Crossing the finish line

When I started this whole hare-brained (or is it hair-brained?) idea of running a half marathon, I asked 3 other women to do it with me. Along the way, we've picked up a few more who come to our training runs, and for a while, it looked like we would have as many as 8 women run on Saturday.

As it has gotten colder, and life has happened (pregnancy, heart problems, knee issues, unemployment--these women have been hit hard, I tell ya), we're down to 4. It's not the original 4 who were going to run, interestingly, but still, 4 is a good number.

Today, it might be down to 3.

My friend twisted her ankle today, possibly spraining it. I haven't seen it yet, but she says it's pretty bad. I'm almost as upset as she is, just because I know what this training has cost her, what it's cost all of us, and I know how hard she's worked. It's been an awesome pleasure, training for a big race with this amazing group of women. And I know that sentence has far too many adjectives, but sometimes you just have to break those babies out.

So she called me tonight and jokingly said we should follow Rick and Dick Hoyt's example of running, with me pushing her in a wheelchair.

I actually don't think it's a bad idea.

Where does one get a racing chair, anyways?

Still, there's a chance she just twisted it, and it will be okay by Saturday. But if she doesn't run, then we'll just have another excuse to train for yet another race.

And that's okay with me.

Wish me luck on Saturday.

Oh, and if you don't know who Rick and Dick Hoyt are, then seriously, look it up. Spend some quality time with Google and learn about one of the coolest human beings on the planet. You won't regret it.