Congratulations to Gayle!!!!!!!! Gayle completed her third half marathon last Sunday, her first in 6 years, and beat her previous time by over 10 minutes. The thing I love about Gayle, however, is that she's ready to flash a smile at any point in the race, even at mile 13, which is where she is at in the picture here, and running uphill at that!
The boys and I started our race-watching journey at REI, and watched Gayle at mile 5 near Confluence park. We met up with buddy Dan Eakin and dog Henry. Dan's wife, Laura, ran the race as well. After Gayle passed us at mile 5--with a wave and a smile of course--the boys all played some football together in the park. There, a precious moment occurred. While I was throwing a pass to Dan, apparently Henry knocked Austin over, which I only saw out of the corner of my eye. Next thing I know, Austin is making a B-LINE for me with his mouth open. I thought his expression was one of joy, but realized it was one of utter terror when, once he got to me and jumped into my arms, he exploded in tears. Poor little guy must have gotten scared and just ran straight for me - it's a moment I'll never forgot.
But back to Gayle. We waited for her to pass at the 13th mile marker. Austin cheered on the leaders, clapping his hands and yelling "Go, Go, Go" at the top of his lungs, making the traffic cop who was nearby crack up hysterically. Once mommy came, however, Austin was out of gas. But Gayle wasn't. Up the hill she raced, past us, and to the finish line. Gayle's time was so good that she finished 40th among over 950 female entrants. She's truly impressed me with her hard training efforts, good eating habits, and her results reflected her effort.
JOB WELL DONE GAYLE. I look forward to your next endeavor, whatever it may be.
They boys with buddy Dan and dog Henry
2 comments:
congratulations, gayle! I am super impressed! my family usually does the STL 1/2 marathon-- but, not me... I want to cry just thinking about running even a mile!
Congrats!
see you soon...
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