20 miles. Do you know how long that is? There are 105,600 feet in 20 miles and I ran every inch on Saturday. What an exciting experience! The first 10 miles were not too bad but around mile 12 or 13 my stomach started to hurt. I guess I changed too many things up for that run. I will have to go back to what I know works for me. By mile 18 and 19 I felt like I was ready to quit. I was sore from running but that was normal and I thought I could push through. It was my stomach that didn't want me to keep going. However, I wasn't about to let that stop me so I slowed down but didn't allow myself to stop. I knew it would be a long sad walk back if I stopped a mile and a half from the end. As I rounded the last corner I picked my pace up again so that I could finish strong. I almost forgot about my stomach hurting. When we got back the LLS staff cheered us on as we reached the "finish line." They handed us beads like medals to practice for the actual race. It was fun and they had lots of food for us to eat. I took a bite of the pizza that I was dreaming about half way through the run but my stomach was still upset so I ate a donut instead…I know what a concept! J I was very sore and the thought of getting on the ground to stretch was not fun. I continued to stretch but was sore the rest of the day. To my amazement by Sunday I wasn't really sore. Wow I am stronger than I thought and my body is learning to recover quickly.
I am so thankful for the people who believe in me to run this marathon. Even during training I find inspiration from the people in my life who make me believe that I can do it. Many things give me the endurance to keep running like thinking about our mission and those we are running in honor of and songs and scriptures that bring strength. There are family members whose strength during hard times encourages me. I have great friends who never stop believing in me. I don't want to let them down. I want to be able to say at the end of the race…I DID IT!
After the morning run I had time to shower, eat, and take a 45 min nap before I headed out again. That night I went to the Georgetown Pediatric Oncology unit with some teammates. We brought a Mexican feast for the families and staff to enjoy. Everyone was so thankful for the food we brought and it was good to see how our hard work with Team in Training was making a difference.
Then it was on to the next event. Saturday was full of TNT goodness; running, mission moment, and fundraising. Hayley, Brett, and I planned a fundraiser at Tonic in Foggy Bottom that night. It was a really good event and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Brett organized for a band to come out and play so it ended up being a great event. We were able to raise a good amount of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and had a great time doing it. I will admit that I ended the night early. Since I didn't get much rest after my 20 miles I was ready to go home to my comfy bed!
One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do.
-- Henry Ford
The picture is of me and my friend Katie at the Tonic Fundraiser. Not too bad for running 20 miles and getting no rest! Don't let the picture fool you I was exhausted!
I'm excited to say I am running the Shamrock Marathon with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on March 21, 2010! Please help me reach my personal goal of $2,000 by making a tax deductible donation at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/shamrock10/ashaff
Thanks for helping find a cure for blood cancers!
