I ran a marathon with people whom I am proud to be able to now call friends--all those at Team In Training, and all my TNT teammates--You Rock! ... and damn can they down the beer :-)What my 17 teammates and I accomplished:
-Raised over $67,000!
-Ran almost 450 miles total during that little marathon!
-All the TNT participants for this single marathon raised over $8.2 million for LLS!!
There were 22,ooo people in the marathon, and 2,245 of those were TNT runners, although by the amount of purple one saw cheering one would have thought it was many more. Those people on the side shouting encouragement made all the difference, it felt like a celebration of human spirit. Many of them had been directly affected by blood cancers--it touched me every time they thanked me for what I was doing ... I was running a race ... I didn't really feel like I was doing anything special until I heard these folks cheering, and thanking us for running, and I realized how much LLS has done, is doing, and will continue to do to battle these cancers. It was an honor to run with TNT, and participate in this event wearing their colors!
Here is my team at 06:00 ... 30 min to start time!
The Starting line--way up there ... equal numbers behind us!
Holly, Elisa, the two Katies, Max, and Derek with his game face on!
Coach T.J. getting ready to Rock the marathon!
Some of our most fervent supporters!
Our plan to stick together as a couple of small groups fell apart for my group somewhere around mile 10--a bathroom break separated us! So the lines for the wonderful porta-pots are on the long side ... wonder what those elite winners do for bathroom breaks if they need one? I know, and it ain't pretty!
Katie and I ended up being a tandem until mile 24, then I started breaking down ... ok, it started a little earlier. I was still feeling good at this point though (at least it looks like I was!)--mile 17!I don't know if I overcompensated with electrolytes due to the humidity, or just didn't get enough (although I am pretty sure it was too much), but I started ex periencing cramps when I tried to stretch around mile 20 ... so no stretching ... well, I had dealt with the knee pain before so I could do it again--especially being 6 miles from completing my first marathon!
What I couldn't deal with was the cramps in my shoulder/neck muscles. I was cognizant of keeping my shoulders relaxed (or so I thought), but evidently not enough.
At mile 24 I tapped out ... I had to tell Katie to go on solo, as I thought I may have to walk the last two miles ... not how I envisioned finishing my first marathon! I ended up sitting down and going through all my old tension-headaches exercises, when the SD TNT coach showed up inquiring into my condition. We chatted, and then we walked as I finished working on my neck ... after about a 1/2 mile we bid our goodbyes and I started my run again! (The support from TNT on the course was unbelievable--they were fantastic every step of the way).
The last portion of the run is in the Marine base; 7/10 mile, with the last 2/10 mile being the finish line with the bleachers on either side. For those last 1.7 or so miles I was only thinking about keeping my legs moving ... "run, no walking, almost there, keep putting one foot in front of the other .. etc ..." When I hit that Marine base, and there was less than a mile to go something uninvited switched on ... it was all I could do to keep from letting the tears roll down my face ... I was spent.
Then I turned into that beautiful final 2/10 mile straight shot to the finish line. Uninitiated my body started to sprint (at least it sure as hell felt like a sprint!) towards the finish line, but the crowd was not providing the feedback I needed to make it to the finish line--and I was not going to have two Marines carry my carcass across the finish line! I started throwing my arms up in the air yelling "let me hear you, make some noise," and it worked ... the crowd responded, and I was able to take their energy and use it to cross that finish line!
Once across the finish line I was done, thankfully Courtney, and Katie were there with water & a cold washcloth for me ... I couldn't eat without feeling nauseous, and I could barely walk (can't even explain how much my feet hurt). I knew right then and there--I was going to do this again!
In Photo: Katie, Courtney, MJ, Elisa--Victorious!
Elisa falling into Courtney's arms after crossing the finish. This sums up the marathon far better than any words I could come up with ...
A final thank you to all who have given to LLS, whether it has been through financial donation, dedicating time to TNT and helping folks like me achieve this goal, or my fellow runners who put in many hours and dedication to both training and fund raising. Let us keep going until these cancers are eradicated!
For my son: Semper Fi, I love you champ!
For Hunter: You and all persons fighting these cancers are the ultimate heroes to whom the rest of us will always look to for inspiration--your families' courage is humbling.
Peace, and love to all.My thanks are endless to you,
