Drum Roll....

WE DID IT!!!
We all got through the marathon virtually unscathed! Kelsey came in at an amazing time of 3:54:06, I came in with a time of 4:00:15, and Mike came in at a time of 4:05:17. The day began very relaxed, we grabbed some breakfast and watched a movie. I was pretty anxious and wanted to leave really early because I hate being late, but Mike said that was stupid and we would just be there doing nothing wasting energy. So, we finally left at about quarter to three, and decided to take the shuttle to the race from our hotel. Not only was the shuttle late, but we weren't able to get on a shuttle until the third bus! I was livid at Mike, because I had wanted to leave early and now we were going to be late! Finally we got on a shuttle thanks to a nice half marathon lady letting us cut her and ended up at the race 15 mins before the gun went off. We didnt have time to check our gear, so we ended up sprinting up a hill and hiding our bags in a bush. We then ran to our corrals and made it just in time. Now, I'm sure your wondering how Mike could come in last out of the three of us, but he did it to help us out. Kelsey and I never would have come in with such good times without him! We really thank you Mike! He began the race in the first corral, while Kelsey and I began in the sixth. After about three miles the faster athletes had looped back and were passing us, and that is when Mike decided to come run with Kelsey and I. Because of this he really ran about 29 or so miles instead of the 26.2. From here we ran together keeping a pretty good pace, I believe faster than 9 min mile pace. All was going amazing- we were feeling really great until... the full marathoners merged in with the half marathoners at about mile 13 or 14. Chaos literally broke out! There were way too many runners on the course at this point, and most of the full marathoners at this time were going way faster than the half marathoners. It wasn't a nice situation, alot of people were being pushed around, Mike said he hadn't seen this happen in a marathon like that before. We're so thankful Mike was there, as he was able to lead us through the runners so we could keep our pace up. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way I got cut off from Mike and Kelsey and was on my own. Struggling trying to get through the crowds to keep our pace up really took alot out of us! Kelsey was able to keep a pretty good pace, but I slowed down a bit.. until Mike came back and found me! He helped me to keep my pace up, and was really amazing grabbing me water when I needed it and coaching me to keep my pace up! Finally crossing the finish line was a blur and I remember saying "I have never been in this much pain in my life"... This was also a first for Mike, as he had never done a run that length of time before. The runners area after the finish line was also very chaotic, there was barely enough space for the runners to fit in. Before the race we had decided that we would meet at one of the letter markers the race had put up for people to find each other, and Mike had suggested we meet at "M" for Mike Booth. So we grabbed a water and went to look for Kelsey. I should also mention that it was absolutely freezing at the time! We couldn't see Kelsey under the M so we decided to grab our stuff, which meant we had to walk up a hill when we could barely walk. We slowly got back to the M and still couldn't find Kelsey until we saw her sitting on the ground with her foil blanket around her. Getting back to our hotel took more than an hour, as the taxi lines were so long that we had to wait to catch a shuttle to another hotel and then catch a taxi from there. After we got all showered, we got something to eat and then decided not to go to sleep so that we wouldn't feel worse the next morning from not moving all night. Then we left our hotel at about 5 O clock to go the airport, slept very sorely through the flight to Grand Forks, drove back to Winnipeg, and here we are! Right after the marathon Kelsey and I decided that the pain was not worth it, but I think we'll shortly be deciding where our next marathon will be :) Look for our pictures and up coming video on Face Book! Lisa

2 More Days!!

Well, we're almost there! We're leaving tonight to drive to Grand Forks, and then from there we're flying to Vegas!! I'm all packed, but Mike.. who knows, he said he threw some stuff and his passport into a bag.... I think its going to be a pretty crazy weekend for us. There are over 44,000 runners in the half and full Las Vegas Marathon. Mike was pretty disappointed his bib isn't #1. He laughed when my bib said "56608"
and then I got back at him by letting him know that his bib said "51606", which he wasn't very happy about... I'm assuming this is due to our late entries. It definitely doesn't feel like we'll be running a marathon this weekend! I don't think the weather will be too warm there, between 0-15 degrees, but it's better than the weather here so that's something!
Now, its good to have motivation for a marathon, and I know what mine is: his name is Corey. Corey believes that Kelsey and I can't do the marathon in the time limit of 4:30. So just being able to come back and tell him I did it is motivation enough for me! Although now that I'm writing this for the public to read, if I don't make it it won't be fun to have him tell me "I told you so" SO that is why I must finish the marathon in under 4:30!!
This will probably be the last blog before we do the race, so wish us luck!
Lisa