By far...the TOUGHEST marathon ever...no joke

The day began with the sound of the alarm at 2:50AM. Travis and I got up, got ourselves ready, bags packed, and the woke up the kids to get them changed and dressed. We headed to White Sands Missle Range and we entered the gate at 4:30AM, temperature was about 30'. We headed to the staging area where we found the rest of the team. This marathon is unlike any other. This one was a team of 5, in full military uniform, carrying a 35lb pack.

When they were getting ready to start, I found a spot on the corner to watch everyone pass

So as I'm waiting for our team to pass, I'm standing in front of a white Tahoe where two kind ladies asked us to get inside their vehicle to warm up. At this point we were all very cold and I while I do not mind subjecting myself to fridged temps, I try not to subject my children to such. So I gladly accepted. Their husbands were doing the march to and so we all waited for our significant others to pass. And well, it was a bit hard to be able to pick them out because they all looked the same wearing the uniforms and carrying their packs. Thankfully, I was able to pick out their number and was able to wish them well as they started their journey.

And Isaiah was able to yell, GO GO GO at, well, pretty much all of them because they all looked like daddy in that uniform. The ladies we hung out with for a bit were of course impressed that Isaiah was so excited about being at a race and how well behaved he was. Well, it was only 6:30AM...we had a LONG day ahead of us.

Most of the day was spent looking at the fire truck. The fire truck that displayed Old Glory so beautifully. It was a ginormous flag and with the slight breeze of the day, it was just beautiful a sight.

This was my first race with both kiddos, alone. For Ironman AZ I had the help of Travis' parents. Today, I was on my own. Talk about interesting, going the bathroom in a port-a-potty, was entertaining at best. But I managed. At the end of the day, I thought I was the one walking/running in the desert with a 35lb pack. I don't know who had it harder. Of course Travis did, as he is hobbling around today. At the end of it, he looked at me and said, "this was by far, THE toughest marathon I've ever done, this was no joke". Something to know about Travis, if you don't already, he is a two time Ironman finisher and NOT a complainer. He gets it done and shows very little emotion if he is in pain. So for him to say that to me, I knew he truly was in pain and A LOT of it. But once again, he never ceases to amaze me. One of the guys on his team had some medical issues, so they were unable to finish as a team but 3 of them finished, Travis being one of them. I asked Travis if he would do it next year and his response was "if they can't find anyone else, I'll do it." Which means, more than likely, we'll be back again next year. But I'll be better prepared. I still have a lot to master in the way of being "mommy" prepared for a race. But I'll get there and I've started my master list of MUST haves while i'm there.  And at the end of the day...two sleeping babies, one exhausted momma, and a broken daddy...all on the road to recovery!