Well, I'm back from the OC Half, and it was an amazing and fun experience!
Doreen, Melanie, and I had such a good time!
Here's a brief run-down of our trip:
I picked Doreen up at a nearby train station on Friday afternoon and we headed down to OC. We stayed at a sweet little motel/motor lodge called the "Francis Scott Key Motel." It was about .2 mile from the start of the race--very convenient. Friday night we picked up our packets--it was so cool to get our T-shirts and numbers! I felt very official! We picked up some commemorative (is that how you spell it?) pins--it was, after all, the "inaugural" marathon in OC, so we picked up pins as souvenirs. Mine is now sitting proudly on my princess hat. After our sign in, we ate dinner at Applebees and then shopped around the outlets a bit, which happened to be oh-so-conveniently across the street from the hotel. We came back to our room, put on our jammies, and hit the hay pretty early.
We woke up around 5 and were at the starting point to get our chips by 6:15. We sat on my mylar poncho (bought the day before) and waited to see Mel; we talked to a guy who was going to run back to back marathons--one on Saturday in OC and one on Sunday in NJ--while we waited. These runners are amazing and interesting people! We ran into so many nice people during the weekend--there was a real feeling of friendship and shared purpose. The race started a bit late, but the Mel, Doreen, and I were off and walking by about 7:37-7:40.
The course was really beautiful and quite unlike the big city and WDW half marathons. There were never lines for port-a-potties. It had a real small town feeling to it that was very comforting for a "country" girl like myself. (I may live in the Philly area, but I was raised in rural upstate PA and it's a fact that you can't take the country out of the girl, let me tell you.) The scenery was beautiful and the views from the top of the bridge at Assateague were breathtaking. Of course, it was all we could do to stay standing, but it was lovely, just the same. Like Doreen said, the ponies were waiting for us on the other side of the bridge, and the finish wasn't too far away.
Doreen and I ran for the finish hand in hand and Mel and her family were there to greet us and take us back to the start at the marina. I got a hamburger and some chips (OK, I confess, I got a donut, too), and headed back up to the room. I felt so proud of us! It was such a challenge, yet so much fun!
Amanda called us before we went to bed, and you could tell she shared our sense of victory and accomplishment. It was so nice to talk to you, Amanda. Your call was special to both Doreen and me.
So, this morning we headed home and now Doreen and I are both back to our real lives--laundry, school and work tomorrow--you all know the drill. Everything's back to normal, but something's a little different. We're jock athlete
!
Erin
I will be cheering you on from Ohio on Saturday! You can do it! 
Good morning, 
through today and off into a weekend of fun!
:thewave: 
Today's thought is "look for an opportunity to make a positive difference." 
