Mission Accomplished

May 1 was the day I'd been training for . . . so excited to participate in the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon with Vanessa, as she would be running her first ever half marathon.  A week ago, the weather looked like it would be outstanding.  As the day approached, the outlook was looking less and less appealing.  Forecast --- 54 degrees, feeling like 51 and 30% chance of rain.  In Kansas, when there is a 30% chance of rain (especially in our area), you can count on the fact that it WILL NOT RAIN!!!!  Well, I guess Oklahoma is a different story.

We arrived at the starting area (along with about 20,000 other people) at 5:30 am for the start at 6:30 am.  When we were walking up we could hear the Sunrise Service at the Memorial Tree and enjoyed listening to the praise songs being sung.  What an inspiration.  Then we huddled together and joined in the reciting of the Lord's Prayer, knowing God was with us.  In the middle He made it clear, it started to sprinkle.  Within 5 minutes of the prayer ending the announcement was made that there would be a 30 minute delay to the start to allow the storm that was approaching to pass by.  So, into the parking garage we went to sit for a little over 30 minutes.  Needless to say, the storm system never really "passed by" but just continued all morning. 

The race started at 7:00 am IN THE RAIN . . . it took us 11 1/2 minutes to get from where we were standing in the starting chute to the actual starting line . . . and the rain continued throughout the WHOLE morning - there was not a moment of running without rain.  But, as all of us know, every farmer in Kansas was wishing for rain - but I definitely was not wishing for rain to run in.  I now know that I CAN run in the rain and survive - even 13.1 miles:)  By the time we arrived back at the hotel, I was realizing how cold I really was and as the layers started coming off, it was evident how drenched every single layer was.  I decided I had at least 5-10 more pounds of water in my clothing through the entire race.

I was really looking forward to the beautiful route through Oklahoma City, but unfortunately have to tell you that I have no idea what was around as my head was tucked down most of the race to keep the rain from hitting my face.  I can say at the end I saw some VERY large houses - mansions in an older area of the city.  We can say we finished the race . . . I can say I felt better at the finish line than I have in my previous two races . . . and I can say I had the fastest time yet - 2:22.55 (I will tell you I did not include the 5 minute stop to go to the bathroom at mile 2 or the 2 minute stretching stop at mile 10.5 when Vanessa didn't think her IT bands were going to survive:)  We didn't stop because we had to walk or anything - it was necessities.  Our time included any "moving" time.

Now I'm contemplating what race to do next.  I've found that I need something to train for - a purpose to not give an excuse that I'll "run the next day".  I'm strongly considering Kansas City again in October because I really enjoyed that one.  We'll see.  I will say that I know God was with us through the race on Saturday or we never would have made it.  At about mile 9 I started singing the chorus in my head to "Glorious Day" by Casting Crowns (click on the link to listen to the whole song) ---
    Living, He loved me;
    Dying, He saved me;
    Buried, He carried my sins far away;
    Rising, He justified, freely forever;
    One day He's coming;
    O glorious day, o glorious day.

I kept telling myself that if Jesus could die on a cross for my sins, I could keep running through a little rain and being tired.  It got me through.  The other verse that kept coming to me was "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)  God gave me the ability, health, and desire to be able to run.  I need to make sure I continually use the gift He's given me and glorify Him through it all.  Thank you God, for giving me the strength to complete the task I began training for 10 weeks ago.  As always, the feeling of accomplishment at the end made it all worth it.