13.1

We did it.

Pops paced me and was nice enough to slow down a bit so I could keep up.  ;)
An amazing feeling to see our families cheering for us, to cross the finish line with my Dad and accomplish this goal.  It has been a long haul. 
I am very grateful and very humbled to have a day like today.
I was feeling a bit nervous when we started the race.  Then I saw a woman my age who was obviously dealing with the effects of chemotherapy.  The back of her shirt read, "Stage IV Running Tour" and listed the races she has done since she was diagnosed with metastatic cancer last December.  There were 5 races listed and room for lots more.  The bottom of the shirt read, "Living with Cancer.  NOT dying from it."
My world quickly came back into perspective. 

Running with someone makes the race go much faster.  The scenery was lovely - through downtown Frederick and many adjacent neighborhoods.
We were blessed by the Methodist Minister as we went past the church.  We thanked numerous cops and firefighters for the work they do to keep us safe, saw wicked cheesy signs that made us smile ("Worst.  Parade.  Ever."), heard lots of cheers for our Red Sox hats and gave high fives to every kid that offered a hand.
When we hit Mile 8, we turned it up a bit.  At Mile 10 we were going strong.  About Mile 12, my legs were turning to jell-0.  At 12.5 came the biggest hill in the race, reducing me almost to tears.  It was all I could do to keep up with my Dad.  The span from Mile 13 to 13.1 was the longest of the entire race.  We finished on the horse track and the surface was very deep and gravely.  Wasn't sure I was going to make it.  But we did.
 I cried crossing the finish line.   
And I'm glad I have another 4 months before I need to run that far again.  ;)
Here are the official results:
Your overall finish time was 2:17:19.90. 190 out of 348 in the
Female 35 to 39 age group and 2458 out of 3588 in the race.
Results by segment:
8 Mile - Rank - 2885 Time - 1:27:28.65 Pace - 10:56/mile 
Finish - Rank - 2458 Time - 49:51.25 Pace - 9:46/mile
 *I will blog about the rest of the weekend later - we got some great pictures and I can't wait to share them.  However, sleep is calling like a Siren Song and simply cannot be resisted*
Pictures courtesy of Uncle Patrick:

The sea of humanity heading towards downtown at the beginning of the race. 

Happy to see everyone at about Mile 2

CJ and Nate watching the runners

Seeing everyone while passing Baker Park

Mile 11.  Still smiling. 

We did it!!!!

Pops said this was the best part of the race for him.