Today I ran the Half Marathon in Duluth, with my friends Theresa, Jess, and Amber. Theresa and I finished in 2:24. I ran under a different name, i didn't get in officially, and ran under Amber's co-worker's name who decided not to do it. It was a sunny, hot race. If anyone is ever having a down day, watch a race. I got teary frequently during the run. I saw two women with shirts saying they were running in memory of Dru Sjodin, I saw an 87 yr. old man running with his son, the jets flew over at the start, the first wheel chair racers doing the full marathon were coming in as we were, and that is so emotional to see. Even though it is hard running 13.1 miles, there is such a sense of American pride that I get. There are fans cheering all along the way. You realize that there are good people and positive things happening in the world. Because Derek was on midnights, and I left V-town at 4:00 a.m. Joey stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's for the first time. While I had tears in my eyes saying goodbye, he kept saying "go" to get in grandma's car seat and head to Pike River. I had nothing to worry about.
Joey enjoyed his rides on the gator, walks with grandpa, and all the 1:1 attention!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for taking such good care of me...
