My original plan included me running it and my family being there with me.
We had decided to spend the night in Newport on Saturday.
But things changed.
I got I injured.
Enter plan B.
Walking and no family coming.
We decided that I would go alone but still keep the hotel room and not have Bill and the kids wait for me while I walk.
My friend Sandy was running the race also and I asked her if she would like to share the hotel room with me and she said yes.
During the days leading up to the race she offered MANY times to walk the race with me and of course I said no every time. She is a really good runner, much faster than me and she is getting ready for a big race in 3 weeks. I did not want her to waste a race for me. I told her I would carry my phone and I would be fine.
Fast forward to this morning....
We got to the starting line...and did not have a lot of time to get to the corrals...by the time we got there corral one had just left and that was her corral. I kept saying "Go Go!!" but she was not making a move to the front and said she would just start from where we were standing...in the last corral. I said "you better start running when we get to the mat". She was saying yes yes but I was not buying it. As we were getting closer to cross the starting line, I kept telling her to not stay with me and to run this race.....
Well she did not listen to a word I said.
This awesome lady stayed with me the whole 13.4 miles.
She gave up HER whole race for me.
First 5 miles I kept saying "Go! Run!" She would invent all kinds of answers "I warming up" yeah right.... "I need to pee" "I am hungry" "I am going to go....soon"
Soon....that came at mile 13.1 when she ran to get pass me to be the finish line and take a picture of me finishing this thing.
I will have a race recap but for today I just need to say
THANK YOU SANDY!
I am so very thankful for your friendship and your huge heart.
I know what you gave up for me.
It means a lot to me.
I am a lucky person to have a friend like Sandy, not a lot of people would do this.
When I realized that she was not going to leave me until the end...I got emotional and same thing at the end...I will never forget this that is for sure.
***I will have a race recap next and also an injury update....saw the doctor last Thursday and it was bad news....***
13 comments:
That was awesome of her <3.
Sorry about the bad news :(
What a sweet friend! I saw all of your photos on instagram yesterday and it looked like you had fun despite the circumstances.
Love this post - Sandy, you're awesome! :) And I'm glad you made it through your 13.1. Congrats on that walking PR! :D
You are making me cry :( I did not give up my race. I just did what my heart told me to do. I had a great time and I can't wait to see our race photos. Congratulations on finishing a race that was mentally and physically tough for you. Good thing it was not "75 and Sunny." Ha ha!
Wow, that was really good on Sandy.
And I'm glad that you were able to finish the race.
That is a huge bummer on your MRI results being different that what was initially presented - that would be really tough to take. Hopefully surgery and PT is able to fix it.
My left knee already feels 80-90% better than before, likely all due to the cortisone shot. We'll see if the pain relief is temporary or permanent. I'm going to try to start going to PT soon.
I found that email about the June RW issue, I somehow missed that. I was getting too many RW emails, so I unsubscribed to them recently, that may be why lol
That's fantastic! What a great friend! So instead of your race being lonely, it will be a favorite from now on because you ran it with a friend. I've always liked Sandy, but now I like her even more.
I'm sorry about the injury. Big DISLIKE on that....but I am proof that it doesn't mean anything is over, it's just pausing.
Congrats on starting AND finishing the race. Since I've known Sandy I can tell she is genuine, kind & sincere. It doesn't suprise me that she did this for you. I kinda feel like you'd do it for her as well! That's what true friends are for. :)
Sorry to hear about your injury. Like Terzah said "it's just pausing." We all need to press the pause button once in awhile. Have a great week!! :)
Post of the year!! Nothing but smiles after reading this!! And congrats on the race
What an amazing friend!! I love this post :) Congrats on finishing and wishing you a speed recovery!
That is the SWEETEST thing! Seriously sweet.
Friends are the greatest!
Congratulations to you both on walking a half marathon! That's a long walk :)
Sandy is a very good friend. I'm glad you still got to enjoy the race and bonus to have a friend to do it with you, but now I'm bummed that you got bad news. Sending big internet hugs your way.
Runners are the most supportive and social people. Finishing a race fast doesn't mean it was a good race. Oftentimes a race we make memories are much better. I'm sure your friend enjoy walking the race and spending time with you as much as you did.
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