It's Not About Me

Here's the deal, it's not fun asking all of your friends to give you money for your cause.  It's not easy training for a marathon (possibly a bigger understatement than the first sentence).  And when I'm exhausted from doing both I remind myself of this - it's not about me.  Not this race.  This race is about fighting a terrible disease and wiping out blood cancer.  For me blood cancer has a face, the face of a spunky, sassy blonde haired girl named Tanner.  I've asked her mom, Beth to tell you more of their story.  After you read it, be sure to visit my fundraising site here and make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Hitting the Wall - By Beth Page, Tanner's mom

Here's Tanner at five years old.  She was a happy, healthy kindergartener riding bikes, playing soccer, taking dance lessons.  But, within a few days of this picture being taken, she started complaining about back and leg pain, which is pretty odd for a five-year-old.  Within the week, her school had a one-mile fitness test at Pinkerton Park and Tanner came in dead last, limping across the finish line.  Our pediatrician agreed that she had probably strained something at field day or her dance recital.  Several weeks after this picture, she woke in the night screaming inconsolably that her back hurt.  This started the two-day process of determining that our spunky, sassy girl had leukemia and would only live a few more weeks without chemo intervention.

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer, and Tanner’s low risk factors made her situation the best case scenario for treatment.  Even so, she would go on to endure two-and-a-half years of chemo, the standard protocol for a girl with ALL (boys do an extra year).  It is truly the marathon of cancer treatment.

The first six months of treatment were brutal.  She had weekly IV chemo, and other chemos delivered any which way you can imagine:  19 lumbar punctures with chemo delivered into her spinal column; chemo injected in her to thighs through simultaneous, painful shots; oral chemo; massive high-dose steroids; chemo we brought home and nervously administered through her port, and on and on.  Her body went through incredible changes.  She gained 15 pounds in the first month from steroids and was, literally, unrecognizable.  Then, over the next few months, the weight fell off of her, along with her hair, and she became emaciated, pale and frail. 

But, Tanner never gave up.  She never stopped dancing and singing, and playing with her brother.  Just like a runner hitting the wall, she kept going, even though her body begged her to stop and she, eventually, triumphed and came to a better place.

After six months, Tanner entered the maintenance phase of treatment for nearly two years.  She was able to go back to school during this time, although she still missed a lot of class and I found myself at school often, bringing painkillers or anti-nausea medicine.  Maintenance was easier, but still no picnic: daily oral chemo, monthly IV chemo and steroid pulses; and the dreaded lumbar punctures every three months.

About a year into chemo, when her school once again had their one-mile fitness run, Tanner asked on the way to school that morning, “Mom are you and Dad coming to my fitness run?”

“Of course, ” I replied, then added, “You know Tanner, you don’t have to run if you don’t feel like it.  We could bring pom poms and cheer on your friends. “

“I want to run,” she said.

“Okay, well just know that if you need to stop, that’s okay.  You just run as far as you can.”

 “Why wouldn’t I run?” she said, confused.

I paused for moment before answering, “No reason.  Go for it!”

And she did.  She ran and didn’t finish last despite a year’s worth of chemo in her small body.  That spirit and resilience continue to serve her well today.

Tanner today

Tanner is now a healthy, active ten-year-old.  August 6, 2013, marked two years off of chemo for her and she is playing soccer, loving 5^th grade, acting in local children’s theatre, singing and being her spunky, silly lovable self.

We are so grateful to people like Emily, who choose to use their passion for running to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  They have been a vital force behind Tanner’s survival with the research they have sponsored in the past.   LLS continues to sponsor promising research to improve outcomes and find ways to treat leukemia with less side effects.  We hope that you will consider donating so more kids can ask, "Why wouldn't I run."

And just in case you need the fundraising site again, go here.

Break Down Here

For the last couple weeks I've had a song stuck in my head.  It's from several years ago.  "Break Down Here" by Julie Roberts.  And why is this song stuck in my head?  I'm pretty sure it's because I feel like my body is breaking down.  Every run the last 2 weeks has been a struggle. A slow struggle. Now before you panic on my behalf, this feeling is part of the process.  And probably my body is breaking down, but it has to break down in order to get stronger.  Personally, I'd rather just skip over the breaking down and go straight to stronger.  Being strong physically, is only part of what is needed for a marathon.

Let's skip right over and talk about the other part of marathon training - mental toughness.  Here's the deal, the marathon is at least ten times more about mental toughness than it is about physical strength.  You can train your body to do almost anything.  I completely believe that.  The mind seems to be less easy to train.  This is going to be my third marathon.  But this is going to be my first marathon that has a half marathon option.  In my previous marathons, everyone ran 26.2 miles. In this one, lots of people will veer off around mile 12.5 and be receiving their pretty blue Tiffany box when I am only half way through the race.  Talk about mental toughness, it will take a lot of digging deep to keep going past that turn.

Today has been a crappy day.  And that is saying it nicely.  I have a lot of bad words I could use to swear at this day.  I felt this way about my long run 2 weeks ago.  It was terrible, awful, no good and very bad (yes, that's a children's book).  On terrible days and awful runs I try to look for the good.  I can't help it.  Sure, I like to gripe and complain a lot especially for effect, but deep down I'm optimist as pure as they come.  I came to the same conclusion today that I did at the end of that run a couple weeks ago. I am grateful.  

I'm grateful that I am strong and healthy enough to run.  When I first got involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society over 4 years ago, I had no personal connection to cause.  At that point I'd only met one person who had a blood cancer and that was when I was a kid.  And that's reason, I got involved. Because no doctor had ever had to look at me and tell me my child was sick.  I have no idea how it feels to have to take my child for cancer treatments every week for 3 years (standard treatment for a boy with Leukemia). And for that I'm extremely grateful.  When I want to give up on a crappy run or feel like this is the worst possible day (this one is particularly crappy), I remind myself that I'm lucky.  And I continue to beg and plead with my friends to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, so that when a mom gets the unthinkable news that her child has cancer or when a coworker's mom gets diagnosed with a blood cancer I know that there's an organization fighting for a cure. Please join me in fighting for a cure by making a donation on my team in training page.   

Coach, Mentor & Friend

I started running with Fleet Feet's No Boundaries Couch to 5k program 4 years ago this month.  At the time the program was still pretty new here.  It had 3 coaches, Matt & Christi Beth Adams (the owners of FF) and Tammy Sanders.  It was a special group - the people and the coaches.  I can easily say it was a life changing experience for me.  One of the really great things about it was that I felt like I really bonded with the coaches.  

At the end of the training, I knew 2 things - I wanted to keep running and there was no way I ever wanted to start over.  I'm sure Tammy doesn't remember it, but I remember being very afraid of training for a half marathon.  When I asked her if she thought I could do it, she was so convincing that I signed up for FF's training program the next January.  And I've been training with FF and Tammy every since.

Christmas lights run with Tammy & Nicole

One of my favorite Tammy quotes is that you will never regret the runs you go on, but you will always regret staying in bed.  I can't even list the number of times that thinking this in my head has gotten me out of bed, shoes on, and out the door.  Tammy has always encouraged me in all of my crazy running plans.  There have been many times that I've told her whatever my current insane plan is and she just shook her head, but then found encouraging words to share.  

When Mark and I decided to train for our first marathon in 2011, Tammy was one of the first people I shared this goal with.  We were running that race with Team in Training (TNT).  She had also done her first marathon with TNT.  She was amazingly supportive and more than helpful when we were coming up with fundraising ideas and plans.  She lost a grandparent to a blood cancer, so it's cause close to her heart.  This year she helped us create a team to train with FF and fundraise with TNT.  To check out that site click here.

More than a running coach, mentor and encourager Tammy has become a great friend.  We've had many long discussions on Monday nights about a variety of subjects.  It's easy to become friends with people you spend lots of time and many miles with.  I'm thankful for all the friends I've met through running.

This past weekend Tammy told me and Mark that she was leaving FF.  I'm being completely selfish when I tell you how sad this makes me.  Of course, I can't really blame her for wanting more flexibility and to have her Saturday mornings back. Without Tammy, I wouldn't be the runner I am today and possibly I wouldn't be a runner at all.  And, as she keeps reminding me, she's not going anywhere.  She's getting married in a couple weeks and they will continue to live here.  She's assured me that she'll still be at Tin Roof 2 on Monday nights.  She is leaving FF very amicably and going to work in a completely unrelated field.   And in her words, she'll be a great ambassador for FF.

Tammy, I can't thank you enough for the amazing influence you've been in my life.  Thank you for always having a smile and an encouraging word.  Thank you for all the times I've come to you nearly in a panic about a running problem or a race and you've always calmed me.  Thank you for believing in me before I believed in myself.  Most of all thank you for being a friend.

Weighing in

I realize that you aren't supposed to ask a woman how much she weighs.  I'm sure there's an etiquette person somewhere frowning on me because I'm about to disclose my weight here.  But I need to.  I need to say it out loud, to see it written and for the accountability that comes with sharing that I have weight to lose.

The number I'm going to post will probably be surprising.  Every time I tell someone they look at me like I'm a crazy person. But I promise it's real.  I had a fitness assessment two weeks ago today.  And I couldn't ignore the number that glared back at me.  I can hear some of you in my head telling me that I look fine or even pretty.  And I know some of you will rush to tell me that a lot of it is muscle because I run so much.  That is true.  But I can't claim it's all muscle.  Just like I can't blame it on being leftover pregnancy weight (wait maybe I could, I mean Jesse is only 12).  

The truth is I've always struggled with my weight.  Not in a huge way, but in smaller ways.  I've never been extremely overweight, but I've always had a little extra.  And for the past several years it has crept up 2 and 3 pounds a year.  Last year was more like 5 - 7 pounds.  Yes, it was a very stressful year, but I can't keep buying in to these excuses or I'll never reach my goal.  

I'd like to point out that I don't have an unrealistic body image.  I know that I'm not out of shape or obese.  But I also know that I want more for myself.  And I want to free up the time I spend worrying about losing 20 pounds to do other things.  As importantly,  I want to run faster.  Besides speedwork, I know losing weight is probably the best way to get faster.  

So here it is - I weigh 188 pounds.  The scale actually said 190, but 2 pounds were subtracted for my clothes and shoes.  It is interesting that, while I haven't lost a lot of weight from running, I have changed shapes.  I've worn a size 10 jeans for the last 8 years.  When I had Jesse, I weighed somewhere in the range of 195.  I can't believe I've let myself get this close to how much I weighed when I was 9 months pregnant.  It's unacceptable.

Food is my problem.  Clearly, I burn plenty of calories running and working out.  The problem is I know how hard I work and how many calories I burn, so I have no problem justifying a dessert or two. For the last two weeks, I've been tracking my calories and let me tell you, it's pretty obvious how I gained weight.  Tracking food has definitely lead me to making better choices.  And I've lost a couple pounds already.

During the fitness assessment, I also learned good things about my self.  My level of cardio endurance is better than about 90% of my peers.  I also have really strong core muscles.  However, my percent of body fat was not pretty.  I'm also about as flexible as a steel beam, but that I blame on genetics.

The first goal I've given myself is to weigh 175 on October 20 (the day of my next marathon).  By the end of 2013 I want to weigh 165.  And my final goal would be in the 150s by March 2014.  I have other goals like eat 3 servings of vegetables a day.  Some of you will say that seems easy, but track your veggie intake for a few days (and no fries don't count) you just might be surprised.  

Speaking of marathons, I need some help.  I ran my first marathon in 2011 as a part of Team in Training (TNT).  I loved it.  The support on the course from other TNT people was outstanding.  I felt like I had a personal cheer team the whole race.  But more importantly, I helped raise money to find a cure for blood cancers.  All funds raised through TNT go to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission - to cure blood cancer and give support to patients.  My personal goal is to raise $5,000 by the Nike Women's marathon.  Please support me and LLS by making a donation here.

Your First is Always Special

Last year at the Women’s Half Marathon in Minnesota, I saw sisters cross the finish line holding hands.  I’m certain that I teared up in that moment and immediately texted my sister and asked her to run a half with me.  I knew it was something on her bucket it list to do someday.  She replied with something close to “sure”.  I’m almost positive she thought I would forget or let it go. 

I started looking for races for us to register for.  Sarah hates to run in the cold so I knew it would have to be a late spring or early summer race.  I bribed her with a race in California.  And made a case for it to be both a race and a long weekend they could see my brother in law’s family.  Really, how could she say no to race in San Diego?

We started training in March.  My sister and I have always been close.  She’s one of my favorite people to spend time with.  I really enjoyed all of our extra time together as we ran together on average twice a week.  Maybe it’s the big sister in me, but I also loved sharing my knowledge of running with her.  She trusted what I told and pretty much followed the plan I put together. 

I knew she wouldn’t have any trouble after our longest run of 12 miles.  She hardly complained and I was the one slowing us down.  I think there’s a sweet spot between well trained and over trained and I think she was in the perfect place.  I’m not sure she really got excited for the race until a few days before.  But the more excited she got, the more excited I got.

Sarah’s sister in law, Kim, was going to run the race with us.  She has children near the boys age and they all bonded during Sarah and Jeff’s wedding last spring.  It was great for us to all be together for a few days in San Diego. 

On race morning, we left super early to take the shuttle to the race start.  Imagine for a moment the most annoying people you can think of to ride in a shuttle with, and the group of women in our shuttle was worse.  They actually asked us to get out of the shuttle and onto a different one – we politely declined.  They were loud and obnoxious.  Sarah leaned over to me at one point and whispered that no matter how hard the race would be at least we wouldn’t be stuck with them. 

We had lots of time before the race to sit around and prepare for the race.  I’m not sure this was a good thing as it’s easy to overthink before a race.  One of my favorite things about this race was that it benefitted the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  There was a lot of Team in Training runners.  It was a great distraction and made me super proud to be a part of such a great organization.  In the last mile of the race, I saw a lady holding a sign that said, “Thank you from a Leukemia Survivor”.  Talk about powerful, and yes I might have had tears in my eyes.

We started in the corral behind the 2:30 pacer.  I was expecting us to finish with a time around 2:45.  Kim had missed some training and planned to run with us as long as possible.  Part of my running wisdom I had shared with Sarah was to start slow and then to slow down.  If you’ve ever run with me feel free to laugh here.  We walked more in the beginning than we did later in the race.  This was to warm up well and to finish stronger…oh and because the first 3 miles always suck.  We lost Kim somewhere around mile 4, probably because that’s also where I finally feel warmed up (sorry Kim).

Experiencing the race with my sister was like experiencing it for the first time all over again.  It was wonderful and a little magical.  San Diego was my 30^th half marathon.  As you can imagine, I’ve seen almost every sign you can think of.  But I read them all again and laughed with Sarah.  I’ve often said how important spectators are during a race.  Until you’ve run a race, you really don’t understand how much holding a funny sign can help the runner going by.  I also really enjoy spectators who give out goodies during the race.  My favorite this race was a popice popsicle.  I made my sister dash from one side of the road to the other to get one.

There was a guy in front of us the last 8 miles or so with a 3:00 pace bib on.  Sarah kept saying she really wanted to run it in under 3 hours.  I purposely didn’t wear a watch or pay much attention to the timing clocks.  I didn’t want to add any extra pressure.  I was also aware of who was around us, and I knew the 2:45 pacer never passed us.  So every time she said she wanted to finish under 3, I just smiled and said we would. 

We finished in 2:34.  I’m so proud of Sarah!  It took me a long time to get to a finish that fast.  Waiting at the finish line, were our husbands (with signs, sweet guys) and other family and a few friends.  Sarah held it together through the entire race and through the finish.  As we were walking back to meet everyone else, she gave me a huge hug and said thank you and she had big tears in her eyes.  It was one of the moments you know immediately is so special you will cherish it forever.  We barely missed Kim finishing.  She finished in 2:51 – quite impressive since she didn’t get to get to train as much as she wanted.

At the race expo, Sarah and I registered for the Women’s half in Nashville.  It is my personal running philosophy that you should sign up for your second race before you run your first.  And there was a moment during the race where Sarah must have been on a runner’s high where she said maybe (You should know I take maybe as yes.) she would do one travel race a year with me. I never had any doubt that my sister would finish the race.  I was in a little surprised by how gracefully she did it.  I never heard her complain a single time.  We smiled, we laughed and we had a great time.  I couldn’t help but think we captured the spirit of the race perfectly.  

Dublin Marathon - Race Day

It felt a little strange not to get up before dawn for a race.  But the marathon wasn't starting until 10 am and our hotel was only a couple blocks from the start line, so there was no need to get up extra early.  This is the first race I've participated in with such a late start.  I must say, I liked it.  

After we got ready, we met some of our Team in Training Teammates for breakfast in our hotel.   This gave us plenty of time to go back up to our room 7 times for all of the things we'd forgotten or changed our mind about taking with us.  We walked over to the start line about 9:30. 

As we are standing there waiting for the race to start, I had a thousand different thoughts.  Everything from admiring the great city to sheer terror and panic.  At the expo I had picked up a pace bracelet to finish in 5:30.  Honestly, my main goal was survival, and by survival I mean crossing the finish line upright and smiling. And I really hoped for less than 6 hours.  I kept looking at the bracelet wondering if I could really finish and if, by some small miracle, I could do it in 5:30.

Go TEAM!

Next thing I know the gun is going off, and we are running.  I'd planned on running 3/1 intervals for the race.  But I wanted to warm up with just a slow jog. It was several minutes after I'd crossed the start line that it dawns on me I haven't started my watch yet.  Well crap...the usefulness of the pace bracelet is pretty much gone now.  I knew I'd started with about 14 minutes on the clock already.  But I had no idea how long I'd run before I started my watch.  Geez.  Not the best way to start the race.

It was easy to forget about my timing problems as I'm running by Trinity College, the place Bram Stoker grew up, and all sorts of other beautiful places.  As I see the first mile marker, I remind myself my goal is slow and steady. I spend the next mile going deliberately slower.  I didn't even look at my pace until around mile 4.  Surprisingly and a little concerning, I was under the pace I needed to be at to finish under 5:30. 

Mile 4 also started the part of the race that was in Phoenix Park.  This is easily one of the most gorgeous parks I've run in.  Two other things happened at mile 4.  I turned on my ipod for the first time, and I finally felt warmed up.  Feeling pretty good, I ran through most of my intervals miles 4 - 10.  I was also still pacing to finish under 5:30.  Which is great, but I didn't put much faith in my projected time at this point.  I was sure the end was going to kick my butt.

One of coaches said she would be between mile 11 - 13 and would run with us some.  So when my feet cramped and I really wanted to take some pain medicine (no lectures here please, I needed this), I bargained with myself that I would wait until after I saw her or at 13 whichever came first. At mile 13 I hadn't seen her yet so I took some Tylenol knowing it would give me a little boost.

At some point here or just after several of the water stops were running out or had run out of water.  The previous stops had been giving out bottles of water and sports drinks, so I had some fluid.  I ran through 3 stops that were out of water.  Just as I was getting really concerned and thinking about ducking into a store and buying some, the next stop had water (thank goodness). 

I tried very hard at mile 13 not to think about the fact that I was only halfway through the race or that if this was a half marathon I'd already have my medal and be on my way to breakfast/lunch.  This is also the point in the race, where I know I have to start sticking to my intervals and not running extra because I'm afraid I'll burnout otherwise.  Sometime between 13 and 17, I pass a building that has a sign advertising Tennessee Fried Chicken!  What?! I was so excited.  I stopped to take a picture (the picture didn't come out, ugh).  The owners of the building came out and I'm pretty sure I babbled something about being from Tennessee.  I think they were a little surprised by my excitement.

Around mile 17, I found our coach, Sami, and she ran with me for a mile or mile and a half.  It was so great to have her run with me and distract me from the fact my feet and legs were yelling at me to stop.  And it was so much better having her here than it would have been having her at 11. A funny, unexpected thing happened here.  I passed two of my teammates who I thought were way ahead of me.  This gave me a much bigger boost than I could have anticipated.  I was feeling great and still pacing to finish under 5:30. 

At mile 20 it started to rain.  I can't complain too much.  I did choose to run this race in Ireland, rain would most certainly be part of it.  I was ok with a little rain.  At first, it felt pretty good.  Then it kept raining.  Then it rained harder.  I'm not going to lie the last 6.2 miles seemed really long.  The rain made it even longer.  But I was still feeling pretty good. 

I'm not sure I ever hit the infamous "wall".  But when my watch died at mile 24, it was pretty disheartening.  I was mostly disappointed that I didn't have set intervals anymore.  So I would run and then walk. Then walk some more, then run.  I'm quite certain at this point I'm kissing 5:30 goodbye.  The last 2 miles were ridiculously long.  As I mentioned our hotel was only a few blocks from the start and even closer to the finish.  So imagine my surprise when I pass our hotel only to see the mile 25 marker.  What?!  NO.  I know exactly where the finish is and I'm moving away from it!  This was the worst feeling I had during the whole race.  But it didn't last long.  The reality and emotion knowing I'm just a mile away from finishing my first marathon set it. 

Elation is what I felt for the last half mile or so.  I'd gotten some great advice a few days before the race.   It was to pause when I'm sure I'm going to finish, to take a couple minutes to reflect on my accomplishments, the work and sacrifices that has gone into preparing to meet this goal and to really be in the moment of realizing I'd met my goal.  I'm not sure I have words to describe crossing the finish line.  It was amazing and possibly the best feeling I've ever had.  And I finished in 5:22.  I'm not sure exactly how that happened.  But I'm so happy with my time!

It pretty much stopped raining about the time I finished.  I walked back to our hotel hoping I could change and get back down in time to see Mark come by our hotel.  The timing of it worked out perfectly.  He came by the hotel just as I walked out.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to get back to him at the finish line.  When I told him I would meet him at the hotel, I could see the disappointment in his face.  So I decided to go back to the finish and see if they'd let me in.  Luckily, I got a great spot and where I could see him finish and actually crossed the finish line with him.

I'm so proud of him!  He finished in 6:09 and he'd been worried he'd need more than the allotted 7 hours.  He'd also been injured during training and didn't get in as much training as he'd like to have done.  But he was able to run his intervals the whole race, and he finished strong!

A few things I want to mention here.  If you are running a race in a different country or far from home, I strongly suggest you do it with a team (preferably Team in Training).  They had staff support people along the course cheering you on and they had supplies if you needed anything.  They also had coaches on the course.  Two coaches, in addition to our coach, ran with me during the race.  It was a huge mental boost. 

There were definitely places I think the race officials could improve.  In my opinion, there is no reason to ever run out of water.  Also, when I finished they only had small and extra small finisher shirts left.  There was almost 2 hours of official time left at this point.  When Mark finished, they'd already taken down the backdrop for the official finisher photos.  It was a little disappointing.  If the race has a 7 hour time limit, I'd like to think the people who finish in 6:59 get the same as the people who finish in 3:00.  But, I'm definitely not focusing on these things. 

The spectators were awesome!!  They yelled out "well done" as we passed them.  It was great.  It helps that I love their accent so it was fun to hear the whole time.  There were lots of kids along the course giving high fives and a few really great kids with fruit and cheese. 

I was under the false impression that the course was flat.  It was definitely not flat.  They even had signs printed and posted as we were going up the hills.  However, the hills weren't as bad as they could have been.  Strangely, it was kind of a nice break to go up and, especially, down. 

The race course was awesome.  It was beautiful. And it helped that I was (mostly) unfamiliar with the course.  I think the new things to see around every turn made great distractions.  Before the race, I was sure by the end I would swear off ever doing a full marathon again.  But I actually had the exact opposite feeling.  I'm excited to plan my next marathon.  And maybe someday an ultra marathon. 

How hard can it be to get to Dublin? & Pre-race

We were supposed to leave Nashville on Thursday, October 27 fly to Philadelphia, catch a connecting flight to Dublin and arrive in Dublin Friday morning.  However, our flight to Philly was delayed - officially due to fog in Philly, but we aren't convinced that was the real reason.  After much talking and negotiating the reps for US Airways on the phone told us to get on the plane when it finally boarded.  However, the people boarding the plane told us not to that we'd miss our connecting flight.  To keep the story short, we got on the plane and missed our connecting flight, which left us stuck for the night.  The next flight we could make would be the same time Friday night.

Team in Training was awesome and got us hotel rooms for the night.  The airline said we could have our luggage but was never able to produce it.  Which was a little concerning, but several people had told us to pack our race gear in a carry on.  So we at least had some clothes.  

The most disappointing thing to me was potentially losing a day in Ireland.  I've never been to Philadelphia and was happy to spend a day there, but not at the expense of a day in Ireland.  While we were still at the airport, I asked Mark what he thought about asking the airline to extend our trip a day.  He called, worked his magic and they agreed to change our return flight to Friday instead of Thursday.  Awesome!! Now we could enjoy our bonus time in Philadelphia.  We really had a great day there. 

Our flight to Dublin was problem free (thank goodness!).  We got to Dublin on Saturday morning and went straight to our hotel.  The staff at our hotel were great and the hotel itself was awesome!  After taking a little nap, it was time to go to the expo.  It was a lot smaller than I'd hoped for, but it was still a good experience.

On Sunday morning we participated in the international breakfast run, which is open to all runners from other countries.  It was a really cool experience.  They started the run with flags from all the countries who had runners.  It was a short 2.5 mile run.  At the end of it, I felt crappy and was seriously questioning the race the next day.  But I had a few minutes of positive self talk and reminded myself that I'm not even warmed up at the end of 2.5 miles, so I can't make a good judgement of how I feel.  I also told myself that this run was just to get loosened up for the marathon (oh my word, a marathon!!!) the next day. 

Sunday night was our inspiration dinner with Team in Training.  Our teammate, Jim Asker, was the speaker.  He told his story of being diagnosed with a blood cancer and fighting through it.  He did a great job speaking and it was moving to hear his very honest story.  One thing he said really stuck with me during the race.  I don't remember it word for word, but basically it was this - when he was going through treatment and his body was so weakened, he would have given anything to be able to run or smash a tennis ball.  He said he can't imagine having a healthy body and not using it.  Wow!  There were very few dry eyes in the room at the end of his speech.  He made us proud!  It was also a great reminder of the reason we were there.  And that all of our hard work in training and fundraising is making a difference.

We were careful to go to bed early the two nights before the race (even though it was so tempting to stay out and explore and enjoy the city).  We also ate lots of carbs and tried to be as ready as possible for the race.  After the dinner, we went back to our rooms and got all of our stuff ready for the race the next morning.

 

See You Soon Dublin

I can't believe that this time tomorrow I will be in the air on my way to Dublin!  And in just over 4 days I will be running my first marathon!  It's finally starting to sink in that this is actually happening.

Mark and I are so extremely grateful to every single person who contributed to our fundraising efforts to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Team in Training.  Whether it was a dollar or $350, each donation meant a lot to us and fueled us to continue fundraising and training.  We are waiting on the last batch of checks we mailed in to be posted but our total should be just over $11,000.  We could not have done it without so much support from so many people.  There is no way to say thanks enough.  And most importantly we are $11,000 closer to curing blood cancer!

I also can't say thanks enough to all of the positive comments and all the encouragement we've received.  Just thinking about how many people have reached out and encouraged us in the last 5 months astounds me and gives me so much confidence.

I'm a bundle of nervous energy right now!  I'm, of course, nervous about the race itself.  I'm also a little bit of a nervous about the flight. My goal is to sleep through most of the flight, which will be helpful since when we arrive in Dublin it will be 8:45 am.  And in order to get my body on Dublin time I'm not going to sleep until that night. 

My mantra until and during the race is - "I'm trained. I'm ready. I am an endurance athlete."  I throw the last one in because, while it's true, it also makes me smile and think about all the fabulous training I've had with Fleet Feet and my great running friends! 

Our race is on Monday (Halloween).  It starts at 10 a.m. Dublin time.  Which should be pretty early in Nashville.  My main goal for the race is to finish it smiling and to soak up the experience.  I'd like to finish in 5:35 to 5:45, but I'll be happy with anything under 6.  Sometime after the race is over, I should be able to post on Facebook that we are finished.  Also, I hope to update here too.  

We are thankful for any prayers, happy thoughts, good vibes and other mojo you want to send our way during our trip and race.

Out of My Comfort Zone - into a Personal Record

On October 1, I did Winchester's Southern Plunge Half Marathon.  I chose this race for two reasons. One - it was a free race from active advantage.  Two - I was going to be in Winchester for a girl's weekend and I needed to get a long run in. Strangely, I like running alone in a group, but I'm not so good at running all alone.  So the race was the perfect way to make sure I got in a long run and stayed on track with my marathon training.

The night before the race, I tried to think of excuses not to do the race. Here are a few. I don't want to leave my friends (this would never work, they were all sleeping when I left).  I "overslept" (ugh, i thought about this one but really I couldn't do it). Then I discovered the perfect reason not to do it, I'd left my watch charger at home!  Aside from my shoes, my watch is the one thing I depend the most on to get me through the race.  However, as much as I thought I wanted out of the race, I really didn't want out.  I was just afraid.

Every race I've done has been with a group or with Mark.  This was to be my first race without someone else running it or at least cheering me on.  Also, I knew it was going to be a small race.  I'm always terrified of being last.  This fear was confirmed when I got to the start and there was hardly anyone there.  Although a small race means no lines for the bathroom!  And, of course, I was extra nervous without my watch.  The race would definitely be a chance to grow as a runner. 

Of all the thoughts I had swimming around in my head, setting a personal record was not one of them.  After all, I had just PR'd the weekend before.  And I seem to average a PR every 6 months or so.  Not mention all of the reasons I listed above.  Once the race got started, I was in the back of the pack - quite literally.  The first few miles were hilly.  And to be honest, I hate the first 3 miles of every run.  I tried not to panic and to just trust that I could finish. 

At mile 8, after finishing what was two steady miles mostly uphill, I asked the girl beside me if we were ever going to go downhill.  She said yes, but not for long.  Which was fine with me, all I needed right then was a small downhill.  I had wanted to run waterstop to waterstop, but I'm guessing I walked about 30 - 45 seconds every half mile.  So when the girl beside me looked at her watch and said I'd finish in less than 2:30 I was shocked.  Shocked and motivated to keep my butt moving!  I told her I'd PR'd the weekend before finishing in 2:25.  She replied that if I kept on pace I could beat that. 

I kept running though I still think I walked briefly every half mile or so and through the waterstops.  I felt really good.  And my conversation with the other runner had changed my confidence.  I knew the race had started close to on time.  A little ways into mile 12, I looked at my phone for the first time to see the time. It was 9:14.  I knew I could PR if I could just keep it up for less than one mile.  I finished in 2:22:51!!!  I was 100th out of 137 (see I told you it was a small race).

I'm amazed I could PR on another hilly course without my watch.  Or maybe it's that because of my watch and how fast I "think" I can run, I've been holding myself back.  I'm running the Middle Half this weekend, which had been my goal race to PR at (the last two PRs were happy accidents).  It's a flat course.  I still think I can PR.  Now should I wear my watch or not?

*The Dublin Marathon is 3 weeks from today!!  This Friday is our fundraising deadline.  We are so close to our $10,000 goal/minimum.  Please help us reach our goal!  http://pages.teamintraining.org/tn/dublin11/emilymark