The sun is shining again....

"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;

who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. " - Theodore Roosevelt

The night before the marathon, my sister Glenda sent me part of this quote. I had forgotten all about it until this morning.

Thanks everyone for your comments, and for reminding me that I, too, have experienced a life change thru the past 9 months. After I wrote down my feelings in this blog, I went home yesterday, feeling defeated. As I climbed in bed, I prayed that God would clear my mind of all those feelings so I could see the lesson He wanted me to learn thru this experience.

Today is a new day, and I have found a new perspective. I did not fail Sunday because I didn't get to finish. Sunday was just the culmination of this journey, and the beginning of many more marathon journeys.

I, like my fellow MMers, dared to dream that I, too, could join the rank of the elite runners and be a marathoner. We trained in the rain, in the heat, in the cold weather; thru the pain, and the blisters, and the black toenails. We supported and encouraged one another to continue; and we suceeded at our goal, to make it to the Starting line of the 2007 Chicago marathon.

Yes, I could have pushed myself harder and be a faster runner. Would I have been able to finish all 26.2 miles? Only God knows. Regardless of whether you are a runner or a walker, the marathon is the same, 26.2 miles. Whether you finish in 2 hrs and 11 minutes or 8 hrs, the distance is still the same. And so is the glory.

I will finish a marathon, I'm sure. This one will always be special though. This one was the first one. This one catapulted me into the rank of "marathoner". This one started it all. Yes, it was cut short, but years from now, when someone asks which was your first marathon, I will proudly say "I was in Chicago in '07, the hot marathon". I have now become part of history.

I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to walk this journey with. All of you are amazing, from the fastest to the slowest, all of you are remarkable people. It isn't our speed that makes us great, it's our determination to complete the distance.

My running days are just beginning. I am planning to run many 5k and 10k in the future; and yes, marathons too. As Jana said, there is a time for everything, and my time will come to run many more marathons.

I am a runner now. I didn't know it 9 months ago, but I do now. There was always a runner in me, waiting to come out. Can't stop it now. Running is my time to myself, with nothing more than my thoughts and some good music to keep me company. I love leaving my problems out there, on the streets, and coming home refreshed and ready to tackle all the chores.

My daughter Candace asked me last night if, one day, when she runs the Chicago marathon, will I be there to cheer her on? I smiled, and with tears in my eyes, said yes. Then I thought, better yet, I will be there running with her!

That's what this whole journey was about. I wanted to set a great example for my kids. I wanted them to dare to dream the impossible dream (as Onetta said). When I hear my daughter say she will run a marathon, I know I accomplished my goal.

I can't say enough about Mark, Robin, Scotty, Matt and Wayne, who never let us give up on ourselves. I am campaigning to get more people to sign up next year so they too can experience this amazing journey. And also so I can have an excuse to come run with them :D

To all MMers, Thanks everyone for your kind words and your encouragement. They meant more to me than I could ever express.

To my husband Claude, the biggest Thank you for putting up with me, for supporting me, believing in me, and always encouraging me to continue to move forward. You are my rock, and I love you.

My kids, Candace, Cade and Braden, who never cared how sweaty I was, and were always ready to hug me after a run.

To my mom Amelia, sisters Iris, Joyce, Glenda, Indra- Thanks for believing in me from the beginning of this journey.
Special thanks to Joyce and Jeff, and their kids Stephanie and Aurora, for coming to Chicago to support me. It meant the world to me. Stephanie, I hope we can run a marathon together one day.

Thank you God for the opportunity to run and the health to continue doing it. Let's keep running, for ourselves and those who can't.
God bless you.