Sitting in a Tree: Bryan's first marathon

Last fall Bryan decided after successfully accomplishing two tough mudders that he was going to REALLY challenge himself and take on the Cleveland marathon. Of course, like with all of Bryan's big plans, I jumped on board to cheer him on. The first part of training was no big deal; he handled like a champ. Then winter came and it was a bad one. Bryan bought some cold gear and kept on running! Toward the end of his training, his runs were starting to get LONG and therefore a little boring. I would jump on my bicycle and ride alongside him as he ran to entertain him. Then the day came. He was a ball of nerves, but I knew he had it in the bag! He had trained hard and never gave up. He prepped his gear, I made him posters, and we headed downtown for the event. It was an awesome day and I could not have been more proud of my hubby. He is the most dedicated, strong-willed, persistent, and hard-working man I know. All of his hard work paid off and I admit I was choking back tears as I watched him cross that finish line. It was an emotional moment as he walked over to me, muscles full of spasms, exhausted, dehydrated, and eyes full of tears. He said, "I don't think I ever want to do this again..." So sweet, vulnerable, and overwhelmed at what he just endured. 20 minutes later after a few chocolate milks, he starts talking about his next marathon and how he'll train for that one. lol. That's my Bryan! He never turns down a challenge and is always pushing himself to accomplish more! I'm so blessed to be his wife :)

Amen!

Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader. Of course I made him posters!

All of his gear ready to go for the race!

Running a marathon is more of a group effort than I would've ever thought. Runners really love the support they get on the sidelines. It pushes them to keep going! So thankful that my parents came to help me cheer Bryan on!

5 miles in....He's the most handsome runner I've ever seen!

We saw our dear friend Elsa, a seasoned marthoner, running the race! She is such a wonderful, beautiful person with the biggest heart!

My dad is hilarious. This is him doing herkies to cheer on the runners, lol. Can you tell he had 2 daughters?

We held this poster up for the runners all day. I was awed and so thankful to God to see the amount of "thank you's" and "amens" from runners as they saw this scripture during their run. God's word is powerful!