What an amazing day!  The rain held off, the temperature was just right, the bands were rockin', and the atmosphere was almost electric!  What a wonderful place Monument Avenue was this morning as thousands of us made our way across the scenic 6.2 mile course to the finish line!!!  I am so proud of all of my running buddies who all had personal best times today!  I'm proud of my husband, Matthew, who finished in 42 minutes!  I am proud of myself for finishing in 55 which was much faster than the original goal I'd set for myself!  The high-fives from John Hurley and Dan Blankenship were just as quenching as a cup of Powerade when we came around the turn!  The cheers from the crowds and random people yelling to remind you that you are halfway there or that there is only 1 mile to go is all you need to dig deep and push yourself to keep going!  A running buddies wife cheering for me when I thought I had nothing left (thanks, Kathy!) and Courtney running the other direction on Monument spoted me and yelled as she went by....these are the little things that give me those boosts of energy when I need them the most!  The high-fives and hugs and so many words of encouragement when meeting friends at the end is why I am still doing this a year later!  Thank you so much to the Shady Grove Y coaches such as John Hurley, our head coach Dan Blankenship, and ALL of my running buddies for making this such a wonderful day!  I look forward to running this race every year for many years to come!