Running Around with Friends.....Or Miami ING Marathon

    This was the tenth anniversary of the Miami marathon. For those who don't know me well enough:

1. I love to run

2. I don't run to break records.

3. I like to set running goals for myself after I give birth, i.e. Golden- Disney marathon, Eva-Panama    City half Ironman. Triplets-Pensacola half marathon.

4. I will do practically ANYTHING for a Tshirt and a medal

Thus, when my friend Bert tells me, "Hey, I'd like to try running a marathon. Will you run with me." I tied up my shoes and checked the website to make sure the prize was worth my time. And, whoa Nellie, is this a medal or what? You can't see it here but that big orange tree thingy spins. I love Miami. All that was missing was Your in Miami Trick to start playing when you turned it and the skycape to light up. Here's hoping for maybe the twentieth anniversary. 

     We didn't run alone either. I like to be surrounded by my friends when I can so I asked my friend Jerry to join us, which he so graciously did. 

This race has been a true experience in what friendship truly means. 

     

     My friend Bert is a busy working mom. When I go to visit her in Miami, I am exhausted just watching her go. She's that mom that gets home from a twelve hour day and than decorates the house for a birthday party on Tuesday only after she has gone to the cub scout meeting she has conducted. Somewhere there she has found the time to not only train for a marathon, but to start running....period. She has run through neighborhoods I wouldn't even drive through, speeding, with my doors locked and passing all the red lights. She is tough. 

     

     The only person that may be tougher is my friend Jerry. Jerry is also a lawyer like Bert. He works everyday. He never takes a day off. And even though he is never NOT working, he manages to wake up before most people in Miami even make it to bed and runs farther in one day than most people will run all month maybe all their life. He is an ultra runner. Jerry likes to run races that are 100 miles or longer. They last more than 24 hours and most of them don't even have water stations. Jerry is made of steel. He ran 25miles the day before the race to warm up. (Yes, you can hate him now.)

   

     As for me, you know I got those new triplets to run with. So enough about my struggles. Just know this was a true labor of love for all of us to train, fly in, leave our babies for the first time etc....

    As we got to the race, I was thinking about the history of the marathon. How Pheidippides, a Greek soldier had to run from the Battle of Marathon to Athens (Did I mention he had just fought IN the battle before running) When he arrived in Athens 26.2miles later, he said, "We were victorious." before he collapsed and died. I was really hoping times had changed since then and that we were better prepared.For instance, Bert had music. The fanfare was great. Latin music blaring. Fireworks. Runners without shirts who actually looked good without their shirts. Every country was represented in this international race.

Bert's kiddos met us on our travels.

Looking pretty good after 26.2 miles. Jerry, me, Bert

The sign on the right is Spanish for Go-ooo.

     The highlights were simple, we ran through streets filled with beautiful homes, with incredible views of the water and Miami skyline. We were cheered on by strangers in several different languages. We met interesting people on the run including a 36 week pregnant yoga instructor (show off) and a French woman who let me brush up on my French as she convinced me to run the Rome marathon. Jerry and I even had time to get down and dance to some Adele on mile 18. And best of all, Bert's family met up with us along the run to show they cared. I didn't care much for the actual buzzards that were circling on mile 21,( NO LIE. But they were there for somebody else.) but that's the way things go in a marathon. You never know what your going to get. 

  

     As Bert ran next to me we reached mile 26. When we saw the finish line it started to rain and I told her to give it all she had. "Let's finish strong." She told me she was indeed giving it her all and step by step we made it to the finish. With her family cheering us on, the three of us made it to the end and got our awesome medals. 

Or in the words of Pheidippides, we were victorious. 

     Bert said this was her first marathon. But I think we are all running a marathon of sorts in our life. Bert was there cheering me on in my marathon to become a doctor. Sometimes running next to me when I thought I couldn't take another step forward. Jerry is finishing the marathon of raising a son. All the time, we have had good and bad moments, enjoyed the good scenery, met some new friends and been circled by buzzards. But we  were victorious and have the medals to prove it. 

Signs I loved along the way:

No pare! Sigue. Sigue! (Don't stop. Go. Go.)

Kick some Asphalt.

Run 26.2 miles because 26.3 would be crazy

Most people don't even drive 26 miles on the weekend

Your perspiration is our inspiration

Sweat is fat crying.

Dale que tu puede (Go because you can do it.)

No poop or pee pee on the lawn. I mean it.