Long Beach half marathon

            This weekend was big for me.

It all started in February of this year, 2011. I kept seeing a facebook post for a breast cancer 5k on a friends page. I felt a little out of place asking her if anyone could join her team. She was a mom of a family I have worked for over 5 years. She, Caroline, of course said anyone could join so I started to round my friends up and start to run. My goal was to just be able to run it without stopping. I wasn't concerned on my time, though I know I wanted to do a pretty good "average" in for my age group. So a month before the race my journey began. March 6th the Susan G. Komen Race for the cure started. I finished 12 in my age group with a time of 29:31. I was super proud and left addicted.

The next race was a gladiator mud run.  May 7th This was with friends and my husband. We did it together and had a blast.

Then came the Fontana 5k on June 4th and my dad and father in-law and a good friend Loan joined me. I did my PR that race and it was a lot of fun to do with both dads. Both have been long-time runners and were excited to be doing it together.

About this time my arthritis became worse. I wake up some mornings not being able to walk but yet the drive to not let it take over my body I continue to set out and run. I have RA. I noticed it around the age of 21 and it started in my hands. Sense then it has moved on to my right foot. I go to the doctor often for it and hope that one day I can say I live pain free. But until then I live one morning at a time.

July 4th came and I rounded up yet again a group of good friends and my father in-law. We set out to do the Claremont Village 5k. This race was HOT and uphill and not fun. But it was completed and I felt ready to move to a 10k.

My friend Caroline is amazing and has races lined up almost each month. She has allowed me to follow her in these races throughout the summer.
The Cypress 10k race was set for July 23rd. My dad and father-in law again set out to run with me. I finished that in 54:32

I started to join Caroline on long runs after that. Either Sat. or Sun. we would set out. She would run longer then I would but together I started to build the miles. After a few runs I felt confident to sign up for the Long Beach Half Marathon. Caroline and both dads signed up. The real training had began.
I felt ready to "try" and my dad set my goal pretty high. Under 2:00
My RA doctor has informed me that though he can't say for sure if running is making my arthritis worse it definitely is not making it better. He has encouraged me to cut down the amount of running due to the extreme pain I have been in. However, I cannot imagine doing that at this point. I've worked so hard to get here and don't want to stop. I will run day-to-day. Some days are better and some days it takes all of me to just walk. This I know will be a life long struggle that I plan on not letting defeat me.

8/8 Last night was a long night. I was nervous, excited and really just plan scared. I knew I could run it but that fast? I didn't know. I woke up every hour thinking about the race and then came the morning. I got up and my husband wished me a good luck and promised to meet me at the finish. My dads picked me up and we were off. My dad has to go to the bathroom A-LOT on race days and I seemed to pick up his nervous habit. After the bathroom we met up with Caroline and headed to the start. We started and I was amazed by the amount of people that were there. I asked when it started to fan out but it never did. We rounded around people going up on the side walks in the sand and grass. Keeping a steady pace was hard when trying to get around people. The last 1.5 miles was HARD! I felt sick and wasn't sure I could keep my dads pace but mind over matter I pushed through. My dad and I sprinted the last leg of the race and in almost of a game way we tried to beat each other. I did....by one second.

My father in-law beat his goal by 7 mins. So proud of him and Caroline who had a Keith Urban concert the night before did amazing, even though she will say she didn't. She continues to inspire and push me!
Next race.......Surf City. Though one might come a little sooner then that. I have loved this journey and love that I can!

I've realized that even though this is an individual sport I couldn't do it without that support and love from my family and friends. I've come to love waking up at 5:30 to go meet Caroline and my dad to run. I've enjoyed the hours of conversation and companionship that this has brought. I love seeing how far my body can be pushed and the strength that come with it.    
I'm Ready to Run.....