It all started with lb2006, and her tireless campaign for one epic H&F gtg. It was barely a fully spoken idea, before H&Fer after H&Fer were making their vows to join in. One week into the discussion, we had housing choices & lb2006 agreeing to put thousands & thousands of dollars on her credit card, trusting that we would keep our word. @kirkette, our furthest H&Fer?? LOL Yeah, she was the first to sign up, simply stating that her plane ticket had already been purchased & to tell her who to pay & how much to pay them. Girl is ALL IN. All other H&Fers followed her lead, and before we knew it, tickets had been purchased throughout the U.S & the house was full.
We drove you all crazy with all things Kiawah these last 8 months, but this weekend, you guys, you need to hear about this weekend. I'll start with the overall awesomeness. You spend years building relationships with people you don't really know, yet you do. You do know them, and when you meet, you don't actually feel like you're meeting anyone new. It's not awkward or uncomfortable, but rather, in a very weird way, it's comfortable & familiar. People walk up to you, and rather than an introduction, you think "hi, old friend." Maybe the realest of the real showed up this weekend, but no one really surprised me. What you see on this board is all very real.
Now yesterday, things need to be said about yesterday. Start lines are significantly more amazing with 18 of your running friends. When I'm running down an out & back and I hear my name, I look over & I see ebeth. ebeth, people! How fun is that? Seconds after I cross the finish, who is running towards me?? Our very own adorable runblondie26! Jealous? You should be! We all passed each other, and smiled & waved & kicked some serious ass. 19 H&Fers took to the roads of Kiawah, but here is what you didn't see.
- You didn't see how excited skwcm80 & arch01 were, when they announced that they CRUSHED their PRs and sub-2:00. They also just happened to do this with the awesome pacing/rabbit skills of enfuego23. - You didn't see how strong & happy jchokie79 looked, when we passed her on the way to find Tara. - You didn't see hannahb just shy of mile 23, who even unprepared & injured, was kicking ass to bring in a BQ w/a 3:33. -You didn't see aswartzw running around the course on a bike. - You didn't see taratru flying up to me at mile 22, as I hopped on the course next to her and set out to finish a long run w/my sweet friend. She was AMAZING! She was strong, happy, and positive. She still had a sense of humor and asked about all of the other H&Fers, wanting to know about their days, while she was in the toughest miles of her own race. We picked up Runblondie & saw mrshandy just past 23, and her entourage grew. She didn't miss a beat (even when runblondie26 & I almost let her miss a turn! Lol) - As we made it past mile 24, you should have seen the awesome group of cheerleaders who had made it back up the course to cheer on the rest of the girls. - As I left Tara at 26 & hauled ass to the finish, do you know what I saw? I saw another group of H&Fers cheering on @kirkette and lauren170, as Lauren finished her first half! They did the whole thing together.
Once they were done, they waited right there and screamed their head off, as we all watched Tara crush her goal w/more than a BQ-5:00. There was laughing & tears & lots of sweaty hugs. - lb2006 & tuggyruns spent these months virtually training for the marathon together, and they crossed the finish line together yesterday, with one massive PR for Tuggy, and just an overall really strong marathon time.
Some people had the races they hoped for and then some, some races didn't go as planned. Still, everyone was happy and encouraging. You guys, it was such a great day for our board. So many warm fuzzies.
This morning it was so sad to see everyone go. Soon it was just me, @kirkette, ebeth, al320, and moreace01 (who is awesome & really needs to post more) who were left. We stayed at the house talking until the last possible minute, before we finally said goodbye.
So yeah, you guys would have been really proud yesterday, and this totally needs to happen again. <3
Just got home. The husband still doesn't understand how it wasn't awkard. Loved meeting all of you and while I think I need to detox (gasp! Not that word!) from all the sugar and booze, I can't wait until next year!
What a lovely recap! Thank you for sharing. I'm slightly jealous of your amazing weekend, but so happy for all of you who had such an awesome time together.
buffaloeggs.blogspot.com 2016 Races: Hop Hop Half Marathon 2:05:09 Pac Crest Half Ironman 7:13:40 9/10 Aluminum Man Oly Tri 11/27 Space Coast Half Marathon
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
Great recap, (I'm still jealous too) you guys, and this board in general, rock! I'm so happy that you all had such a great time and a great race experience.
I teared up reading that. I'm trying to find the words to describe this wonderful group of women and I'm coming up short. Suffice it to say that I thank my lucky stars that I found you all, and even luckier that you accepted me into the fold. (heart) (heart)