Need some inspiration?

Remember back when I wrote the TRIce Cream Sunday post about my friend Deede? I documented Deede’s first sprint triathlon – The ICE Breaker Triathlon at Granite Beach, Folsom Lake, CA – April 17th, 2011.  1/2 mile swim, 13 mile road bike, 4 mile trail run. I also talked about Deede setting a goal for herself back in July of 2010 to become more active. She immediately put things in motion. She joined a running group, a triathlon group and she plugged away at her “to do” list to get herself closer to her goal.  One of the “to do” list items included running a marathon. In an attempt to meet her goal, she signed up for more sprint triathlons, 5K’s, 10K’s and a few 1/2 marathons. She filled her weeknights and weekends with sweat and a true dedication to running and working out. She pushed herself to do her best.

December 4, 2011 – the California International Marathon – this was where Deede would complete her first marathon.

Deede’s husband mapped out a plan for us (her cheering squad) on marathon day. I got to work on a custom sign a few nights before and was totally stoked to scream my head off once we spotted her on the course.

While waiting for her, I caught a photo of a San Rafael fireman running the race in his gear. He wore his turnout pants and coat, a self-contained breathing apparatus (tank on his back) and his firefighter’s helmet. He was running to raise awareness and money for charity. We also saw a woman juggling, but missed getting that photo.

I did catch some super heroes.

Then we spotted Deede – black shorts, black socks, red shirt and hat…

She looked strong… and this was just before the Mile 22 water station… (Josh had seen her on other parts of the course, we joined late in the game.)

She was feeling great and was excited to see us.

She passed through the water station just before marker 22 and we headed back to the car to drive to the next meet up area.

We were able to track Deede on our iPhones using the “Find Friends” app. I was also tracking her splits on the CIM website and looking for her pace group.

We headed towards the California State Capitol (finish line) and parked.

The boys and I made our way to a corner of the course where we could cheer one last time before Deede made her way to the finish line.

We walked to a good spot and we waited…

Big fluffy dogs waited too…

We saw the fireman – he had picked up a fan club since mile 22… he was still going strong.

Deede rounded the corner and our cheering got louder and louder… Go Deede Go!

Josh held up the sign I made, so I could take photos. Deede is mildly obsessed with “Charlie the Unicorn”  – but fair warning, if you click on the YouTube link, you will not be able to get those 3 minutes and 47 seconds of your life back. 😉

She sprinted to the finish… we spotted her in line waiting for an official post race photo with her running buddies.

Not surprising at all that she turned her mylar race blanket into a cape… this is why I love Deede!

We finally made our way past the security gates to visit and talk to her. She finished the race in 5 hours and 2 minutes – total rock star!

Josh was super proud of her – we all were… She did it, she set a goal to get in shape and she is now a triathlete and marathon runner.

I am going to remember the smile plastered on her face forever… any time I’m looking for motivation or inspiration, I’m going to re-read this post.

After all the hugs and congrats, we started to make our way to the gear bag pick up area…

We stopped along the way to pet the giant Great Dane – Deede and Josh have their own Great Dane – Maxwell.

We found Deede’s bag – she was able to eat her banana and mix her recovery drink… then she worked on some stretching.

We met up with more friends… who also went with the “Charlie the Unicorn” theme when creating their sign… The “D” characters are from the video.

Kristina also ran the marathon – it was her first one too! 3 hours and 29 minutes – she totally dominated the race. So very proud of both girls. We continued celebrating with a post race pizza lunch.

We hit up Hot Italian for some eats.

We’ve been many times before and hoped the place wouldn’t be too crowded. Deede’s first pick was DeVere’s, but it was a zoo.

We lucked out – we were able to get a table for our party of 11.

Pizza in my belly…

Dan ordered the Materazzi and I ordered the same – minus the pepperoni. Olives, tomato sauce, mozzerella and fontina cheese.

Aaron ordered the Nibali brunch pizza and OMG, it was incredible! Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, spinach, mozzarella, crescenza cheese, prosciutto parma and bariani truffle oil. We traded slices.

Since we celebrated Deede’s first triathlon with a Guinness ice cream cone, I thought it was appropriate to celebrate her first marathon with a stracciatella gelato cone. Hmmm… Deede busts butt with her races and I get ice cream and gelato… I love it!

Like I said above… I could not be more proud of Deede and her accomplishments over the past year and five months. Right now is a hard time to stay on track with healthy eating and exercise. It seems like there are platters of baked goods and dining out temptations around every corner. Just writing this post has inspired me to stick with it. To stay on track through the holidays. There is no better time than now to keep up with an exercise plan. We are surrounded by holiday hustle and bustle and all of the stress that goes along with spending money, finding enough time in the day and juggling everything. Our bodies need a good workout.

So get off the couch and hit the streets, trails or a treadmill. No more excuses – set a goal and own it! Deede did and we can too!