this time last year

on this day, around this time last year, I was freaking out.
I couldn't decide if that "about to get sick" feeling was a result of the horror on my computer screen, or the fear that it could happen to me in six months. Even split, let's say.

We may never know why people do some of the things they do, but we always hope they never happen to us. Thankfully the 2013 Chicago Marathon went off with no hiccups (except for the tears at mile 25 - ohmyLord, is this never going to end? my body hurts. so much. i just want to lay down. i just want to break down. - but then a stranger caught my eye and said, specifically to me, "You can do this. You're almost there. Don't give up now, don't give up!"). left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. The Runner's Prayer.

I have been watching the runners cross the finish line all day. I wish I could be there, at the end, to hand out medals and bananas and say "You did this. You did this incredible thing, with your body, and you may never match the magnitude of this physical feat again. Congratulations."