White Rock Marathon divided by five.

Again this year, I participated in the White Rock Marathon. But, this year in a much more fun and laid-back manner. I was part of a "5-lady" relay team. We each had 5-6 miles of the 26.2 mile total route. It was so fun to actually enjoy the race atmosphere this year and not worry about having a heart attack on the race route.

The night before the run, our relay team and another team of fellow mom friends from our MOPS group went out to carb-up, fajita-style. It was a lovely evening out on the town. Our conversation was mostly about who would be handing off to who at what time and at what pace and who needs to text who first and then who do we text next and at what point do we text what and to who's number... you get the point.
Planning a relay exchange is not as easy at it may seem. I don't know how you would do a relay without texting-capabilities.

The morning of the race it was cold, cold, cold. The three of us bundled up in our warm attire and hugged our hot chocolate-filled flasks as we awaited for Katie at my exchange point.

I was so happy to have my boys there to help keep me warm and keep a smile on my face.

Here I am with my friend, Robin. She ran the same leg of the relay as I did for the other mommy-only team. Their team name was, "10cm and Pushing" as many of them have just had babies this past year. Graphic, but cute. Another fun relay team name I saw was "10 Boobs Running." Get it? A relay team of 5 women? You do the math. It's funny.

Anyway, I digress... Robin is truly a remarkable woman. This mother of two under 3 years old, was diagnosed with an aggression form of cancer less than a year ago. She is now doing great and getting healthier everyday, as evidence by her running in a MARATHON RELAY!!! Isn't that amazing!?!?! What an inspiration. One of her good friends, and another mom that sits at Robin and my MOPS table, ran the full marathon on Sunday in honor of Robin.

Okay. I know this is highly illegal. But, I had to share this hilarious picture of me running. This is the ONLY picture of me running that day. I was making a goofy face and running over to give a bunch of adorable pink-clad girls a high five on the side of the road.

After my leg of the run, I headed to mile 23 on the course to meet my fellow-running buddy, Christine. Poor Christine should have been out there running the 26.2 miles and earning her first marathon medal, but a pesky stress fracture is delaying her from getting a medal... for now. However, she wasn't in too much pain to cheer all the other runners on to a strong finish. She and I stood for about 2 hours on a corner at the top of the last hill of the course and just before the runners made it to the road that would lead them to the finish line. Christine and I had such a great time cheering for strangers and screaming like wild banshees for our friends. Christine has super-natural vision and was able to read the runner's names on their bibs as they flew past us. There were countless times she would yell for someone who was struggling or walking and the runner would start running again. Although she couldn't run the race, Christine sure did amazing things to encourage those that were. You can bet we will all be out there doing that for her when it's her turn to finish her first marathon.

Such a fantastic day. Although it was bitterly cold, and I swear I have yet to warm up from that day, it is one of my favorite days of 2010. Seeing my sweet friends, Katie, Erin, and Amy run their first big race, having my boys by my side when I took off on my run, cheering on first-time marathoner strangers, and seeing some friends set their personal bests, it all made for a perfect Sunday in Texas.