All glory to God!

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7

I couldn't decide if I was going to share this or not, but finally decided there was nothing wrong with letting you in on my most personal moments from the race. After all, it is you who are praying for our family, who is helping to provide the strength that keeps me going.

I knew the race would be emotional for me, but I didn't expect for it to get the best of me. Chris and I were up at 4:00 a.m., pumped and ready to GO! My Mom, Rhonda and Amy met us at the room and then we made our way to Boutwell for the group picture for the Partners in Training. Shortly after 6:30, we finished up inside and made our way to the starting corral (herding us in like cattle...). Just knowing what I was about to do got me a little teary eyed, but my adrenalin was in full gear! Right before the start, Amy and I prayed together and my strength was renewed. On went my iPod and off we went!
Each time my feet hit the pavement, all I thought about was Addie. I kept seeing the look on her face when Heather was helping her walk and I could see the tears streaming down her face as she tried so hard to put one little foot in front of the other. I could hear her calling my name and I had her blue eyes emblazoned in mine. There were a few moments throughout the race where I really wanted to slow down. When that happened, I would reach back and grab Addie's picture and I would "pat her" and tell her that this was for her. It was kind of funny, because I was concentrating so hard on Addie that I remember passing mile 2 and the next thing I knew, I was coming up on mile 4. I kept saying, "This is for Addie".
When I approached the top of Greensprings and saw mile 6, I could feel my emotions starting to waver. I topped the hill at Greensprings and started looking left for Arby's on Valley, knowing that I was almost there. I rounded the corner onto Valley Avenue and immediately started looking for my sister. As soon as I saw her, I started waving and completely lost control of my emotions. By the time I made it to her, I was sobbing. I told her that, "I did it - for Addie and that I loved Addie so much"! The sobbing came from deep within my soul, all I could think is how my race (for that moment) was over, but Addie's never would be.
I wasn't even close to the best runner out there, but I completed what I set out to do. It was a very personal moment for me and one that I can't completely describe. All I know is that God was with me each mile of that race and I was RUNNING FOR ADDIE!

It was all for HER!