13.1 DONE!! Sunday April 11, 2010

My first half-marathon.  I was a walker for this event, no jogging in my regimen this time out.

I was pretty nervous, not because I didn't feel well-trained (Thanks to Team in Training!!), but because I had jimmied my low back on Thursday afternoon.  Then I had to work Friday and my back was spasming & really a mess after work.  But I went to my Chiropractor, Dr. Paloma, who worked a back miracle!!  I felt great starting the race!

We couldn't have asked for better weather! Cool but not cold, no coats needed.  Slight overcast, but could see blue sky peeking through and not windy.  Perfect!!

Race shirt & bib:

And back:

But really I figured we couldn't fail since our Fairy Godmother was out on the course with us! (aka Heidi, our Team in Training Captain)

There was lots of pre-race comaraderie - this is Theresa, Coach Sue, Tami, me & Nancy (L to R).

And there were lots of creative ways that people brought their honorees with them. (This is Theresa.)

I was very happy to have met my fundraising goals, and the thoughts of people's support helped me though the miles when the legs were tiring. 

Having a walking partner really helped too.  Tami and I are very compatible in our pace speeds, so we stayed together.  Strength in numbers!! 

We're all jazzed & you can tell I'm nervous!

Then only about a mile into the race my left knee starting giving me a sharp pain.  This was completely new, hadn't had any hint of knee problems with previous training!  But we reached the gradual uphill incline and my knee liked going up hill a lot!  One of the TNT race course helpers gave me a little packet of BioFreeze which I applied at my first "pit-stop" (4 mile mark).  Then we proceeded down the hill back toward downtown.  I very quickly decided I am a big fan of BioFreeze.  After it had a little time to work, I had NO pain at all!  And it held me through the whole course! 

We've heard people say that the halfway mark in a half-marathon is the 10-mile mark! It's because those last 3.1 miles are the hardest.  And they were right.  I could feel my pace slowing.  We walked about 15 - 15.10 minute miles for most of the first 5 miles then lagged down to 15.30-40 minute miles.  After that we pushed our pace to 15 minute miles for about 2-3 miles but couldn't keep it up.  From mile 9 through 13 we were really slow, creeping over 17 minute miles part of the time.  But we knew we would finish before 11 am, so that was good enough for our first effort.  

More importantly, when my legs were tiring and the "parts" were achey, we talked about the reasons why we were doing this effort.  So other daughters don't have to watch their moms die of cancer, as I experienced in high school.  So other parents don't have to watch their kids struggle with chemo or worse.  So doctors & nurse practitioners don't have to tell their patients that dreaded news.  So some day there is a cure.  We kept saying if little kids can get through chemo, we can handle a little bit of achey stuff!!  Some day that miracle will happen and we ... and all of you who have supported me in so many ways ... will have been a part of it.    GO TEAM!

Training - the last month!

The last month has been a whirl!
Training, adding a mile a week until I did 11.5 miles on March 26, our biggest training week.
As we added miles, I found it hard to do any additional activities - too tired & joints were sore.  That is UNTIL I hit 11.5 miles, which felt great!  Guess I had to get over that hump...and do LOTS of stretching.

Then we started our "taper" and today only(!) did an 8-mile training.

This was our 10.5 mile training day 2 weeks ago, me with Tami and we needed our hats to fend off the bright sunshine!

And hard to believe we're ready!  But we are, we've trained hard, including the wet, blustery day today.

We have been very thankful that we've had such a mild and beautiful winter in which to train. 

Today somewhat made up for it!  Note the sudden appearance of coats & hats and some shivering!

We had our send-off party/potluck Wednesday 3/31 and received our coach's instructions and "words of wisdom" as we go into our final week of training.  

The centerpiece is made of cookies.  Too pretty to eat!!  But there were lots of other options (I love potlucks!)  And we're required to eat plenty of carbs to fuel our training, don'tcha know! 

And, Kim, one of our Honored Teammates, a beautiful woman who is a survivor herself.   Each time we meet, we make note of the Reason why we're doing this.  Kim is one of our reasons!

The big day is a week from tomorrow!!  Hard to believe it's already here. 

We just have one more short group training before the race.  Next up: 13.1 miles!!

History of TNT origin

2008 Anniversary video of TNT history:
http://20th.teamintraining.org:80/history/

I find it helps to have a goal bigger than yourself!

Stretch break on Terwilliger during 8-mile training

Sometimes the muscles and joints INSIST that we take a break to do some stretching!

We had another BEAUTIFUL day today for Team-in-Training group walks and runs.  My group did our 8-mile walk, starting @ PSU, going north & eventually to the waterfront and then up Terwilliger to the view site a couple miles up the hill & return to PSU.  We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day - it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we really lucked out!!  Lots of smiles and a potluck afterwards for the entire group to get together & share our experiences.  Great day! 

Gorgeous sunshine for our Team in Training day today! (photos)

Beautiful view along our TNT training route today.  Who knew 6 miles could be so easy?

Beautiful smiles to match a beautiful day! 

Training Friday 2/19

Cross training today, exercycle & STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH.  Oh & breathing exercises to help increase lung capacity (concern d/t radiation treatment after breast cancer!)

Group TNT training tomorrow am.  Will try to snap some better pics.

2010 Race for the Roses Team in Training photos & notes

We're all excited about taking on the commitment to raise funds for LLS & train together for better health.

Retail therapy...er...proper footwear purchases.

A training outing with new friends, one of our Honored Teammates, and Mentor Ceara.

NO, THAT'S WARM UP STRETCHES!

Our walk/run mentor Ceara (left). She's a tiny little thing, and FAST!

Walking on the track can be boring but winds up being a lot of fun when shared w/ great comrades!

I Believe in Miracles

I have experienced what I consider miracles, of a sort.
Experiences so astounding to me that I cannot relegate them to the category of ordinary expectations.
Miracles both spiritual and physical.

The one that's easiest to share? I grew an inch when I was 22. Weird to consider this a miracle, huh?

But here's the focal part for me: I grew because I intensely YEARNED to grow that inch.

I know, that's an odd thing to really WANT, right? But the yearning is a memory almost visceral: I remember how I was sitting on my sofa, what direction I was facing, the position in which I was sitting, and how I felt in that moment. And then ... I just forgot about it & went on with life. Yet I can still remember that exact moment in my living room.

And guess what? A couple months later I was silently cursing my dry cleaners who must have shrunk my now too-short wool pants! But when I laughingly stood up against a wall for my friend to measure my height while she was measuring her kids I just about fainted with surprise! There was my inch! I made her check 3 times!!!

No, really, you say, what's the big deal?

Well actually, it's very unusual for women, especially those who are petite, to grow any taller in their 20's. I'm still not all that tall (probably part of why I wanted it so much!)

Other experiences are so emotionally profound that expressing in words is like letting the air out of a balloon - words fail.

I believe it is only these experiences that allow me to love and hope.

I want a lot of things:
I want my grandchildren, when they are adults, to ask "Cancer? What was that?"
I want chemotherapy and radiation treatments to be obsolete.
I want Oncology practitioners and nurses to have to look for another line of work because of lack of need for their expertise.
I want all parents never to fear that dreaded news from a doctor.

I want, out of a crowd of thousands, when a speaker asks "Who knows someone who has been touched by cancer?" for one hand of a VERY elderly person to be the only one raised.

I YEARN for this day.

Some might think this is impossible, but please remember one important thing:
I believe in miracles.