^WHERE:  San Francisco, Union Square

It’s 5am and I am feeling so excited and nervous. It’s been quite a journey getting to this day. But this is only the beginning of a long year of training for Ironman CDA. This race is a benchmark run and will be a real test to see if I am ready. Last night Coach Troy and I talked about race day tactics and nutrition. The thing that stuck with me the most is the last thing he said. He told me all of these plans should be in the back of my mind and what I should focus on completely is Christ.  I know that this goal of 1:30 (6:54 pace) on a hilly course is beyond my own ability and is going to take His power to get me there.

It’s been hard doing the rigorous training. I get tempted to focus on myself first and put Christ and my family second. I’ve been battling the old negative thoughts from my past competitive running days when I wasn’t a Christian. Part of me wants to control every variable, every detail, and leave Christ out. I’ve seen the miracles that come from having faith. Miracles that the “world” doesn’t want to believe happen. Just two weeks ago, I was to run a local ½ Marathon on an extremely hilly course (Almaden Quicksilver Park)

 to get ready for this Nike race. I decided to pull out the night before because I was too self focused. It was a negative impact on our family. It was a hard thing to do because this race was to be key in getting my goal. Troy and I decided to go out and run the course a few days later. But how would I achieve the 8 minute race pace without competition to push me? We both were sure that the only way this would happen was with Christ’s help. I had to have the right attitude; looking up more than looking at myself. Troy rode his mountain bike ahead of me to chart the course. No other runners were on the trails. After 5 miles I hadn’t seen a downhill and was still climbing.

8 min pace was far away but I kept pushing having faith that God can help me do it. From mile 6 to 9, the downhills and flats helped me to catch up but I was still 4 minutes behind at mile 9. I had to make up 1 minute per mile. It would be tough, and might not happen but I didn’t give up because I had faith that it was possible. “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” I kept up the effort and by the end I had actually run 8 minute pace in a race with no runners! Thank you Jesus, the big hurdle had been crossed thanks to You. He gave me a wonderful workout, a workout I didn’t deserve but was given to me by His grace. This was just another reminder of how deep and wide Christ’s love for me is. Now it was time to see what we could do in San Francisco.

For the past 19 weeks, I’ve also been training a group of moms to do this race through an organization called Moms In Motion. In addition, 4 other MIM teams and the founder of MIM are here competing. Yesterday, the MIM leaders and I got together to talk about our seasons and future seasons. It was a lot of fun and gave me some good ideas for the future. I also got a cute pair of MIM shorts to wear with my bright shirt.

Last night all 85 of us went out to Buca di Beppo to load up on carbs. My parents came, too. My mom, Jan, is doing the ½ Marathon with me. She’s been walking and running up a storm getting ready for this. It’s so exciting to be doing this together!! Some honorary Mountain View Masters who are doing the race and also came to dinner: Kat D’Angelo (Boulder, CO, doing the 1/2), Brigid Bangle (Houston, TX, doing the 1/2), Michelle Ridder (Campbell, CA, doing the Marathon! She’s been training hard and put in a few 22 mile runs!), and Annika Lewis (Mtn View, CA, drove up for dinner and some time with the gang).

It seems many important pre-race details have been overlooked. It’s late now but the Lord has really helped fill in the gaps. He’s really helped me to be calm and at peace about it.

1. Forgot a PowerBar, found one at Walgreens

2. Need grapeseed extract, Mom has it

3. Need breakfast food, Troy found a little market.

Race Day! As I put on my MIM outfit, Troy gets breakfast ready. We are having bananas and bread with cream cheese and honey…pretty good for a last minute breakfast. I head down to the hotel lobby of the Chancelor Hotel to meet the girls. Our pre-race preparation consists of applying MIM tattoos, running a 10 minute warm-up and stretching in the hotel lobby.

We have all the MIM teams housed here so the lobby is a sea of red race outfits. There is a lot of cheering and excitement, almost too much for Anna. After a shout of “go Mom’s In Motion!”, Anna cries, followed by a big sad, “Ahhhhh..” from the group. Just before I send my team out to the start, I mention that any of them are welcome to stay back for prayer with Troy and I. I did this at the San Jose Rock n’Roll and many of the girls prayed. This time, no one is interested, so just Troy and I say a prayer and then I’m off to my starting area.

I tuck myself in the second big group of runners which is 6:30 to 8:00min pace. Ahead of us are Nike’s “Club Run SF” which consists of runners who took advantage of free training sessions offered in SF and Palo Alto. I have quite a crowd ahead of me. Will the start be slow? I don’t think about it much. I bow my head and ask for the Lord’s peace and strength. I feel like crying for joy. I am so nervous but so excited to see what Christ will do today through me. Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first gold medalist for the Olympic Marathon, gets up in front of us and tells us to have a good race. She’s doing the ½ Marathon with me! "The greatest American marathoner in history." according to Runner's World. I remember when my parents took me to see her in the 1984 Olympics. That makes me even more emotional. Just minutes before the race starts, I run into Kat and Brigid. It’s so nice to see familiar faces.

3, 2, 1 we are off! It’s slow just getting to the starting line. As I cross the starting line, I’m immediately faced with a wall of runners. I do my best to get by without bumping into anyone. After a few minutes I break through and focus on trying to find my pace – 6:54.

Mile 1: 7:00. Usually the 1st mile is too fast in most races, but with the crowd I actually went out too slow (7:00). I’m not worried and feel confident that this won’t set me back. I settle into a good pace behind a few girls.

Mile 2: 6:45.  That's better. As we are running along Pier 39, I hear a voice say “hey”. I look to my right and see Pablo Aguilera. I coached Pablo at Woodside High not too long ago. It’s so good to see him! All grown up and almost a Stanford grad now. We chat a bit. He’s pacing some girls in the Marathon today. I wish I could stay and talk more. I tell him to keep up the good work and we part ways.

Mile 3: 6:56. Oh, I better pick up the pace. I know that a big hill is coming around Mile 6 so I better get a little more ahead. I suddenly feel the prayers of my Bible study gals: Deb, Kari and Vickie. These girls are awesome! They were totally excited for this race and eager to pray for me. Thank you Lord for these sisters in Christ!

Mile 4 – 5: 6:51. Good. I’m basically alone right now with a few runners ahead of me in sight. Up ahead there’s a DJ playing some salsa and it gets me pumped.

I can see the runners ahead have turned a corner and are now running up a very steep grade. Oh man, this looks ugly! Lord, give me the wisdom and strength to run this hill. I don’t want to go too slow or too hard.

Mile 6: 6:50. My average pace is 6:54 at the 10k mark. Oh boy this hill is getting steep. The pace calculator Nike offered online predicted 8 min pace on this hill. Troy and I were thinking it was exaggerated but this is no exaggeration!

Mile 7: 8:02! Wow! I hope some downhill is coming, I’m already tired of climbing! Finally, the downhill…yes! I know I have a lot of catching up to do. This is just like the Quicksilver run. I’m pushing hard and not giving up hope that the goal can be met.

Mile 8: 6:23. Okay! Thanks God!

Now I find myself climbing again. Already?! Okay, Lord, give me the strength. Falling behind the pace. I trust You Lord. I’ll keep pushing. Please don’t let my energy run out! Hey, there’s Dad, Troy and Anna ahead! Yeah! I flashed them a smile and continued on.

Up ahead I see a crowd of pink and red shirts! It’s my team! A bunch of the girls who competed a few weeks ago came to cheer us on. I see their signs: “Moms Rock n’ Run” and “Rockin Robin”. So awesome! I run over to them and give them all a High 5. That really got me going again. I’m not so focused on the hill now. Thanks God for that! I catch up to the first guy in the ½ Marathon (yes, there are guys our here too). He looks strong.

Mile 9: 7:21. Slow but now too bad. Funny, just like Quicksilver I have a deficit going into the last 4 miles. Lord, I’ll keep pushing and we’ll see what happens.

 I won’t give up Lord. Another downhill! Yes! The guy passes me and I just fight to keep him in sight.

Mile 10: 6:49 Mile 11: 6:41. Okay, this could happen. The course now takes us into the Golden Gate Park where, a month ago, I was running a cross country race with my Davis buddies on the West Valley Track Club. I pass the guy again and push the hill. Thankfully I won’t have to run this entire hill like the marathoners do. I veer off and head towards the finish! The park is really foggy. I can barely see who is ahead.

I miss the Mile 12 marker. Oh well, go! We run by the horse stables and onto the race track. I see the chocolate aid station. Oh man, maybe I can just grab a few chocolates. No I must pass by…maybe I’ll find some chocolate at the end. I look at my watch and see that 1:30 is fast approaching.

Lord, if it is Your will please let me meet the goal. I will be content if I don’t. I know I’ve done all that I can do! I’ve pushed as hard as I can. I sprint to the finish. I cross the line and I see 1:30 on my watch. Praise God!! Thank You Lord, Thank You! I get my Tiffany’s necklace from a handsome man in a tux. I’m greeted by race director and fellow Christian Terri Davis. It’s always great to see him. I see Troy, Anna and Dad and hurry over to hug them. We celebrate this gift together.

Next, we head over to Mile 11, down the street, to see Mom and the rest of the girls. It’s so great to watch everyone work so hard to get to the finish line! I see some of my girls go by and other MIM runners. We wave the team poster at them. Here comes Mom! She looks great and I run out to give her a High 5. We run back over to see her finish. I’m so proud of her! Here she comes! Wow, she looks great and is in such great spirits. I rush to greet her at the finish with a hug. We congratulate each other.

Thank you Lord for this day! Mom and the girls did great and really showed that they are studettes. This was not an easy course but they all persevered with smiles on their faces. Wow! What a day!