Happy March!

Before I tell you how great Gasparilla was, I want to make it known that there is a chance I still have some blonde roots afterall. Shannon picked me up promptly at 5am for the journey over to Tampa. I had everything strategically packed in a little bag all ready to go. By the time we got to the Crosstown, I realized I forgot my time chip. The time chip is something you attach to your shoe so your time can be recorded. If you don't wear it, you aren't officially running the race. We didn't have enough time to go back and I cannot begin to tell you how bummed I was. So according to Gasparilla execs, a chick named Danielle Burke from Valrico did not run the half marathon this year. But according to anyone who counts, she did-AND SHE BEAT LAST YEAR'S PRINCESS HALF MARATHON TIME AND HAD A BLAST DOING IT!!! Once again, this was a life changing event for me. Seeing people stricken with cancer, people being pushed in wheelchairs, and people old enough to be my grandmother run beside me for 13.1 miles was humbling. Running through Davis Island with strangers cheering for you and holding signs up to "Keep going" and "You can do this" was awesome. There was one sign that read:

YOU ARE A MOM. YOU HAVE A FAMILY. YOU HAVE A BUSY LIFE, AND YOU ARE HERE. YOU ARE AMAZING!

Now, I know that sign wasn't made for me, but it may as well have been because it was the push I needed to stay strong. And I'm not going to lie, there were times I thought about walking for "just a little bit", but I didn't. No way. And running along Bayshore with during sunrise is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. Of course Ray and my babies being at the finish, along with Shannon (girlfriend ran this race in less than 2hours-so proud of her) cheering me on was the icing on the best cake I've eaten in a long time! I am a lucky girl, and sometimes it takes something like this to remind me of that.