Hell yeah, Willmington!

First off, the run was amazing. The temperature at the race start (8 a.m.) was 18 degrees...ummm seriously?




But thanks to our last minute Wal-Mart purchase (matching white jackets) we toughed it out like rockstars. The other ladies knocked out an impressive half-marathon together and then huddled and shivered together afterwards. I can't even imagine what 2+ hours would have felt like.

As for me, it was one of the best things I've ever done. My time was under my best training times (thank you, adrenaline and downhill start) and I completely surprised myself, finishing in 33:33.

Running a race with that many people around you is a holy experience. I'm sure it'd be easy to miss God in the middle of all that pressure and freezing air, but I kept inviting him in to the experience, praying throughout for strength and awareness.

Surrounded by a mass of people - children, grandparents, peers, I kept thinking about the humanity moving forward with me. Some people were experienced runners. Some ran for a purpose, their shirts emblazoned with names. Others walked gingerly the entire way.

It wasn't hard to feel God's loving hand over us - thick like our running tights and warm as gloves, His voice yelling out encouragement through the supporters on the sidelines. I'm sure He was ecstatic to see us using our bodies to their fullest extent.

When I saw the finish line I started tearing up. Kirk Franklin's Looking for You was streaming through my earbuds. "All the while you knew that I would make it through, I feel closer to you now than when I first began..." I felt like I was running a foot above the ground. Skyline in the distance, I took a huge breath to soak it all in, spending my last minute savoring the summit.

After crossing, I slowly and deliberately untied my start chip from my shoe. I wanted this moment to be suspended in time. It was mighty splendid - the culmination of a goal I'd set as something I'd "like to attempt" in my lifetime.

8 weeks ago, taking up running was an uncomfortably gigantic stretch. My fragile little lungs weren't receptive. But by Saturday, they'd gradually stretched to the point that I could have easily completed another mile or so.

The experience was so spiritual and pure that I'm now completely hooked. It's like another form of prayer. I'm planning to do another 5K in January in Missouri, then hopefully work my way up to some longer races. It's pretty impossible to see a half-marathon and not want to tackle one yourself someday.

But this weekend wasn't all about work and ahh-ahh moments. Among the funnier occurences:

- Posing with one dirty and drunk santa
- People watching at our hotel in Charlotte. I spy: one dwarf, one hotel worker named Elizabeth Taylor and one (presumed) pimp in a gray suit with red accent pieces, a red hat and wingtips
- Dancing at the craziest place ever with army men and one woman in a henious Christmas sweater
- Our flight home: Jacksonville's version of "live, late-breaking and investigative" news

I don't think I have to spell it out. I had a killer weekend with Courtney and E. We worked hard, celebrated well and dissected life together.

If every race is this much fun, I'm in.

Today's Soundtrack: Beautiful World - Colin Hay - Going Somewhere