i will. i will. protect this house.

A little dramatic for a 3k but it was a lot of fun getting hype for our 28 minute run! Under Armour provided the slogan and I pretty much ran with it. (Wow, bad pun!) Our pregame show took longer than the race itself. We joked about the slogan and watched youtube commercials for inspiration and "battle" preparation. We woke up in plenty of time to get on our gear and get to the race but for some reason (being brown) we had to rush to fill out our applications, dodge through the walkers since we missed the runners and then searched to meet up with a fellow runner.

But as I started running through Howarth Park and going through one of my old neighborhoods, I just felt good! I had my people around me and they took turns running by my side.

The sun was shining and there were so many different kinds of people out for the event. Families, businesses, non-profits, soccer teams, friends and so many communities represented Sonoma County. I felt like I had my own team with me--my parents and the whole house woke up early on a Saturday morning (6:30 am is really early for us). Four of us geared up and ran 1.8 miles. My cousin retraced her steps just to fall in line with us. My cousin hesitant to run in the first place ended up running with a bag full of stuff because there was nowhere to check it in.

My sister had a 15 hour work day on Friday, came home and packed before we headed to Santa Rosa at midnight.

My sister's boyfriend made us tea in the morning and pretty much shortened his stride (he's 6' tall) to my 5' tall mini-stride most of the way. My youngest sister took pictures of us at the finish line and beamed a georgous smile and gave me a huge hug.

My parents hosted brunch for us and I received texts from friends and family checking on my inaugural run.

Did I mention I ran 1.8 miles for 28 minutes? It's difficult not to downplay it because it seems so short in comparison to every other "K" distance out there. But as one of the runner's wrote when he sent me this picture, "visual evidence of our epic run", I can't help but feel that way.

There was an epic amount of support for me on Saturday. It's crazy to think that on February 1, 2010 I could only run for one minute at a time and it was very, very difficult! I don't think I really knew if could really do this running thing. Many others did and still do. They run with me, they ask how my running is going, they get up early, drive late, buy me running gear, make me breakfast, slow their pace, and the list goes on and on.

This amount of love and support is epic. I am equally grateful and appreciative.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.