Lucky Pennies

A little less than two weeks ago life was falling apart all around me. I would rather not go into detail, things were just really hard for some friends we love which in turn makes it hard for us. 

Anyhow, Shauna and I had headed out on a much needed run and while running I found a penny. Heads up. I told her this was our entrance to SOJO marathon. About a mile later, on the same road, I found another penny. Heads up. This was the guarantee that we would have two entrances to SOJO.

In case you weren't aware, a penny is only lucky if it is found heads up.

A few hours after I got home, a friend called and told me he thought he saw that we had won entrance to the SOJO marathon. WE DID!!!

Our friend Alison was training for this marathon, it being her first, and Shauna and I had been running with her during her training runs. 

This morning we ran SOJO!!

It was awesome! We slept in (on purpose) and Chris drove us to the start. The morning was beautiful. It was windy, but the course was amazing.

We made great time. I ran out of water so I refilled at an aid station. The water was nasty. I called my sister Lani, who was going to meet us near her house to cheer us on, and asked her to bring some ice water. This saved my run!

The last two+ miles just about did me in. I just wanted to sit down and not get up. My hips hurt. My feet hurt. My anxiety was spiking. I wanted to be done!

Shauna dragged my sorry behind to the finish, encouraging me the whole way there. She's amazing! It ended up being my slowest marathon, but it didn't really matter. I still finished!

After the race we headed to the gas station for some chocolate milk. While we were there we found out Alison was soon coming to the finish and we wanted to be there for her, so we headed back. It was so fun to see her come in. She looked great! I'm so proud of her and all she's done to prepare for today. I have the most amazing friends!