I have always enjoyed running for as long as I can remember. I guess either you love running or you hate it. I have always loved it. Last summer I began training and registered for the Detroit marathon in the fall only to find out Chris' Call to Duty ceremony would be held the same weekend so obviously the marathon would have to wait. When the time for thinking about the Glass City Marathon came around I had mixed feelings. I thought there is no way I will be able to train without Chris home. I am very much a morning person so it is much easier to get up when it is still dark out to run and leave Chris and Audrey home sleeping. Can't really do that now that Chris is gone so I had to come up with some creative training. We invested in a treadmill and I decided I would run the Glass City but still was not sure if I could do the full. After talk to my cousins we decided we would all run in support of Chris... well then of course I had to run the full!! So we put a team together and quickly became Team Miller and it just grew from there! The Glass City Marathon would be my first full marathon!!
Myself and my cousin Erik would run the full, we had 4 half marathon runners and three 5K runners!
Along with countless supporters in red shirts on the day of the race.
Even prior to race day the support was amazing. Between Beth working so hard to get the shirts organized and the Frickers girls surprising me with shirt for them to wear at work this weekend and the day of the race, the support for Chris was overwhelming.
We Frickin' Support our Troops!
My friend Steph from work got in touch with Ray Frick who paid for the shirts and she had them made in support of Chris. I was overwhelmed with emotion. I have worked for this company for over 5 years and I am so lucky to have such a great job. So many people knock servers and bartenders but I tell you what, I could not ask for anything better while Chris is deployed. They are so supportive of him and so helpful with my hectic schedule. I want to personally thank Frickers in Bowling Green for all of your support!!
By race morning my nerves had the best of me. I had been plagued by injury and I could barely walk on my knee let alone run 26.2 miles on it. But I had to. I had to finish this thing no matter how much pain I was in. I had to finish it for Chris, for Alpha Company and for all of our troops. So I tried to mentally prepare myself for the morning that may push me to my physical and mental limits.
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Being on the side lines a few weeks out by race day I was happy with just finishing this thing. It was my first full marathon so I did not know what to expect and I felt as if I was not fully trained to run the full but excuses aside I was going to finish. My goal was anything under 5 hours. I did not care if it took me 4hours and 59 minutes so I set a reasonable goal and wanted to reach that by finishing at anything under 5 hours.
Along with my family supporters a couple friends came out in support of Chris and our cause! Katie, Ali, and Chelsea became my cheerleaders and my photographers during the whole race. Every few miles I would see them in their red Team Miller shirts yelling and cheering while snapping pictures and giving me some motivation. I seen them zooming around in their car snapping pictures hanging out the windows screaming, honking their horns to help me get to that next mile marker! They were amazing!!
This is my favorite! I had this thing about Mile 19... it freaked me out. Prior to the race I thought how would I be able to run over 7 miles after already running 19 so the girls were waiting at Mile 19 for me. And of course there was a hill!! Coming up that hill I was struggling but Katie was cheering for me!
Team Miller
Erik repping Team Miller!
I tried to smile as much as possible... somehow that made it easier!
I couldn't wait to get back to see this little face!
I did not even realize Audrey was behind me... I was just ready to be done! As you can tell from my face! What a great picture!
Under 5 hours... that's all that mattered! 4:45 chip time! I will take it!
Audrey even finished the race!!
When we crossed the finish line she said, "We are the winners Mommy!" Yes, we are!
Erik and I! Full marathon finishers!
And even Audrey was on the news!
I don't think any of it really sunk in until the next day. I thought for sure I would cry but as I started to well up with tears around mile 24 I couldn't breathe. So I had to concentrate on my breathing and running because it was all mental at this point and I couldn't cry. I thought about Chris the whole time and the amount of people that had come out in support of him and his guys. And as the days go on after the marathon I think it begins to sink in more and more. The fact that I ran that thing, the amount of people that ran and the support of everyone else. There was a total of 152.3 miles ran for Team Miller at the Glass City Marathon in support of our troops!
Post race I was not able to talk to Chris and it wasn't until evening our time that I was able to talk to him. That was the hardest part because he is so supportive of everything that I do and even thousands of miles away he was still able to support and motivate me. I could not wait to tell him how I did and how much support he has here!
What an amazing experience for an even better cause. Two days after the marathon I still can barely walk but it was all worth it. I am so excited to look forward to Detroit because Chris will be just getting home for that one in the fall :) But for now I am resting for awhile.
But this wasn't about me. This was about our troops. We did this for them not for personal records or for anything else. This was for Chris. When Erik crossed the finish line he showed off his Team Miller shirt in support of Chris! From all of Team Miller we want to thank our troops and the sacrifices they make everyday!! So thank you to my amazing husband, all of Alpha Co. and all of our troops both home and away. We want you to know how much we support you and thank you for everything you do!! We cannot wait until you are all home!!
To see more pictures from the marathon check out the link to my Facebook page!
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