sweet victory
Saturday morning started early. Like 5:00 early.
But I was ready to get the half-marathon over with do this thing. Well, ready as I’d ever be.
The sky looked ominous and there were threats of severe thunderstorms, hail, and even a tornado. If you heard about the tornado that just tore through our base in South Africa, you can imagine some of my conversations with God.
Let me just say, there were quite a few You’ve gotta be kidding me‘s.
But the rain held off. Mostly.
My sweet friend Tracee flew into town to do the race with me so that I wouldn’t have to bring up the rear all on my own. She’s amazing like that.
We alternated running and walking. Which translates to mostly walking, but running as much as I could on the straights and downhills.
It was hard. And long.
But together, we made 13.1 miles a dang good time.
We laughed a lot. There is some seriously good people-watching in a crowd of 32,000 marathoners.
Somewhere around the 12-mile marker, it started to rain.
A policeman shouted that the huge storm was “imminent” and they’d possibly force an evacuation in fifteen minutes. Tracee and I looked at each other and immediately picked up our pace.
There was no way we were gonna be that close to the end and not finish.
So we hauled. Well, as much as I could haul.
With each turn and uphill (of which there were far too many!), the rain came down harder and harder. When the finish line finally came into view, we straight up sprinted through pouring rain and bolts of lightning.
Crossing that finish line felt like such sweet victory.
We stood there a long time, hugging each other tightly in the torrential downpour. While trying to catch our breath.
It’s a moment I won’t quickly forget.
But I’ve got a medal to remind me in case I do…
I’m on my way to Seattle today.
If you’re around, let’s hang out on Thursday!
So. stinkin. proud. of. you.
Yay!!!! Good on you!!! (o:
Woo! Great job!
this was so much more than crossing a finish line. i’m so proud of you it’s ridiculous.
and what Gitz said too. yup. what Gitz said.
I’m so proud of you! I finished not much before you! I seen you get to the tent just as I was getting pulled away with the family for pictures. Hate that we didn’t get to hang out this weekend! Have a safe trip this week
@elainaavalos says:
So awesome! Congratulations!!
@mandythompson says:
You are fearless, friend. So proud of you!!!
@bajanpoet says:
That’s so FREAKING awesome! I’m glad you got it done…. Keep pushing!
isn’t the finish line the most amazing feeling?
the roar of the crowd. the cheers. the medal awaiting you.
great job, girl.
ibuprofen will be your friend today : )
@cassgirl says:
You Rock my fierce friend… you rock!!
Brava to Tracee too!
@moweezle says:
Congrats!!! Thats such a wonderful feat!!!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!
Great job Alece! Glad you were done before the weather.
Whoah. That’s just awesome!!! I can’t believe you did that in those kind of weather conditions. Way. to. go. My half-marathon was a beautiful 65-70 degree race with partly cloudy skies. There was some wind but not anything bad. It was beautiful. And my race went really well. Although, I’m not sure how well things would have turned out if I would have had rain like you guys did :) Congrats! You earned that medal!!!
Wow wow wow!
Being a fellow non runner I can only imagine how hard this was to finish! You are so awesome!
Lots of love and so many blessings to you! Your in my prayers.
Oh and I love the picture!
That is so awesome! Loved the pics on facebook! :)
I’m a fan of this story.
Think I’ll read it again and again. Yep.
Good for you, friend.
Good for you.
I’m so proud of you Lecers and Tracee! It’s a great allegory for life! You pressed on through the pouring rain and storms! You made it to the finish line and I have no doubt that you will make it through your storms in life too! Love you girl!
So awesome! Congratulations!
@atangie says:
super job!
i have no idea why, but this brought a torrent of tears to my eyes this morning… SO incredibly proud of you…
((There was no way we were gonna be that close to the end and not finish.))
keep that close to your heart this week friend… i will be remembering it for you too :)
You remind me of Paul :) 2 Timothy 4:7 (MSG) This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, BELIEVED all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—GOD’S APPLAUSE!
That’s awesome! So glad you all made it through before the storms really rolled in! (Next year, you all should do it with hula hoops.
;)
BEAST!!!!! =]]]
@mallyflip says:
oh man so proud of you! This is something that I have ALWAYS wanted to do!
Wow, congrats!
@christielici0us says:
BIG congrats to you for such an amazing accomplishment! You should be proud of yourself – I sure am!
@traceepersiko says:
Oh my dang!! I had so much fun with you this weekend!! i just enjoyed every mile of fun we had!! I am so glad to have crossed the finish line WITH YOU!! we did it!! and the storm was a perfect bonus.
You seriously rocked that race. I will always remember your face of joy as we ran across the finish line. the best smile out of you!
I will always crack up at our, “oh hell no” at the threat of the storm to our race!
IT IS FINISHED!
Wow.
Wow!!
WOW!!!
These kind of memories make life fun!!! SO happy for you!
@PrudyChick says:
Awesome.
By the way you guys could be sisters. Just saying.
@pa3cia says:
hooray! =]
“There was no way we were going to be THAT close to the end and not finish.”
Oh YEAH.
The one word that comes to mind: GUTS.
@kamriereed says:
That sounds like tons of fun. You would think a nice day would be perfect, but maybe God wanted to cool you off a little.
So, SO proud of you! And impressed, too!! Congratulations!!
NICE WORK!
So glad you were here to run the race! It was so great to catch up and I’m so proud of you for doing it!
@coloraturajoy says:
SO GLAD you shared this! I’m proud of you!!!! I know that wasn’t easy, but..WOW! You go girl. ;)
Congrats. I haven’t been online much lately, so am quite behind on stuff. I knew this was something you wanted to do, so congrats for getting it done. It inspires me to start hitting the road again myself. My longest run so far is only 5K… I have no goals or desire to run any further than that, but i haven’t run now in almost 2 months… Really proud of you.
@gritandglory says:
thanks, everybody! y’all are the best cheerleaders ever! ;)