twentytwentytwenty

Well this was it.... the hardest run to date. I ran 20 miles this past Saturday, and it just sounds scary, doesn't it? I was really nervous, but I'm so happy I did it.

We met at 7 am as usual, and it was pretty chilly. Decided I need to get myself some gloves sometime this week. Anyway, Lucy and Wendy were both there, and so was Brian, who is also running Kiawah. We all started out together, but at about mile 7 or 8 Lucy and I fell back a little bit. We run at a slower pace, and we've gotten pretty tuned into each other's running style. We don't talk a lot while running (besides ocassionally cursing the general state of our bodies), but we just know when the other person is hurting or needs to stop to stretch. We were both fighting some major pains on Saturday, so we took plenty of stretch breaks along the way. It's funny, because I've had to change my mentality about stopping and stretching as I've been training. I used to think that stopping was giving up, I planned to stop for water breaks and that's it. Well, I'm not trying to qualify for Boston, and I've decided that I'll stop whenever and wherever I need to. Ha.

Lucy and I did alright, but it was not a fun run from about mile 16 on. All the usual aches and pains were present and accounted for, plus some new ones. It was funny because Jay, one of our coaches, was on his bike so he could cycle around and find everyone (there were 4 of us doing 20, some doing 18, 16, 12, etc.) . For the whole run Lucy and I were smiling and telling him that we were hurting, but we were doing great, yada yada yada. Well flashforward to the last 2.5 miles, Jay saw us and pulled over to where we were to check in. I think I said something along the lines of, "This is miserable and we are not having fun". Haha, poor Jay. He told us to take it easy on our way back in, we were so close and it would be over before we knew it.

The coaches were right once again, they really know their stuff. We came in and were trying to stretch out some of the pain. Really, it was the worst. My hips literally felt like they were expanding, my feet hurt, my knees... all of it. Jay convinced me to try an ice bath when I got home, and I was actually looking forward to it, which should give you a good idea about how desperate I was. I came home and pulled on a sweatshirt, sat in the tub, and then called Katie so she could take my mind off the frigid water. The coaches said that cold water would be enough, I wouldn't need ice, but I would have to sit in the tub while it filled up or I would never actually get in. I screamed a little bit, my toes turned a light shade of purple, but it was totally worth it. I honestly don't think I would have been able to walk on Sunday if I hadn't soaked for awhile.

I just really appreciate my coaches and my teammates. I know that I wouldn't be able to do this without their encouragement, their advice, and their friendship. This experience has been such a blessing. We had a little party on Sunday afternoon, in celebration of Lindsay, our honored patient. She had a check-up this week and her blood counts are the best they have ever been, she is thankfully extremely healthy. It just makes me realize that there are so many things that are bigger than myself. If this little girl can go through chemo, if millions of people can fight this terrible disease, well than I can run 26.2 miles.

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained." - Marie Curie