And Winner of the "I Made it Across the Finish Line" Award Goes To...

Me!  Yes, that's right, to the one who was nine months pregnant five months ago.  To the one who hadn't run since last February when she found out she was pregnant.  And to the one who had never run 10 miles in her life.  

<Audience cheers.  Diane steps up to the mic.>

Why, thank you.  I'm so honored to win the "I Made It Across the Finish Line" award.  But there are some key people I need to thank.

<Unfold my piece of paper.>

First, I would like to thank my sweet friend Kelli.  Kelli ran a marathon just a week ago, and at the 11th hour, she had to back out of the race so as to not aggravate a minor injury.  But she wouldn't give up on me.  No, instead, she gave her bib to my husband and took our baby for the wee morning hours just so I would have someone to run with.  I mean, she might as well have carried me over the finish line.

Next, I would like to thank Mike.  He gave up study hours and rest to get me to the starting line and then cheered me on the whole way. He also slowed up his pace by about a full 30 minutes so he could run across the finish line with me.  Oh, and he also surprised me before the race with two dozen cherry pink roses.  

And to Bella, you inspired this whole race before I even met you, and then you became my favorite running buddy for the past few months.  Yes, you do slow me down in that stroller of your's- and in life in general- and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

<Music starts playing to get me off the stage.>

Okay, okay.  I'm done.  Without further ado, here are some fun pics!

Mike and I at 6:45 AM watching the sun come up over the Capitol.  We're cold and ready to race in our matchy, matchy reflective hats.

The "Where's Waldo" picture around mile 6.  Although still running, I was feeling the burn somewhere between mile 5-7.  After that, I found a good stride until the end.  There were so many fun runners, volunteers, and crowds cheering us on today!

The "Eat My Dust" picture (ha!).  Do you see those amazing trees above me?  They literally line the last 3 miles of the race in a white blossom canopy.  Awesome!

So, what was the best part of the race, you ask?  There was a hill that went straight up to the finish line.  Remember my love of hills?  Well, being that close to the finish line motivated me, and I could hardly feel the hill... at first.  Then I looked at the crowd cheering us on, thought about how I was steps away from reaching my goal, saw my sweet husband next to me, imagined Bella at the finish line... sniff sniff, I was getting emotional... on a hill.  I started breathing weird, and Mike thought he might have to pick me up.  Nope.  Just had to regain control of my emotional self, and then we sprinted to the finish line to celebrate with Kelli and Bella.  Fun times.

The end to a wonderful race day!

Now off to help Mike finish his own "marathon" of studying and paper writing.  He graduates in just a little under a month!  What a finish line that will be!

The Cherry Blossoms Are Here to Cheer Me On!

Aren't they pretty?

Like I said, aren't they pretty?

Cherry blossoms are officially out in DC!  Unfortunately, the weather has turned cold and sour yet again, which can't be good for the blossoms that are set to cheer me on this Sunday.  Yes, you heard me.  This Sunday, I am running the DC Cherry Blossom 10 Miler... ah!  I'm running 10 miles this Sunday!  A first!  Thankfully, my running buddy, Kelli, will be right beside me.  Kelli runs marathons, and she is actually going to be my personal running coach this Sunday.  Yes, Kelli will literally cheer me through my first 10 miler while running next to me.  I will be huffing and puffing and losing all ability to talk by mile 3 or 4.  But she will keep speaking words of encouragement to me.  Or perhaps she'll sing me a little tune.  I don't know, but I will be spoiled because that's what Kelli does.

This 10 miler was a personal goal I set around the time I had to stop counting pregnancy pounds back in November in order to keep my sanity.  Yes, I decided to stop counting somewhere around the 40 pound mark and just commit to train for a 10 miler after pregnancy to get back in shape.  Getting on the treadmill that first day in January was tough.  Not only do treadmills make me feel like a hamster, but this treadmill had a full body mirror in front of it (are those really necessary?), and I hadn't run one little bit since about the time I discovered I was pregnant.  But each day got a little easier.  Then the end of February came, the weather lightened up a bit, I dropped some weight (yes, the pounds do come off!), and Bella put on a little weight.  And so began our runs on the National Mall together. Bella became my training buddy from the seat of her Bob Jogging Stroller.  I must admit, it was pretty fun to run past the Senate Office buildings in my workout gear in the  middle of the work day while others were going about their usual business and Hill meetings.  Feels like a world away, save the fact that I was just there a few months ago.  Crazy how your world can change in a few short months.  (Yes, this is your friendly reminder- especially to women- to hold on to the things of this world loosely.  I feel like our world's are especially good at changing and throwing us in to new roles at the drop of a hat.)

So, you know how I titled this blog "Home on the Hill"?  Well, that's because Capitol Hill is truly, you guessed it, a hill.  And I always run down this hill at the beginning of my runs and then attempt to run up it at the end of my runs.  Attempt.  Key word.  I stink at running up hills.  I grew up in the rice fields of Texas.  There are no hills there.  Therefore, I have no hill endurance, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get it.  So add a baby with a stroller to this hill, and there is rarely a run that goes by where I don't have a fellow runner or tourist either give me a look or verbally say something like, "Poor thing."  Or "You can do it!" Or "That baby doesn't know how good she has it."  Yes, I know the look on my face screams, "Help! Someone! Feel my pain! Or better yet, just please carry me and this stroller up this God forsaken hill!"  I know I look pathetic.  I can't help it.

We'll see how pathetic I look come the finish line this Sunday.  Something tells me that whatever hill may come my way, I'll be smiling at the end of it all.  It feels good to be so close to a goal that's been a few months in coming.

And just in case a hill does get the best of me, thankfully I have Kelli to carry me over the finish line.  And she would.  Because that's what Kelli does.