Run Forest Run!!

Today I accomplished something that seemed IMPOSSIBLE to me just 12 weeks ago. I ran a half marathon. A full 13.1 miles. Without stopping. without crying. without hurting myself. without having to stop to pee or god forbid something else. The only downside to my run today was I had to do it with a nasty head cold and a case of laryngitis. But other then that, it was perfect...



Last night we had a celebratory pasta dinner at Maggianno's Little Italy in Scottsdale.



They have this awesome deal where if you order one of their classic dinners ($12.95) you get to pick a second dinner for them to cook and package to go for you for dinner the next night. How cool is that? I ordered the four cheese ravioli (cause I knew I would be running it off today) and got an angel hair pasta pomodoro to go to have tonight. Which was delicious!! :)

This morning I was up at 4:15am. I was at Circle K getting my coffee by 5 and was at ASU Sun Devils stadium by 5:30am to catch my bus to the start line in Scottsdale. Took this photo with my phone while on the bus and got a little teary eyed:



As I was standing in the corral stretching this morning, I took a photo of the Hello Kitty hanging from my race belt in honor of Ella and Ryen. I was not just running this race in memory of Baby Violette. It was also about running for pediatric cancer and the charity One Mission. But it was also about running for my own babies. Pediatric cancer can strike at any age, to any family.



And what a run it was. I honestly didn't start to get bored till about 9 miles. Didn't even start to hurt really hurt til mile 11 (big hill). Was running on pure determination and adrenaline for the last 2.1. And boy Violette must have listened when I asked her to give me wings cause I ran the entire half in 2 hours 17 minutes, which was well under my goal time I had set of 2:30. My babies made the trek in with Daddy to cheer me on!



Below you can barely see me after crossing the finish line and getting my medal! It was too hard for Jimmy to get any closer with the kids and the stroller or to see me coming since we all looked alike with our shirts! Not a flattering photo of me since I am squinting and scanning the crowd, but oh well. :)



Here is Ella excitedly waiting for me to "win the race" (she thinks I win everytime cause of the medal) and me post race with my babies!



And look at the cool medal I got as a souvenir! Of course for Phoenix our medal was ... a SUN!! And the charm in the middle comes out so you can wear it on a chain or charm bracelet if you want to remember or celebrate your accomplishment.



Thanks to everyone who donated to my fund-raising efforts for pediatric cancer, benefiting One Mission!!!!



One Mission is a Boston based charity founded by Ashley and Ari Haseotes after their son Nicholas fought and beat AML Leukemia. The same kind of pediatric cancer that took Baby Violette from her family too soon. They raise a lot of money every year for cutting edge research at Boston Children's and St Jude's. They also have initiatives that help actual families facing cancer. Many families end up bankrupt or in financial crisis as a result of the cancer. With your help I was able to raise $1000 for them. I know they will do great things with it. So THANK YOU for your generosity!!!!!!!!!!

And I am completely overwhelmed by all my friends and family who encouraged me, cheered me on, wished me good luck and congratulated me as well. It gave me so much motivation and confidence to pull this off. I can't wait for this event to come back next year. I will seriously consider doing it again. Oh and here is my reward to celebrate which is already helping to make my already tired eyelids droop a little more right now. Good Night! xo