1st Full Marathon

The Cowtown Marathon 2012 was not only our first Full Marathon it was probably the hardest 8 hrs of my life (actually 7:52:11). Ginger compared it to natural child birth...(I'll take her word on that) but I will say she went through the "Transitional Phase" in similar fashion (except this time she made phone calls to tattle on what I was making her do, even though the whole thing was her idea).






The day started off like any other race day, we had set our clothes out the night before.






We arrived early. Did some people watching...all types at these events. We settled into our corral in plenty of time for the gun. (I think Ginger said there were about 25,000 runners.)

The gun sounded and we started to slowly walk to the start line...15 minutes later and "we're off".









We wound through business districts, old neighborhoods, downtown but the coolest place was the Ft. Worth Stock Yards.














At one point there were runners as far as you could see...

After a few hours we came to the "slit" this is where the "half crazies" go one way and the "crazies and ultra crazies" go the other way.

Then it got real lonely...














At mile 13.1 we crossed a timing mat, I heard a "beep" and the guy had the nerve to say "only 13.1 to go" (I'm not sure if those were his exact words but those were the words I heard). Now I'm thinking if I were doing the half I would be drinking some coffee having some real food while putting my aching feet up... But NO now I have to do a second Half Marathon without a rest. Ginger's still going strong at this point.








I'll fast forward to mile 18...the trail pickup and a Police car fall in behind us...this puts the pressure on "we're in last place". Ginger is starting to have a lot of pain and our pace is slowing. We had almost caught up to another runner but when he saw us and all the flashing lights behind us...he took off.





Mile 19 and we got to get off road and ditch the trail vehicles. Just before that though we stopped at a Boy Scout water stop and one of the boys said very excitedly, "I got some good news and some bad news, I get to go home but you don't"...I was very happy for him after the awkward silence since his comment. Back to the trail...


Ginger began to politely ask to quit and that I could finish and get the medal for both of us. I was not as polite when I reminded her this was all her idea and that a marathon was not on my 'Bucket List'.

We caught up to the runner in the red shirt, the one we had chased earlier. He was quite a character and all his stories kept Ginger's mind off her pain for a few miles...










After mile 20 Ginger was in a huge amount of pain and I was having to talk her into each block. She began to call people and "tattle" to them about how I was "making her do this". I tried telling her she would have to walk back to the car anyway and she said she had already made arrangements with the tail vehicle to catch a ride and follow me in. After a short discussion on how that was not an option she made another call to our Team in Training Coach David. As she was speaking to him I could see 2 people walking towards us, as they got closer I could see it was Coach David and Landon (his son). Ginger was so involved in the phone conversation she didn't know he was there until he grabbed her arm.

Coach David and Landon began walking with us and encouraging us. We could not have made it without their encouraging words. For those last 5 miles or so. Team in Training is so much more than an event it becomes like a second family, a support system, and a way of life. TNT is an awesome organization, and Coaches David and Meg are a vital part of making it such a success!!!














Well we finished!!! We even picked up another runner along the way and Landon encourged "Kyle" to finish despite his 2 broken ribs!!!
















Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

Thank-You for your Support

It has been one month since our 1/2 Marathon White Rock event in Dallas. It was a cold 42* and rainey. We loved it totally. It was our first event of this kind. We did 2 other 5k's during our training but nothing like this. There were 25,000 runners/walkers. It took us 45 minutes to reach the start line. The excitement was high and those along the course cheering us were fantastic.

The money WE raised (with your help) totaled $3,010.00 for the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society to help those familes in the fight against cancer and to help with the research end in finding a cure and better treatments. You should feel amazing for being a part of this, we do.

Thank you for not only your financial participation, but your prayers as we trained and your encouragment throughout.

The day of the race Ginger got an unexpected bonus as the hours passed. She felt very close to her dad, Tom, and felt like she was doing something for him to thank him for how hard he fought in his battle to live those last 11 days. It was a time of peace and closure.

The times got hard, we began to hurt, and as we got tired, we remembered Vivian's battle she won against Lymphoma. We remembered; June's current battle and chemo treatments, little 5 year old Hikari who found out she had Leukemia only days before our race after having her tonsills out. She has since been cleared of all cancer (praise God) and has just completed her 2nd round of chemo preventative treatment.

Our involvemnt with LLS continues... We continue to go out at 6:30 am each Saturday morning to train for the next event. We won't be fundraising again until the Summer or Fall season. Hopefully you will join us again with your giving and maybe out on the course. : )

Our next event will be February 26 and will be a full marathon. Another 1/2 on March 25 and from there we arn't sure. So many to choose from.

We love and appreciate you all so much. God Bless You!!
Darrel & Ginger Brooks

If you'd like to learn more about joining Team In Training, you can visit http://www.teamintraining.org.

Something New 2012

Well we are ready for 2011 to be finished! We will be spending the last day at a race. The I am Superman 5k (http://www.superman5k.com) benefiting the Rockwall ISD Fine Arts program.

A fitting way to end 2011. The year we started endurance training, our first 5k, first half marathon, and first event with Team in Training. We gave met new friends, set and achieved new goals. We have done more than we had hoped for.

With the New Year comes new commitments, new goals and hopefully new achievements! It will take a new set of 12 months to hold all the adventures God has in store for us and you in this next year. Matthew 9:17 talks about putting new wine in a new wineskin and not in an old. The old wineskin has already achieved it's expansion and has no more room for growth. May we become a new wineskin in this new year ready for the expansion God will give us. That is my new year's resolution!!!

12/31/11 Update...
Ginger and I participated in the I Am Superman 5k in Rockwall Texas. It was a small event and very well organized. There was only one problem...


In the excitement of the start we took off like runners and ran too far. Our legs cramped up and could not walk our usual pace. I ended up finishing a minute longer than my first 5k when I was out of shape and just starting to work-out.


Lesson Learned:

Picture at the Starting Line...

Race my Pace... We are walkers IF we would have walked our pace I would have PR'd (Personal Record).