On June 11, 2006 I completed a half marathon in Kona. Though I've already done a full and began the seaon in the best shape I'd been in for a long time, this run was a hard one. In the middle of the season, my brother passed away due to a heart attack. That hit me hard. I lost interest in alot of things and even my training lasped. The reason I continued though was him. I continued and finished the season with Nichelle. During the race Nichelle and I kept a good pace starting running 4 min, walking 2 min. Then after the turnaround we changed it to running 2, walking 4. At one point between 3 and 4 miles out I was ahead of Nichelle when the 2 min run timer went off. Nichelle yelled "It's 2 min if you care!" I responded "Not really!" The last two miles of the race were the toughest as I remembered my brother. The memories were triggered by a beautiful iron gate depicting a sea turtle. Running with a team was a great help for me on this one. I had Nichelle with me throughout. As I came into sight of the last stretch, I see my friend and teammate Michael. He grabbed my hand and ran with me reminding me of the support I have on and off the course. Renee was waiting at the corner to run with me to the finish line. My mother and aunt were at the finish line. I finished with a new personal record of 3:01:40.
I ran this marathon in Paul's memory. He was planning to come to Hawaii to see me. I know he was watching.
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