It was a lovely weekend for a road trip to Omaha in the final days of September. Our first stop was the Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens! The lives of presidents have always fascinated me, and this beautiful garden was fabulous to see. A wedding party was taking photos when we arrived, and I always love crashing weddings too.
You may have guessed the real reason we were in Omaha! A marathon, of course! We stayed at a hotel in Carter Lake, IA, which was actually on the west side of the Missouri River. The race start was near by in Nebraska. When it was time to take off, it began to rain, and the sound of thunder rolled. A thunder storm on race morning is one of a runner's worst dreads. Not that lightening is scary, but it can cancel races. For us, a delay was announced, but the possibility of the full being cancelled and just having the half marathon was mentioned as well. "Noooooo!!!!" came the roaring reply of the dedicated marathoners. That just would not do! Thankfully 20 minutes later there was a break in the clouds and the eager runners started on their journey. Half a mile into the race we crossed the bridge into Iowa. The full course was a double loop, with only about a mile in Nebraska, the rest in Iowa. It still counted for NE, as it is where the race starts that matters! I started out with the 4 hour pace group, which was really fun until mile 12. Then my right knee and left Achilles tendon decided they had had enough. "Why are you doing this to us?" they screamed. It was a painful last half of the race, and I think it's the closest I've gotten to a DNF--Did Not Finish (or maybe it's Died Near Finish?) I felt like giving up, but I was in a trail in the middle of nowhere. I didn't have much of a choice really but to keep going to that finish line. A lot of walking took place, but I have never been happier to see a finish line than on that day after 5:09:59 of the trails. Just like in life, the tougher the bad times are, the sweeter the good times are. Life is a struggle. There are good days, but there also days filled with pain and heartache. Remember to never take your eyes off of Jesus and that beautiful finish line, Heaven! It will all be worth it when you reach that eternal goal!!