Angel Wings and Perfect Moments

First, I want to say that we did it! Somehow we ran 26.2 miles and Keaton and I both want to thank everybody for their support during race day! It was really cool, at least for me, to see so many of our family and friends out there along the course. I also know a lot of people checked on us throughout the day as well. Whether you communicated with our family or followed along on social media, we very much appreciate your support and contributions for Keaton!

Secondly, I’ll get into the events of the day shortly, but first I have some questions. Why? Why would anybody think running a marathon is a good idea? And then for those who do run a marathon, why would you ever sign up to run another? Why do that again? You’ve already proven that you can do it? I mean, I just don’t understand. Why? Why continue to put your body through that much pain? And then how? How does a person run that far in so little time? I’m not even at the half way point and somebody had already finished the whole thing. Like, how do you do that? How do you physically put one foot in front of the other, breathe, and basically not die, when you are going that fast? I don’t get it. You people are a different species and frankly, you’re insane as well. I’m happy I completed it. I don’t consider myself a runner, I never have, and I am never doing that again.

Now, with all that being said, it was an amazing day! I for one, am so so appreciative and blessed to have the Whalen, Moses, Koehler crew as family now. I set out to try and do something to help Keaton and to date; we have raised over $5,000 for him. I know for a fact there is more to come. I, on the other hand, got an entire addition to my family. I can’t thank you guys enough for your support and kind words throughout this time. I love y’all.

Race Day - 5:28 AM

Naturally, I wake up two minutes before my alarm is set to go off and the nerves are back. I go about my normal morning routine and about 6:00, the rest of the gang is up and moving as well. My mom peeps her head in the room I am sharing with my sister, Jenn, and my friend from college, Sabrina. “It’s race day! You ready Kimmy?” “As ready as I’m going to be mom!” I finish tying my shoes, put my hat on, and am ready to head downstairs. Ricky and Ally are already hanging in the lobby and I see them immediately. We snap a few pictures while we still look good. We were so confident at this moment.

Ricky and I make our way to the start line with our posse. We really have no idea where we are going. Just follow the people. Can’t go wrong there. We have about 15 minutes before the gun sounds. Ricky and I both head off to find some space to jog around and stretch. My nerves are continuing to grow and looking back, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We find our families right where we left them. Jenn is on the phone with Erika as she frantically tries to find us. I get to talk to her for a few seconds before the race. I can tell she’s flustered because she doesn’t know where she is in relation to where I’m standing, and I can’t really tell her where to go at this point. “It’s okay. I love you. See you at the finish.” “It’s not okay! UGH! I love you too. Good luck!” I get one more hug and kiss from my family, and Ricky and I make our way into the madness. The emcee is pumping up the crowd as the countdown begins. 3, 2, 1, GO! “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Please let me make it through this.”

7:00 AM

Here we go. Ricky and I cross the Start Line, and I spot my boy. Turns out Erika was exactly where she needed to be. She can’t see me until I am right in front of her face. She screams! I scream! Kory looks at us like we’re crazy. Clearly I am. Erika gives me a big hug; I steal a kiss from Keaton, and am officially ready for this battle.

Ricky and I are in this mass of people. There are about 1,700 people participating in the Marathon. Again, I ask why? Bunch of insane people. Crazy asses. We round a few corners and the next thing I know, the first mile is down. 25 more to go!

Ricky and I are comfortably going at about an 11:00-11:30 mile pace for the time being. We want to keep a steady pace so we hopefully have some fuel left in the tank come miles 20-26. HA. Wishful thinking. We first see my parents, Jenn, Sabrina, and Ricky’s wife Ally around mile six. I will say this group had the best signs on the course!

We’re strolling along through mile seven, turn a corner, and … a hill. What? I thought this was supposed to be a flat course. This thing went straight up in the air. UGH. I take a pit stop and go to the bathroom and delay hiking up this mountain. Ricky keeps on going. Trooper. I start my trek up Everest and see my dad’s truck drive right past. Rub it in why don’t ya. They get ahead ahead of me and hop out of the truck and wait. As I get closer, I ask if anybody has any hand sanitizer. Sabrina to the rescue! She starts digging in her purse and I keep running knowing she will so graciously catch up with me. As Sabrina searches through her purse and I trot away, the three runners behind me are kind of stunned that this random stranger is sprinting after me. Little do they know she’s my friend. They finally figure it out. And then the guy has the nerve to ask for some sanitizer too! “What is this?! Coconut bean? Your friend is amazing!” Yeah, I know.

8:45 AM

I catch up with Ricky and we head into mile 10. I’m still feeling pretty solid at this point. Legs are good, heart rate is good, temperature outside is still decently cool. No worries yet. I’m heading into mile 13 thinking the family will be there. I’ll get a nice boost from seeing them and hopefully some fuel for the next six miles. Mile 13 comes and goes. I did see some really precious Golden Retrievers, but no family. Mile 14, nothing. Mile 15, still nothing. Where in the world are you people?! A phone call comes in over my head phones and for whatever reason I can’t get the phone call to connect to my Bluetooth. Jenn is trying to find out where am I and the last thing I want to be doing is talking on the phone at this particular moment. Mile 16. She calls again. Bluetooth still not cooperating. I have to put Taylor on pause, which we all know is a sin, and call Jenn back.

Jenn: “Hi Kimbo! How are you doing?”

Me: “Well … I’m still going. Where are you guys?”

Jenn: “We had to drop Ally off at the hotel and go to the bathroom. We’re trying to find you.”

Me: “I just hit mile 16.”

Jenn: “Ok. We’ll meet you at 18!”

Me: “Mile 18 would be great. See you then.”

Come mile 17, I’m starting to tighten up in the legs. The wall is coming. I manage to keep running through 17. I keep thinking, if I can just get to 18, I’ll get a pick me up from seeing the family. Mile 18. It might as well have been a deserted island. No family. No strangers. No spectators at all. Seriously people. My phone is ringing again. This ought to be good.

Me: “Jenn, where are you? I just got to 18.”

Jenn: “The closest we can get is 21!”

Me: “Seriously?!”

Jenn: “I know. How’s it going?”

Me: “It’s been better …”

Jenn: “You can do it! We’ll see you in a few!”

I know she was only trying to be encouraging, but when you’re 18 miles in, three more miles is an eternity. I turn the corner where the 19 mile marker is, and I can’t go anymore. My hamstrings are so tight I feel like if I push off one more time, my legs are going to snap like a rubber band. Miles 19 and 20 are the worst. My thoughts during this long two mile walk revolved around if I would be able to finish or not. Somehow I made it to mile 21. Finally, family. Mom, Dad, Jenn, Sabrina, Mr. Hoang, Erika, Kory, Keaton, PawPaw, Chrissy, and Mackenzie. Granted, I wasn’t thrilled that they had to see me walk, but I was in so much pain, there was no way I could jog at that particular time. The route had us taking a left hand turn. I veered off to the right into a grassy area as I motioned for Jenn to come here. She makes her way and starts asking me all these questions, “How are you? Do you need a gel? A snack? Water?” … No Jenn, I need new legs! I have her lower me to the ground and stretch my legs. As I lay on the side of the road for 5-7 minutes, some more of Keaton’s Crew comes to check on me. Sabrina lets me know that I still look really good! “You’re not even sweating!” “Thanks buddy, but that might be due to the fact that I’ve been walking the past 30 minutes.” The next duo I see are Erika and Keaton. I take a moment to chat with them. All I’m thinking is, “I can’t let this kid down.” My mom then pops three ibuprofen into my hand and says, “Here. Take these.” I’d love to but I have no water. Dad to the rescue. Well .. kind of. He found a half drunken water bottle on the side of the road. “Just waterfall it.” Sure Jenn. It’s easy to say that when you’re not the one drinking it. I take the plunge. It can’t make me feel any worse than I already do. Erika gives me a look of disgust and judgement but down go the pills. Five more miles. Here we go.

11:00 AM

I’m able to run out of mile 21. The jog doesn’t last long but I’m doing better than I was. It’s a walk/jog from here on out. I make sure to walk through the water stations and jog as much as I can. I saw my parents, Jenn, Sabrina, and Mr. Hoang one more time at mile 23 where I again had Jenn stretch my legs. This is taking forever. I’m so ready to be done at this point. Three miles. Just three miles. I take off again. Jog. Walk. Jog. Walk. My dad’s truck pulls up next to me and this time, Mr. Hoang jumps out. He’s going to get me to the finish line. He continues to talk to me. I’m so tired that I can’t always talk back to him. Jog. Walk. Jog. Walk. We’re at the bridge by The Woodlands Mall. I’ve got to be getting close! I can see my dad up ahead. “How much further??” “It’s just around the corner! Keep it up!” That was the longest corner of my life. I make it to the home stretch and I see my dad running. He’s trying so hard to beat me to the finish. I’m trying so hard to catch up to him. As I’m chasing after him, I’m thinking, “this may be the only time my dad beats me in a race.” He gets stopped by a race volunteer and has to backtrack outside the gates. Unlucky for him, I win our little battle.

Erika’s family is all lined up just before the finish line. Kory is the first person I see and he’s holding my boy. Of course I had thought about how it would be if Keaton and I could cross the finish line together, but I didn’t know how the events of the day would pan out. I didn’t know how close they would be to the finish line. I didn’t know if I would even catch their eye. I figured the finish would have been packed. And I didn’t know if I would physically be able to carry him after 26.2 miles. All must have been right in the world. I stop running. Walk over to Keaton, and ask if he wants to go with me. Keaton is in my arms and it just feels right. This was the perfect ending to a nine month process. I catch a glimpse of Erika and she’s all smiles. We cross the finish line to the sound of the emcee congratulating both of us. It absolutely was a team effort. 5 hours. 4 minutes. 37 seconds.

That moment was perfect. That moment meant everything. That moment is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

12:05 PM

And then it was time for Erika to come get her child, because I was exhausted and could not physically hold him much longer. She is the first person to meet us on the other side with many congratulations! She takes Keaton from me, so I can catch my breath, and the rest of the Crew comes towards us making so much noise!

They are all so happy and proud of us! I want to give them all hugs but this race committee has me locked inside these gates. It feels like another mile before I can get out. Avery, Erika’s brother-in-law, crawls over and walks with me so I don’t fall over. He is literally holding me up. We make it to the exit and my dad is waiting for me at the end. For those of you that know my dad, he puts up a good front. However, seeing him in the days leading up to the race and the moments after, I’ve never seen him so emotional. I know he’s proud of me. Not only for completing a marathon, but more so for why I did it. Every time I show him a picture of Keaton, he lights up. It’s honestly more than that. I don’t know how to describe it.

We all congregate off to the side in some shade. I sit for a while as everybody stands around and Erika makes the introductions. The two of us get another few minutes to ourselves as we walk to collect my finisher’s t-shirt and a beer for PawPaw. As we walk back to the Crew, I’m in awe of them. I’d do anything for these guys. Running 26.2 miles has been the most difficult thing I have ever done. And when I say it’s hard, it’s flipping hard. I’d do it again though. Not an additional one. But, I’d do this day over again. J

The Whalen, Moses, and Koehler’s head back to the country to freshen up for the party my parents are hosting that evening. I make my way back to the finish line to meet up with my family and wait for Ricky. Not five minutes later, my dad motions to us that he’s on his way. Go Ricky Go!! I meet up with him and the first thing he says to me, “I’m never doing that again.” I hear ya brother.

Finally, our race adventure is officially over. We say bye to Ricky and his family. We’ll see them again later tonight too. I walk back to the hotel arm in arm with my dad. I feel like he might cry again but he keeps it together. The two of us make our way to the lobby and grab a luggage cart. I hop on and ride the rest of the way to the room. I’d also like to note that we only stayed one night in the hotel. The luggage cart was completely full. Don’t ask me how or why we have so much stuff. Sabrina was hard core judging us. Into the two cars we go. Back home for a shower and a quick nap before the party starts.

5:00 PM

The first party goer to arrive is Mr. Hoang. One, I think he’s ready for a beer, and two the Duke pregame is just getting started. Mr. Hoang is always up for a party! Man, I love that guy. A few more family and friends arrive, including Ricky and his parents. Drinks are flowing, Duke is ready to tip, and here we go!

The man of the hour and his entourage arrive. Hair spiked and all. He looks good! The gang’s all here! The rest of the night is pretty much a blur. I think I was so exhausted, I zoned in and out at times. PawPaw gave a beautiful blessing thanking Him for giving us Keaton. The magical thing about this was everybody standing in that kitchen, is now family. Regardless of name or blood, that’s my family and Keaton did that.

Dinner is served and the boys are going to town. Kason is in the dining room sitting in my old high chair, so sweet, and I am across the hallway in the living room watching the Duke game. I have a straight shot right to him. When he’s not shoving food in his face, he is almost completely turned around talking at me. Not to me, at me. He also has this new thing where he points, but he points with his wrist instead of his finger. I have no idea what he’s yelling at me for, but he sure is making his presence known.

I head back into the dining room after dinner and sit with my boy. I am then presented with a gift from Keaton. Angel wings. Another perfect moment. And then CRASH! Kason throws his bottle on to the wood floors and milk goes everywhere. Floors, baseboards, window sills, adjacent walls, furniture, etc. Sorry Tina. It’s not like I told my mom you were the one holding him. Oh wait .. Oops! You’re good. Mom didn’t even notice!

8:00 PM

I’m exhausted. Keaton’s exhausted. I think everybody is exhausted from the day’s events. Except maybe Mr. Hoang. I think he would have stayed and partied all night. We put the moving crew to work. The Koehler’s might have more bags than us Hagans did when we moved into the hotel room. I walk the Crew out and get one last hug from everybody. I get the feeling that there will be more parties with this group. I’m excited! Avery, whenever you’re ready to have me over for a crawfish boil, you let me know!

Kory and Erika put the kids in the truck. PawPaw climbs in between the babies and they’re all ready to go. Erika gets halfway in the truck and does she seriously think she’s leaving without giving me a hug? You should know better.

The day is over. There were so many tough, unenjoyable, painful moments of the day. But, it was also one of my favorite days yet, and one that I would do over again.

To anyone that contributed monetary gifts, prayers, conversations about Keaton, we thank you. You did a good thing. I believe in this kid, and I’ll do whatever I can to ensure that he has any and every thing that he needs, and can take advantage of every opportunity that comes his way. If you get the chance to meet him, I encourage you to. He’ll change your world.

-Love you Bubba