Saturday, we had to go to the marathon expo to pick up our race number and chip (a timing device that is attached to your shoe to record your time). We soon realized how many people were participating in the marathon- about 20,000. Crazy.
Andy and I went to a Christmas party on Saturday night while Gigi stayed home with Maggie and went to bed early to prepare for the marathon.
Sunday started really early for Tara and me. We had to get up a little after 4 am in order to get to the Strip, park and get in place for the race to start at 6 am. There was a 40% chance of rain on Sunday morning and it rained on us on the way to the Strip. Thankfully, the rain stopped but the wind didn't. It was between 20-30 miles an hour for the entire race (which is not fun when you are walking into it on the last half of the race)! The temperatures weren't as cold as I expected but it was pretty chilly before the sun came up.
Tara and I were excited to get to see Andy and Maggie waiting for us at mile 6.5 with a pretty sign wishing us luck. But the race didn't end there. I had walked up to 9 miles in training so after 10 miles I was getting tired and my legs were starting to rebel.
Thankfully, Tara was there to get me to the finish line and we made it in 3 ½ hours (my goal). Once at the finish line, they took the chip off our shoe and we got our medal and Andy and Maggie had flowers for each of us!!!!!
Tara and I are both sore and have blisters but I think we both agree that it is worth it.
We are heading to Mississippi bright and early in the morning (we have a 7 am flight) and will be back in Las Vegas next Monday night. We are looking forward to seeing all our friends and family back home.
Katie
We finished!!!!!!!!!!!
At 6 1/2 miles with our cheering section.
Here we are.
Look at that great sign!!!
Somewhere between mile 2 and 3.
Before the race.
An attempt at a family picture.
Maggie and Gigi at lunch on Saturday.
Pre-race day at the Expo.
