Yesterday, Steve and I left the kiddos with my mom and pop while we sneaked away to Logan for his marathon. We spent Friday evening birthday shopping for the twins, having dinner and just enjoying a little one-on-one time. But the main reason we were up there was for Steve. He woke up at 4am, dressed and went down to the lobby on the Holiday Inn Express we were staying at to meet the shuttle that would take him to the start. I stayed in the room snuggled up in the bed, just watching the clock as I imagined what he was experiencing-the anticipation, the cold, the build up of adrenaline, etc...I finally got my self dressed and stopped off at WalMart to pick up an umbrella because Mother Nature had played a little joke on us that morning by raining. I made it to the finish line with my new umbrella protecting me from the rain as I watched 5K runners. This year I had signed up to get text message notifications of where Steve was a long the course and it actually worked this time. I kind of liked that. It helped me anticipate exactly when Steve would be crossing the finish line. The timer above the finish line hit 3:00 hours and I knew it would not be long until I would see my runner. There he was about ten minutes later running towards me. I just can't help myself when I see Steve during his races. I yell and call his name. Many of the people around me looked as if I had two heads, but truthfully I didn't care. I am always so extremely proud of Steve. He works hard during the months leading up to his races. He runs on his days off, whether he wants to or not. I know he sets the bar high for himself to achieve a certain time, but I am always tickled that he comes in as early as he does. I was inspired by watching him run some of these marathons to tackle my first half marathons. I obviously don't achieve the excellence that he does, but I have learned that you run your own race and have learned to be proud of my accomplishments. I hope he remembers those lessons he taught me as he continues to challenge himself and run future races.
