6:41:49.68

Well, we did it. Hannah and I completed the Portland Marathon on Sunday. Our time of 6:41:49.68 was 20 minutes faster than my finish time last year. WOO HOO!!! I am so proud of Hannah. And so thankful for her. She hung in there with me, and was such an encouragement and inspiration to me. Once along the route, at around mile 18 or 19, both of my calves suddenly and simultaneously seized up with cramps, and I had to immediately lower myself to the street. Hannah quickly started massaging one calf while I rubbed the other, and she was soon pulling me to my feet to resume walking. At times when I felt like giving up, she prodded me along, "We can do this, Mom," and we stepped on the finish line together at the end of the course. Thanks, Han. I love you!!!
Here we are in the parking garage in downtown Portland at around 6:00 a.m. It was still dark, but we had our game faces on. Dear daughter Sarah had made these bright, colorful posters to hold up along the course to give us extra support and encouragement. And they worked. Mark, Sarah, and Chris were able to connect with us at six or seven points along the 26.2-mile route, and it seemed like those three made their appearances just when we needed them most. We would come around a corner, and there they were, cheering and waving these posters.
Our cheer squad.
Thanks, Sarah, Chris, and Mark, for your love and support. It meant the world to us.
Here we are at one point in the race - early on, I think.
And here we are, below, almost at the finish line. I am all hunched over, trying to avoid the pain in my heels, which were multi-blistered; my toes, which were also full of blisters; and my right calf, which has a pulled something-or-other on the back side.
Posing with our foil blankets, our roses, and our medals.
CONGRATULATIONS, HANNAH, ON COMPLETING YOUR FIRST MARATHON.
YOU ROCK, GIRL!!!
Back home, wearing my finisher shirt and medal.
Last night we had our friends Bill, Denise, and Renee for dinner (well, we didn't literally HAVE them for dinner), and Denise brought me this lovely bouquet of flowers from her garden to congratulate me on my marathon finish. Look closely at the arrangement - there are Band-Aids poking through among the pretty blooms! Thanks, Denise. They are lovely - and so are you.
Will I ever do another marathon? At the end of the day on Sunday, lying in my bed with all my "owies," I definitely would have said
"NO, NO, NO - a thousand times NO."
Today, however, three days later, I'm thinking, "Hmmm - just maybe I could do it again."