Our Own Superhero!

We have our own superhero!

We are pretty proud of him and his recent accomplishment...

here he is just after finishing his first marathon in 2:40:29!!!!!!!

Finishing 56 out of the 4,858 males that ran and 66 of the 8,533 total runners!

He averaged about 6:08 per mile for the 26.2 miles he ran!

I think I ran a 7 minute mile once...it almost killed me so I decided not to do it again.

One of the first things he said to me when I talked to him on his way home was how he couldn't wait to run another one!  

I am pretty sure I would be thanking the Lord that I survived 26.2 miles and praying I wouldn't ever do it again!

We are SOOOOOO proud of him and it was SOOOOOO hard not being there to help cheer him on and watch him finish.  I am sure there will be more marathons....we will be there next time!

He put in many miles and many hours of hard work preparing for this.

He was up in the wee hours of the morning (like 3am sometimes) to squeeze his run in, ran 2 times a day, ran late into the night, and often took the boys with him (on bikes and in the jogging stroller).

He is crazy.

We love him for it.

Staying home and missing out on this was one of the hardest things I have had to do.

However, I also know that going into labor on the way there or during the race wouldn't have been very helpful for Richard or our little one who needs to stay put just a little longer before making the big debut!

My parents and sister were amazing all weekend helping me with the boys while Richard was gone and I worked.  It sure was comforting knowing they were taken care of when we weren't available.

Speaking of being taken care of, I am so thankful to our dear friends Clint and Katy who took such great care of Richard while he was in Minneapolis for the race.

Katy made sure Richard was well fed the night before (making him a special pre-race meal), they let him stay at their house, Clint gave him a ride that morning, and Katy and their 2 small boys were at the finish line waiting for Richard. 

Katy even sent this beautiful flowers home for me to enjoy ;0)

My mom helped the boys make this sign to welcome daddy home...

Richard/Daddy,

    I know you don't feel as though you were able to train as much as you would have liked for this marathon, and that we weren't always as excited as you were for it. I find it pretty stinking amazing that you were able to do all you did while working full time, coaching full time, loving your pregnant-hormonal-emotional wife, raising and caring for 3 BUSY boys, and helping out around the house to keep me from going into premature labor and avoiding bedrest!  

    We are very proud of you for doing this and it is clear to me that, Lord willing, there will be more marathons in your future.  Hopefully next time we will be able to be there to cheer you on and welcome you across the finish line.  We just wanted you to know you are our superhero! We love you lots and look forward to cheering you on in the races to come.

  Love,

  Your Biggest Fans