On Being a Penguin

Today was the Adirondack Half Marathon (13.1 miles). Turns out that jogging while Rory and Kyan rode their bikes around the block was not the best training plan I could have used, but at the end of the day I crossed the finish line!

There was large Team SMAC contingent today. Here is a picture of a bunch of us:

These awesome folks are top row: Larry, me, Liz, Karen, Kate, Shawn; middle row: my Kelly, Amy; bottom row: Heather, Beth, Kelly, and Andrew. Our friend Pat is missing from the photo. Also missing were the two full marathon Team SMAC members ~ Jill and Kevin.

I made the decision to walk since I had not trained and my Kelly and Amy walked with me.  Our first few miles flew by ~ chatting, checking out the beautiful scenery, saying hi to the folks cheering us along the path, being dumbfounded as the full marathon leader flew by us.

We walked through the Word of Life campus, which is a religious camp, and all the kids were out there cheering us on, hollering that we were almost there. Mind you, this was around miles 4-5, so we had quite a trip still ahead of us. But, there was fantastic energy there that helped add a little spring into our step.

Around mile 7 we ran into a woman who had a butterfly resting on her jacket. I pointed it out to her and she said it had been with her for several miles. When Cora passed away a friend told me a story of butterflies being signs from heaven. I couldn't help but think of that today. It is the 23rd and the emotion of losing Cora eleven months ago was weighing heavily on me. Kelly and I saw that butterfly and it helped lift the sadness.

By mile 8, I was starting to get tired when Kelly and I heard the voices of our friends Kevin and Jill (the full marathoners!). They slowed for a few moments to say hi and then continued their awesome run. Around mile 10 I looked up and saw three people walking towards us in Team SMAC shirts. It was my brother, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law. They finished their races, then walked back to walk the rest of the way in with us. It was a great diversion. I think Amy, Kelly, and I were all getting a little tired (we'd been walking for about 3 hours), and even though I told them they were totally obnoxious for coming back, it was nice to have their conversation for the last leg of the trip.

Now...about the penguin. Karen told me that in the Marine Corps marathon the last-place finisher gets a prize of a penguin for the accomplishment of completing. I had a pretty good idea that our trio was at the end of the half marathon group, so I insisted Amy and Kelly walk over the finish mat first, which means I came in last place. The penguin. Another year, I would probably be embarrassed by such a showing. This year, I couldn't be happier. I finished. My friends finished (with amazing times, I might add). Tons of runners asked about Team SMAC when they saw our shirts. Spectators cheered for Team SMAC. For a million reasons I wish Team SMAC never had to exist, but I am always proud to be a member.

I must now be off to attempt to climb the stairs to bed. Or curl up on the landing and sleep there. We'll see how it goes.