Life is Short! Running makes it seem longer!!!

A 13 year old boy was holding this sign at mile 25.8 and we just laughed! Oh it is so true! We are alive and finished. My two running buddies had some knee issues, but this race was a great one for me. The mental part always seems to be the toughest. Yeah, the aches and pains of pounding feet and hip joints burning and sunny weather are very real elements, but my mentality today was, "This is going to be fun and we will finish!" Thank you Lord, I had a great time and am moving slowly this evening! Disney puts on a good race...music everywhere, high school bands, cheerleaders, water stations nearly every mile, running through parts of the parks and along some beautiful back roads I would have never known existed, fireworks at the start (over 12,000 runners today), and characters out all over the place. Many people carried cameras durning the race and would pull off and stand in line to get a picture with Cinderella or Goofy etc. Disney really did a good job, but then that's what they know best! The last mile we ran around the world (through EPCOT) along the lake and the entire race was jammed with people. Usually after mile 4 things slim down, but not this one. It was packed, which made for great distractions. With so many people, the miles kept sneaking up, "Oh, WOW! We're at 19 already!" :) Another really cool thing they do, if you noticed my bib has my name on it. People everywhere along the side of the race were so encouraging. Good jobs, you got this, looking strong, way to go ladies! Suddenly I heard, "Great job Stephanie." What? Me? How'd you know.....it was so cool to have strangers screaming your name and cheering you on!

We are off to have some Sushi to celebrate. I'll post pics when I get them. Thanks for all the support and prayers...they really pulled me through a great race, injury free and open to another 26.2!!