My Daily Inspiration: Cristina's P.O.V.

Hi bloggies!! The weather here in AZ is awesome. It's been raining all week and I can't wait for Craig to get home so we can cuddle. =)

Today's blog post is a little different. I am posting pictures from the camera I carried with me throughout the whole race so you can see what we saw. I also asked my friend and running partner to write a blog post for today. I want you also to know what was going through her head and how she felt during the race.... Here is my friends post..........

"All week I was very nervous for the P.F Chang's half marathon. I started to feel soreness in my shins, which I figured would go away! I tried not to think about being nervous and just enjoy the exciting weekend with Bety. At the expo Bety and I hoarded all the free stuff we could get our hands on, that was really fun and very Mexican of us! By the time I got home I was exhausted and then it was time for our carb load dinner at Z Tejas!

The morning of the race I couldn’t wait to go to Bety’s house because I was so NERVOUS I felt sick! It was reassuring to see her and know that I had the best running partner with me. It made me feel so good to see that Bety’s entourage made a sign for me! I felt pumped up! When we got there I had to pee of course…. Not once, not twice, but three times! We went to meet my friend Craig to say a prayer before the race…that prayer really gave me peace in my heart and reassurance that no matter what, God was with me.

Bety and I got in our spots before the starting line and to our surprise Senator John McCain was up on the podium and he was dancing! That really got me excited and I urged Bety to take pictures of him! Lol He totally waved at us.

As soon as we started running I got nervous again… I was thinking.. “Can I really do this?” and suddenly I got a shooting pain in my right ankle, it hurt so bad I wanted to punch the wall! Then that pain spread up to my shins. I was thinking, ”How in the hell did this happen?” I stopped for 5 seconds to massage my legs, which didn’t really help, but inside I was thinking I have to finish and I have to keep running. I ran through the pain and Bety really was my guardian angel because she was with me the whole way supporting me and sticking by my side. One of the songs that really pumped me up was Ke$ha’s Tik Tok, and Bety and I started to crack up because a group of ladies were on the sidelines and started to sing that same song as we passed them.

The first supporters I saw were my dear friend Ramon and his sister Eunice, I was so excited to see them that I ran and gave them hugs! I don’t think people realize how important it is to have people supporting you. It gives me a boost of confidence and energy! My dad was at several spots along the way taking pictures! He even started to run with us for a few seconds! That was pretty cool! My mom and sister met us at two spots and I loved seeing big smiles on their faces, it motivated me.

By the time we were approaching the finish line I was so emotional and so happy I couldn’t help but have a huge cheesy smile on my face! I was so disappointed in the time being my worst yet, but at the same time I have to look at the circumstance and be proud that I kept going and finished. This quote is one of my favorites right now... "

“The miracle isn’t that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start”-John Bingham