We would like to take the time to nominate a dear friend (and teammate!) of ours for the "Woman of Steel" title.
Erin Hacking is someone who lightens a room with her humor and feisty spirit. She has the best attitude about life, and her journey has been hard. Erin married her high school sweet heart, and knew quickly they wanted to start a family. She struggled getting pregnant, and they were thrilled to find out they were finally expecting. Unfortunately, she lost the baby in June of 2004. Nia Elizabeth Hacking was born too early, and therefore left this earth too early. Erin and her husband overcame the grief and were thrilled to learn they were pregnant again. Dalton Raymond Hacking was born on July 12, 2005 and was the light of his parents eyes. Dalton was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma at the young age of 18 months. He put up an amazing fight, with his Mom (and Dad) by his side. Erin was so strong for her baby boy. She and Kendall didn't fall into a world of pity, they stood strong and fought the cancer. Sadly, even after their hard fought battle, nothing more could be done. They took home their pride and joy and simply LOVED him. He passed away in August of 2007 at the age of two. Again, Erin could have given up with life; but, of course, she didn't. She and Kendall held on to one another and their memories with Dalton, and began a new chapter in life. Erin became pregnant again in 2008, this time with a beautiful baby girl. Ellie was born at 29 weeks with a cleft palate and a hole in her heart. She spent her first two months of life in the NICU. Luckily, she was born a fighter, just like her Mom. She came through all the obstacles a preemie baby has and is now a perfect five year old! Erin and Kendall knew they needed another child to complete their family. After dealing with the sorrow of another miscarriage they decided adoption would be their desired route. In September of 2011 their daughter Olivia was born. Olivia came to amazing parents who will raise her in a home of love and support. Their family will continue to grow and strive because of their dedication to one another.
Erin turned 30 last year. She is so excited to be thirty. Her twenties were HARD, and now she can rock her thirties! We are all excited to see the good she has to coming to her these next ten years! Erin is an amazing mom. Erin is an amazing person. She is a perfect example to all women, and she does it with her inner strength. Erin has become a top notch runner the past two years, and she is always pushing herself to be better. Running has brought Erin confidence, and her confidence has inspired everyone around her to better themselves. Today we know Erin is running for Dalton and her beautiful babies. But we, as her team, want to run for her. Because Erin deserves this, and so much more.
It was an emotional, but prideful, start to the day. I was the first runner and was excited to get going so I could get warm. I always start in the back, and as soon as he yelled start I was glad I had. I did a lot of passing the first mile or so. I then ran by myself for a long time. I was slowly gaining on three ladies in bright clothes ahead of me. I knew I wanted to catch them, but didn't want to over do it getting there. It was so foggy and so cold that I really focused on keeping my breathing controlled because I was so scared of burning my lungs. Some lady dressed like a cow kept me entertained with her dancing for about a half mile. I ran across a bridge and didn't consider the ice that would be on it. So I went sliding across the bridge. We turned off the main road and I decided I better start making a move on the three ladies ahead of me. Just as I was about to catch them I saw the exchange so I really had to sprint. I passed them just at the end. I handed to Josie and checked my GPS. I had gone 2.86 miles in 24:53 and my average pace was 8 minutes 49 seconds. I was happy even with the ice hanging from my eye lashes. We hopped in the truck and cheered for Josie as we passed her. She did great (of course) and also ran through the fog and had ice hanging from her eyes. Stacia was next and was the first to run without her coat. She nailed it and felt good about her run. Erin ran to the homestead. It's a hard run, and she did it like it was nothing. Tessa was after Erin and we couldn't see her on her run. She ran up a canyon and then back down. She was super fast and did awesome. Sarah was the last leg and took off. We cheered as we passed and then went to the church to get ready to exchange. I couldn't believe I was up next already. One of the other vans came and told us Sarah had ran the wrong way and had gone about a mile out of her way. Poor girl. She showed up and I took off. This was the run I was so excited for, and it was way fun. I had downloaded a new GPS app for my phone that talked to me while I was running. Every five minutes it would tell me my pace and distance. I loved it. I ran up Memorial Hill and felt good. I had trained a lot on Towers to prepare for this leg, and Memorial Hill was MUCH easier than Towers. I ran hard up, and ran fast down. I finished at the Dairy and passed to Josie. My average pace was 9:22 and it was 3.53 miles. All the others did awesome on their second legs, and we had so much fun cheering each other on and laughing in the truck. Our group is full of some funny people! Again, it felt so fast for me to be preparing to run. I saw Sarah when she was about 100 yards from the exchange. I started my run and couldn't see anyone in front of me or behind me. I was all alone. I got on the running trail and was going up a hill. It was hard and I was focused on getting through. I couldn't wait because I knew I was FINISHED as soon as I FINISHED. My GPS told me I had gone 3.1 in a 11:29 pace (it was a lot of hills and I had to walk some) and I realized something was wrong. When I run I zone out. I just day dream, plan my week, and try to keep my mind from thinking about running. I knew I must have been zoned and missed a turn. My leg was only supposed to be 2.97 Miles and there was NOBODY in sight. No vans, no sounds, and I was in a neighborhood that wasn't right. I called Stac... no answer. I called Jos and luckily she had her phone. I told her where I was and that I had turned around to get back to the trail. They found me. I hadn't crossed the road. If I would have just ran up the road I would have gotten to the exchange backwards, but didn't want to do that. Instead I just had them drive me up close to the exchange and then I jumped out and handed off to Josie. I was so frustrated that I had done that, and it kinda left a bad feeling. I shook it off, and don't care anymore, but I did want to redeem myself. Jos, Stac, and Erin all did great. As we sat in the church parking lot waiting for Erin to exchange with Tessa we talked about how much easier mentally it had been this year. I don't know if we just knew more of what to expect, or we have all gotten mentally stronger over the year, or a little of both. It was just fun though. Last year I was exhausted mentally before my third run, and this year it was just fun the whole time. Tessa took off and we sat in the parking lot stretching for a minute. Just as we were about to take off Tessa called. She was having a weird/painful cramp in her ribs. She was having a panic attack because she couldn't breath and was hurting bad. We raced to her, and Josie and I said we would just finish her run together. Well... Tessa is tough. She caught her air, and Jos and I walked with her for a minute. She felt like running so we did. Josie's knee was catching so she jumped back in the truck and Tessa and I finished her leg together. She had just over two miles left when I joined her. We ran most of it, and Tessa did great. I was proud of her for finishing it because it wasn't easy. I was glad to be able to run again because it made me forget about getting lost. Tessa exchanged with Sarah and we headed to the finish line. I knew Sarah's leg was long and hard. She was so excited to see us and know we were done! We crossed the finish line together, and were all so happy to have this accomplishment again. It is a fun race. My favorite race I do each year. I love the girls we do it with, and I LOVE having Stacia there. We ate some fruit, took some pictures, and headed home. We stopped at Daniel's Summit for dinner and got to Roosevelt around 7. Bronson (and Brilee and Jake) were excited to see me. I snuggled them for a minute. Jake threw them in the tub, I showered, we read to the kids, and put them to bed. Jake left for the Book Cliff's (final day of the bear hunt), and I was asleep by 9. Bri slept with me, and Bronson slept all night. We woke up at 7 this morning all feeling great. It was a great weekend, and I don't even feel sore today. Life is good!!! (Here all the pics off my phone... Tessa had her good camera so I'll prob do a pic update when she posts them on FB)
