have finished at his goal time if it hadn’t been for Brad’s motivating encouragement during the last few miles (and maybe the fact that he was noticing that lots of girls were passing him).

I was very glad to see Mike at the 20 mile point. I jogged next to him a bit and gave him an encouraging kiss and pat on the bum. I had no doubt he would make it to the finish line, but the hardest part of the race was just beginning. Marathon runners say that a marathon is divided in two parts, the first twenty miles (the easy part)…and the last 6.2. Ouch!

I got a little lost trying to find my way to Merlin-Olsen park through the back roads, but we made it just in time to see Mike coming down the stretch to the finish line. He was looking pretty beat, but he was still running at a good pace.

He crossed the finish line just under the 4 1/2 hour mark, which was his goal. He ended up finishing a whole seven minutes faster than the average marathon runner (as he informed me today).

Maybe it’s not Kenyan fast but he did it, and he’ll take it!  I’d say it’s not too shabby for his first (and hopefully last) marathon. He reported feeling quite the flood of emotion as he crossed over the finish line. He was just so incredibly happy that he could stop running and that he didn’t have to run another step!

He doesn’t look too bad for having just run 26.2 miles.

Although not a fan of marathons, I was proud of Michael. I truly do get how hard it is to run 26.2 miles, and I do realize it’s an accomplishment to be proud of. His bragging rights have been officially earned. Bucket list item…check.

The boys…well, they’re big fans of marathons now too, because you get free chocolate milk and a cool medal at the end. I asked them to stand close to Daddy for a picture, but they claimed that he smelled too bad and they wouldn’t get any closer than this. Thank goodness for showers!

Love you babe! I hope you’ll be up and moving again sooner than later.