Ok, so it seems (at least to me) that writing a race report about your 9th ½ marathon is like taking pictures of your 4th child. It is something that’s just not high on the priority list. 
But here it is:
The alarm didn’t go off. The husband told me that he set it the night before to go off at a certain time, but we forgot that it only goes off during the week. Luckily my internal alarm clock works just fine and we got out of the house with plenty of time to spare.
We picked up my parents-n-law on the way to Columbus. Roger was in a good mood and feeling well. They dropped me off at work and I walked to the Hyatt Regency where the Team was meeting up. The hubby and Co. went to Tim Hortons to get something to eat before standing outside for several hours.
We all (the Team) met up before the race in a conference room, had some refreshments, a team picture, and then walked together to the starting area. I stood in line for the port-a potty and then worked my way towards the starting corral part that matched my projected finish time. The weather was great! After about ten minutes of people watching the gun went off and the ‘race’ was on.
The first 2 miles flew by. I ‘ran into’ a co-worker and we silently ran next to each other for half a mile or so until we got to the first water stop. He was on a mission so away he went. He ended up finishing 9 minutes ahead of me, which was a great accomplishment on his part.
Around mile 3 my left food started to hurt; on the bottom, right below the toes. Damn shoes, I knew they wouldn’t hold up! That’s why I switched away from Asics in the first place; they don’t have the front cushion support that I need. I should have known better than to switch back to them. Around mile 5 the other foot started to hurt too. *sigh*
But, I kept on trekking. The race actually didn’t become hard until about mile 9. I saw the father-in-law just shortly before that. He had made a sign for me. (I was running in his honor). At mile 10 I saw some friends from MiT that cheered me on and then a co-worker and his wife at mile 11. That was such a nice surprise and really lifted my spirits.
Shortly after that one of the TNT coaches ran with me for about a ½ mile. While we were running a couple came up behind us and the guy said, “Give my best to Roger.” He had read the sign on the back of my shirt “Running 4 Roger”. I told him that I would do that for sure and thanked him. The coach knew I would have no problems finishing the race so he turned back to help some other TNT members.
The last mile was tough, but it helped that I saw the family again about a ½ mile before the finish. I was not able to kick it in, but I knew that I would not be completely dead afterwards.
I finished in 2:29:05 (my goal was 2:30) and received my medal. I walked to the TNT tent and received my 13.1 TNT pin from a Leukemia survivor, which was really touching. I then went to find my family and gave my father-in-law my medal for him to keep. I had been debating on giving it to him then or to wait until his chemo therapy was done. But, I thought that it would mean more to him getting it now. He was very touched and I was glad he was able to watch me run.
Overall it was an emotional experience, from raising the money to running the race. I ended up raising over $3100 and received a plaque from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society honoring my efforts. I am glad it is over, even though my worrying about Roger will continue for months. However, just like in the race, you charge forward one step at a time.
I have already decided which race is next on my agenda; the Spirit of Columbus ½ marathon August 30th. This will be my 10th ½ marathon!!! The schedule is written and training will officially start after we come back from vacation. I am looking forward to our yearly trip of a week of quadding at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.
There will be no running for me this week. I did get on the bike today and everything felt fine. My left foot is still sore underneath and I will get me a new pair of Saucony’s before I go back out again on Saturday. My legs just have a trace of soreness, but that should be gone by the time I go out and run.
