What an awesome race!! This was a homecoming for me. We got into town on Saturday. Went to the expo to pick up my packet and met up with Tony Brake, a friend I made through Daily Mile. After meeting Tony and his wife Sherry, we went into the expo. Talk about packed!! We didn't even look around as there were so many people in there. After that, Deb, Amy and I went to Karen's (Sis-in-Law) and had a nice pasta dinner. The alarm went off at 4am. We all got up, got loaded into the van and headed towards downtown Columbus. Had a heck of a time getting into the parking garage. Once we got parked, Deb, Amy, Karen and I made our way to the State Capital building. It was a bit cold outside.
While waiting for the start of the race, we met up with Tony and Sherry. Then several of our Daily Mile friends arrived as well. We all finally made it to our respective starting corrals. 15,000 runners packed into a city block. The live band (Danger Brothers) playing at the start line, the live version of the National Anthem, and the fireworks from the roof top really got the adrenaline flowing. Off we went. Felt good through most of the race. After passing mile 10, we entered the Schiller Park area where I saw my Mom, Dad and Sister by the water station. I got some hugs and high fives as I passed through. Dumped my sweaty gloves off to Mom ;) and kept on running. Just after mile 12, I saw Deb, Amy and Karen. Adrenaline was boosted again with seeing them. Made it through the OSU campus and passed the Horseshoe. Then I hit mile 20. My right calf started to cramp up. Second marathon in a row that this has happened. I fought through it and finished with a PR of 3:53:39!!! Finally!!! Broke the 4 hour time limit!!! Thanks to my pit crew (Deb and Amy) and the rest of my family (Mom, Dad, Sis and Karen) for being out there to support me. And it was great meeting my Daily Mile friends, and making new friends.
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