Race Day

My sisters and I had gone through a lot to get ready for race day. We each had injuries as we trained and my sisters traveled thousands of miles to join me on the east coast.

Before race day my physical therapist offered to stretch out our muscles and massage our legs, all for FREE! What an incredible act of service. That made a huge difference.

We picked up our race packets the night before and stayed in a hotel near Baltimore in hopes that we could get a good night sleep. Unfourtunately for me I couldn't sleep. I wondered how race day would play out. Would I make it to the end? Would my knee hold up for 26 miles? Even though it was a sleepless night I did a lot of deep breathing just trying to stay calm. That morning Rob gave me a blessing which really calmed and comforted me.

I had a plan in place. I looked at where the water stops were and planned how far I would run and walk according to the race map. I knew if I stuck to the plan, the finish line was within my reach. I hoped to run 3.5 and walk 1. When I got out on the race course, I found that I couldn't stick completely to my plan because the water stops weren't where they said they would be and I had to stop more often to take advantage of the water and food along the route. The course was much more hilly than I had anticipated, causing me to walk more than I planned. The hills were hard on my knees, so I found myself trying to listen to my body and that usually meant walking.

It was a windy day. I found that my feet would knock into each other occassionally. I was praying I wouldn't trip over them. The wind can make it tough to move but I thought of it as an icepack for my knee, just nature's way of cooling me off :). The course was challenging but beautiful. We traveled through many diverse neighborhoods including the scenic Inner Harbor waterfront area, Historic Federal Hill, charming Fells Point, Lake Montebello and the Baltimore Zoo. In fact the zoo employees held animals on the sidelines as we ran through the zoo.

My sisters and I started together but after a while we each settled into our own paces. As we started to seperate it was an emotional moment. Would we see each other? Would everyone make it to the end? Would our injuries come into play? Luckily, Christina and I kept passing each other so we were able to check in with each other during the first half. At one point in the race there is a tight turn where we could see each other as we ran around the turn. Christina and I were on one side and Jana was on the other side. What a glorious moment!

I had some difficult moments during the race. First, it was during mile 10 and 11. My knees really started to hurt and I knew that if they didn't calm down, I would be walking the remainder of the race. More than anything I wanted to run as much as I could. So I took some Aleve at the next water stop and found a place to stop and stretch. Then I walked and prayed that I would be able to run again. I received a tender mercy from the Lord then as the pain in my knees had been eased and I was able to run and walk again.

There were many hills near the end and it took its toll on my knees. There was a 3 mile stretch where it was all hills and I had to walk. By that point I had 6 miles to go and more than anything I wanted to finish strong. I wanted to run the last 6. I prayed to my Heavenly Father that I could run the rest not knowing what lay ahead of me. There were some hills but I ran to the end.

I finished in 5 hrs and 26 minutes. Cardiovascularly I felt good. I could have kept going if it weren't for my knees. I knew I could have kicked that marathon's butt if circumstances would have been different. I am grateful that I was able to run with my sisters and meet them at the finish line. It was another emotional moment as we each saw each other cross the finish line. Tears of joy and hugs were abundant.

RACE RESULTS:
Jana Openshaw 4:53:39
Steph Anderson 5:26:26
Christina Shumway 5:47:14

Not only did we acoomplish our goal by conquering 26.2 miles but we exceeded our financial goal for Shriners Hospital. Our fundraising goal was $1,000.00. The total amount we raised was $1,228.60. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!