The New Running Buddy

As most of you know, I look forward to the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon every year. You can read about past experiences here and here.  This year, I trained for and ran the half marathon again.  I was so excited because I would be running it with two of my very best friends, Shaynna and Alesha.  I miss both of them desperately.  The marathon is a great opportunity to spend a weekend together and head out for a 13.1 mile run to honor the 168 victims and their families of the Oklahoma City Bombing.  Twenty-five thousand runners were at the race all together this year.  That is an incredible amount. It is so moving to see this race grow each and every year.  What a worthy cause to support!

The week of the race, I found out a new "running buddy" would be joining me for the race.  I was absolutely thrilled and quite frankly a little surprised.  Nick was extremely excited as well. I knew it would be a challenge to have the "buddy" along, but I was totally up for it.  The morning of the race, we woke up at 4:00am to terrible thunderstorms.   Here is a shot of us pre race and pre rain.

 The "buddy" is not apparent in the pictures just quite yet, but trust me, the "buddy" was there in full effect.

Brett ran the full this year and did an AMAZING job as usual!

We went downtown to be there for a 6:30am start time.  The weather was so horrendous that they actually delayed the race by 30 minutes. I contemplated thoughts of not completing the race this year.  However, Alesha brought up a great point, we were doing it for the victims and their families; we can contend with the rain. Once the race started, I felt pretty good.  At about mile 3, the "buddy" and I started to feel a little nauseous. The "buddy" hates smells, especially bad ones.  At mile 4,  I lost my breakfast.  The "buddy" caught a whiff of something that could not be ignored.  I recovered and kept going.  Things were great until mile 8 or so when the "buddy" and I ran by a Jimmy's Egg restaurant.  The smell of eggs, sausage and all things "greasy diner" did not sit well. Once again, "the buddy" and I got sick.  However, I knew I was in the homestretch and I knew I could finish.  I trained for 10 weeks, I could do 5 more miles even in the pouring rain, bitter cold and ferocious wind.  I finally did cross that finish line at 2 hours and 16 minutes.  That is by far my worst time in a half marathon.  Last year, I actually broke two hours and finished in one hour and 58 minutes.  Essentially, my finish time was 18 minutes slower than my personal record.  Alesha and Shaynna both set their own personal records this year and did GREAT!  Even though my time was not the best, considering all the elements and running with the new "buddy," I was still proud of myself.  It's an accomplishment that I can tell the "buddy" about in a few months.  Just in case you have not figured out who the "buddy" is yet, here is a pretty blatant hint...

And luckily we are already prepared with the proper BOBs to go from this...

To this...

Our family could not be happier about the new running buddy baby that will be here soon!  Allison has already been a tremendous help by mothering her baby dolls.  We know she will be an absolutely wonderful big sister.

We will turn from a family of four (yes, Margo is still our "first born") to a family of five on January 5, 2012.  Some days, I am still in complete shock that we are going to have another little bundle of joy in our home and some days I get incredibly nervous, but we are so very excited.  Nick and I firmly believe that each baby is truly a gift from God.  We are so thankful for our blessings and cannot wait to bring this new addition home!

I still chase Allison all day, every day.  We still stay active with running, yoga and boot camp classes.  Although, some days getting out of bed is the tough thing.  Most days eating (and keeping it down) is the hardest thing I do all day.  This little baby certainly likes to remind mommy of his or her presence.  Nick has been very understanding.  He knows that smells are my weak point and that I am just a bit more tired than usual.  He has been a tremendous help through all of it. For the most part, things are fine and I feel pretty well. The two piece bathing suites have already made their way to the back of the closet and the stomach covering suits moved up front.  Some pants and shorts are a little tight around my already expanding tummy.  I guess it's true that one's body stretches out much faster the second time around.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to love and grow this healthy baby.  I was able to see "Baby New Year"yesterday.  He or she has a good, strong heart beat and is looking great!

Well, obviously the Spencer family is in for an adventure over the next several years!  Here we go...again!