Marathon Day

Well, he did it.

David ran the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on Saturday.

...Checked it off the 'ole to-do list.

This is at  7:00 a.m. (FYI: I had been up for and hour and a half at this point.) It was a chilly 40 degrees outside. A beautiful day in a beautiful place- fall leaves, fields full of deer, scenic roads, gorgeous sunrise...

After the cannon fired (yes, a cannon...scared me to death) and David started running, I boarded a shuttle to go watch him at different points in the race. I told you this was going to be some serious spectating.

David at mile 4...doing great. His spirits were high.

I rode the shuttle to lots of different spots in the race. I made friends with other spectators. I petted a lot of dogs. When I saw Dave, I would scream and cheer and then run along side of him in my Fuggs (fake Uggs) to give him his fuel bars, trade out his beanie for his running hat, etc.

Big. Time.

After I saw him at mile 18, I went to the finish line to wait. I never get tired of watching runners cross the finish line at a long race. There's such a sense of accomplishment and happiness on people's faces. They've just completed something that most of them weren't sure that they could do. Amazing.

Triumph of the will!

Hope!

Tomorrow!

America!

You know how I feel about all of those things. I get emotional.

David was planning on running the marathon in 4 hours, so I was watching the clock to see when I could expect him. Then, much earlier than I anticipated, David rounded the corner and started the home stretch to the finish.

He's in the white shirt.

And here he is, on the left, crossing the finish line.

He ran 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 51 minutes. When he crossed the finish line, Dave hugged me like he hadn't seen me in 26.2 years.

David finished his first marathon. I'm so proud of him. He's so proud, too.

Race bling.

Dave sat down in the grass to take a break, with some pizza and coke. As soon as I snapped this picture, I told him to get his butt in the car.

Just kidding. I let him finish his pizza. Then, I drug him to the car.

We made it to the wedding by the skin of our teeth. David was delirious.

The wedding was perfect. We are so happy for Tiffany and Chris.

We got to see good friends and eat good food.

They had some of the best sweet tea I've ever had at the reception. And, I consider myself a connoisseur of sweet tea, so don't take that lightly. It was really really good.

We are happily exhausted.

mel