The race was a long stretch of Pacific Coast Highway (right along the beautiful southern California beach) with several long uphills at the very end. Just as we promised, we never stopped running and came in right at our goal time - 2 hours 30 minutes. Running with Penelope, my soul sister, was amazing. She gave me inspiration, courage and companionship throughout the 13.1 miles... it was like going through the memory lane from our old running days.
Coach Fier from our cross country team used to say "SISU" to keep us going. It's a Finnish viking word and it loosely translate as "deciding on a course of action and sticking to that decision against the odds...". I have forgotten about this word for last 10 years... but training for this race and running the 13 miles with Penelope brought me back the spirit of SISU.
For me the last three miles were the most painful ones. I could feel that my right calf was borderline cramping and I was praying that it would just sustain itself until we finish.
The moment of the finish line was magical... big crowd and we heard everyone cheering "it's the home stretch!"... then seeing little roo and hubby on the other side...
But just like anything else... the journey to get there was as priceless as the moment of the victory.
SISU!
