April 17, 2011

It has now been four weeks since I finished my first marathon. I've given myself time to reflect back on all that I did and all that we did together. And, I have spoken to many of you personally and recounted parts of my marathon experience to you. Now, for this event, I need to send out this last update to answer the "how was it?" question.

It was awesome.

I had great support for this endeavor. Running long distances can be a lonely experience, if you let it. Because I was running with Team in Training and because I included all of you in my experience, while there were times in the marathon where I was alone, I was never lonely. Lesson learned: if you tell enough people that you are going to run a marathon and if enough of them support you in various ways, you run the blasted marathon. For me, failure was not an option. Trust me, that kind of grim determination is pretty important at 8 a.m. in the cold and wind when you're face to face with the fact that you're about to spend the next 5 hours running.

One of the joys of running with Team in Training is that we are, well, a TEAM! And, we run in distinctive purple jersey's with our names on them...so instant friends! I chatted with some nice folks from the Tidewater team for several miles. As I was running with them, I learned that one of the differences between running a half marathon and running a full marathon. While running a full, because you are going slower, you actually see scenery. In this case, I noticed a giant forty foot gorilla. Apparently, during half marathons, I've run by the giant gorilla no less than four times and not noticed it. So, my first wonder of the day was the giant gorilla. That was only five miles into the experience.

I ran miles 6 - 16 with a woman from Radford. Paige was great company and we chattered for close two hours. The instant friendship of marathon running is amusing. Think about it, it is a nice way to meet people with whom you share a common interest (running) and who understand without judging why you would do such a foolish thing as run a marathon in the first place.

Because you are running for so long, you absolutely have to take in calories during the event. During our miles together, Paige and I agreed that we would share the banana Mike and Elizabeth were giving me at mile 13 and pair it with the Power Bar she was carrying. That we felt the need to explain our deal to Mike and to Paige's husband when we ran by him is something of a mystery.

Paige needed to walk by mile 16. I was a woman on a mission to finish in 5 hours. As is the way of running alliances, there were no hard feelings...and away I went.

Miles 16-22 are quiet miles at the Shamrock. You are running through woods for miles 16-19 and then through Fort Storey for miles 19-22. Crowd support is minimal. The chattering tails off. The wind was pretty tough. And, the furthest I had ever run was 21 miles.

March 15, 2011

Kissing Concrete vs. Kicking Asphalt

My darling husband reminded me that I need to send out one last pre-race e-mail. So, for the collective groan that surely went up when this e-mail arrived, I apologize. In this my penultimate e-mail on this little adventure of mine, I promise to explain the relative merits of Kicking Asphalt as opposed to Kissing Concrete.

For a split second on Saturday morning, I thought that I would be sharing a tale of woe. I was out to run for an hour with my Speedy Gonzalez of a running partner. As it is no secret, I will admit that when we start up long uphill grades, I've gotten into the habit of asking Nathan questions the responses to which will be lengthy. It slows him down; it allows me to survive the climb.

During a downhill or flatter portion of our run, I admitted to my absolute paranoia that I will do something stupid, hurt myself and have to watch 4 months of training go down the drain. We even had a discussion about my being careful climbing street curbs and maybe not wearing high heels.

About ten minutes later and with about 2 miles left to run, I caught my foot on the edge of a sidewalk...and sent myself flying forward for what would be a VERY short Superman impersonation. In that split second, I thought "oh-no-Margie-you-idiot-you-are-about-to-kiss-concrete-bust-yourself-up-and-not-be-able-to-race-and-all-of-these-great-folks-have-supported-you-and-it-is-all-over-because-you-drag-your-right-foot-you-moron." And, the other part of this rapid analysis was that I put my hands in front of me because even if I kissed concrete, I didn't want my knees to do so.

Somehow, because I kept moving my feet, my forward momentum caught up with and overwhelmed my downward trajectory. Take that Gravity! If all of you would be kind enough to not mention to Gravity my tough talk until at least next Monday, that would be more than decent of you. Phew!

Now, all I have to do is Kick Asphalt and run 26.2 miles. I'm nervous (okay scared) but resolute (let's face it, I'm a determined donkey). The greatest things about doing this first marathon through Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is (1) it's for a great cause; (2) I won't be alone out there on the course and (3) my friends and family have supported me both financially and emotionally as I run for the great cause, so, I won't be alone because I'm taking you guys with me. I'm guessing that during miles 18-22 that your support will be what carries me through.

For all of my friends and family at the UUCR, I will be doing miles 18-22 around the time you are at the service on Sunday. Please, someone light at least one candle for me. I don't think I will be at the "need inferno" level, so, just something tasteful, okay? I'm going to need all the help I can get. Seriously, while I will write all of you guys individually, I want to thank you now too. The donations I received from my life-long faith community represent well more than half of the funds that I have raised to date. Your generosity is truly remarkable.

My friends and sorority sisters have also been generous in their donations and even more generous with their emotional support (some with both, double thanks to them). I'm not over-stating things when I say the support I've gotten has been humbling. More than anything, thank you for believing that I could succeed at this endeavor.

Finally, my family is the stuff of legends. Good legends, of course. There is no way I would be where I am today without their love and support. To this day, when I march myself off to do anything that makes me nervous, I can recall the distinct memory of my mother waving my brother and I off to school with the refrain, "Good luck, I love you, you'll do fine."

Wish me luck. I'll do fine.

March 5, 2011

I've always suspected but now I know, for sure, I'm one of "those" people. For those of you who require evidence to support this statement, please continue reading. For those of you who sighed and said "I know," keep reading anyway as I will try to be amusing.

As you, my friends and family, know, I am running a marathon to raise money and awareness for the fight against blood cancers. And, because I insist upon bombarding your with updates, you know that last week was my final LONG (21 miles) run. This week I only needed to run 13 miles! which is my happy, happy half marathon distance. When you've spent the past 8 weeks running more than 13 miles, you're allowed to be joyous and relieved about this notion.

Like a good girl, I went to bed at 10 p.m. and popped up out of bed at 6 a.m. To clarify, popping out of bed is required when you have two dogs and a cat that associate the alarm clock going off with "give us kibble" time. Anything involving the snooze button pretty much assures the occurrence of four legged anarchy and/or mayhem (at which the cat is particularly gifted). With various woofs and peremptory meow's (all of which loosely translate to "get moving"), I jumped into my running clothes, trooped downstairs, fed the four legged family members before they lost their collective minds, opened the front door...and finally observed...that it was raining.

It was raining on my would be celebratory only 13 mile run day. What? At that moment, I was grateful to already be upright and dressed. As I was driving to the traditional starting point, I had to switch the windshield wipers from intermittent to low. For the record, if you have to put the wipers on high, you stay home - move the good stuff to higher ground and build a watercraft of some kind. If the wipers are on low or intermittent and everyone else is sick or busy and your running buddy is working (so really who knows that you didn't run), you have to make a choice...

I ran 13.1 miles.

I'm one of "those" people - you know, those "idiots you see running in the rain." Fully embracing my status as one of "those" people, I ran relaxed and loose, I ran upright with my shoulders back and I ran HARD. It was good...and I was again reminded why and humbled to realize how fortunate I am to do something that I love for such a good purpose. Because you see, but for the reason that I'm running my first marathon, I don't know that I would have ever pushed myself quite this hard.

So, since I was still given more than 2 hours to think, it's time for my Miss America "thank you" speech:

Thanks to you all for your donations and soon-to-be donations. The financial support for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will be used wisely and well. Your support of me in this endeavor means more than I can explain, so, thank you.

Thanks to all of the folks at Team in Training. Yes, I'm a nut; no, I'm not a beginner runner...I appreciate the kindness and support. And, a special thank you to Nathan, for being my running buddy...and for showing up to run at 7 a.m. when it was freezing cold for no good reason other to help me jump start a long run.

Thanks to my friends and family who put up with me creaking around, forgetting stuff, being distracted with this commitment, etc. The first time through, the process was more consuming than I realized it would be.

Finally, I have to offer my love and thanks to Mike and Ally. Their support and patience has been amazing. It cannot be easy to have a wife and step-mother who makes a commitment like this. I am grateful for the animation with which they describe all of the soccer and basketball games of Ally's that I've missed on Saturday's because I was doing my long training run. I appreciate their consideration when I was clearly too tired to think, parent or interact terribly well. And, beyond measure, I welcome their smiling faces when I finish a race.

The accomplishments we share are so much better. Thanks to you all for sharing this one with me.

Margie

February 26, 2011

There are lots of ways and plenty of opportunities to be a hero. Please allow me to share my potentially misdirected but enthusiastic way for attempting to do so. And, allow me to share a second sure fire way for you to attempt the same (no running shoes required, I promise).

I am not a hero. During my 21 mile run this morning, I had lots of time to reach this conclusion. When you run for close to four hours, you have plenty of time to think. You may take my word on this one. The whole "hero" thing came up because my cousin in England, Kristyn, told my mother that she forwarded one of my postings to her friend, Krissy, in Tasmania. Krissy is currently receiving a bone marrow transplant. From Kristyn, I learned that I am Krissy's hero because while I've never met her, I care enough to help her.

I am not a hero. But, I am running my first full marathon to raise awareness and money (for research) in the fight against blood cancers. And any heroic status that may be afforded to me is the result of having run 21 miles this morning...which gives me an opportunity and a time to ask you to help in this endeavor.

My run today was my last long run before I run the full (26.2) marathon distance. I was surprised how emotional my last couple of miles were. Don't misunderstand me, I love running (maybe not 21 miles worth of love, but a solid 13.1 worth). The enormity of WHY I was doing this just washed over me. And, I was appropriately humbled. This isn't about me...it's about my friend who is a survivor, it's about the people I treasured and lost and it's about the folks (like Krissy) who are fighting like hell to win the good fight. Each of those folks are my hero.

I know this is a tough time to ask anyone for money. So, ever the girl with a solution, I have an idea for you. You can sign up to be a marrow donor. Here's the link:

http://www.marrow.org/

While they would love for you to send $, it is NOT required to join the registry. It isn't hard to register (I've done it). It doesn't take long to fill out the forms (I'm a lawyer, I read everything before I sign). It almost takes longer to sneeze than it takes to do the DNA swab business (if you're a particularly fast sneezing sort, this won't be true). And, contrary to popular myth, there is only mild discomfort associated with donating. Mild discomfort seems reasonable in the balance of things.

Thanks to you all.

February 19, 2011

I ran 20 miles today. I am very, very proud of that sentence. I believe that makes me crazy.

There is a special sort of crazy that comes with the decision to run a marathon. Seriously, let's review. When I tell folks that I'm running a marathon, they say "you know that first guy died." It is a heartwarming thought to share with someone. Well, it isn't really.

I have the internet. And, since everything on the internet is accurate, please allow me to explain more about the first "marathon runner." As it turns out, Phidippides had fought in full armor all morning at Marathon. Because the battle had gone well for the Athenians, they were anxious to share the good news.When asked, he ran from Marathon back to Athens. He covered the 26 mile distance in 3 hours! Here's the kicker. Prior to going into battle, he had recently run from Athens to Sparta. He covered the 140 miles over what is described as rugged and mountainous territory in 36 hours. And, then he ran back to share whatever the people in Sparta had to say.

So, since I'm not going to run back to back 140 milers's, fight in armor for many hours and then run a marathon, this should be a piece of cake for me. Right?

Phidippides was a professional runner. I am not. I am not even close.

But I am able to run for which I am grateful. And, I'm running to get the word out about a battle...against blood cancers...and I'm just a slow footed messenger (albeit a well trained slow footed messenger)...but my message will get delivered...hopefully soon.

I am going to attach a link to another member of the Virginia Team in Training. I've not met Justin in person, but I look forward to doing so. He's a remarkable guy and he tells his story better than I can. Long story short, as a result of complications associated with his illness, Justin got a double lung transplant last July. Justin is participating in the Shamrock 1/2 marathon! Next month!

If you want to know why I won't concede that training for and running a marathon is grueling and terrible, read Catherine's story (my friend in whose honor I'm running), read Justin's story or read the stories of any of the survivors. For me, I am just slapping on my shoes and running like a nut bar...neither of which is a big stretch for me.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/shamrock11/jlegg0

As a TNT member, Justin is also fundraising. Not surprisingly, Justin with his story and force of personality is a fundraising super star. That is as it should be. I should never have hesitated to share Justin's story. I'll meet my minimum goal, no worries. Your donations will be used wisely - it matters not a bit to me who gets "credit" - we're on the same TEAM. And, if ever there was a TEAM sport, this is it.

February 12, 2011

As everyone knows, I boldly (not so much) began training for a FULL marathon back in November. I will concede that the training in November and December 2010 was pretty much like all of the half marathon training I've done through the years, so, while training was not "birthday party" fun, it wasn't that daunting, grueling or terrible.

Folks, while I will not concede terrible, I've gotten to daunting. I've had a personal discussion with grueling - but refused to give grueling my number as I'm not interested in being friends. As I was slogging along alone through miles 5-18 this morning, I will admit to feeling a bit sorry for myself because my right hamstring was singing (offkey), there might have a rock in my shoe, it was cold and windy...and really...it wasn't just that much fun.

Then, I remembered why I'm out every Saturday morning kicking my own butt.

I'm raising money and awareness in the fight against blood cancers. I'm not sick. I'm not going through the rigors of chemo, radiation, bone marrow transplants, etc. I'm not watching and worrying with a family member who is going through treatment - but I am not okay with knowing that other people are going through it. And, I am not okay with my doing nothing about it. So....

I get up every Saturday mornings (and lots of other mornings, but Saturday's are a special sort of butt kicking) and run like a nutter. And, when my hamstring starts hurting, my shoe has a rock in it, my hands have gone numb from the wind and the cold, I remember why I'm putting myself through this. Then, I get a firm hold on perspective. I get the rock out of my shoe, curl my fingers up into my running jacket, tell my hamstring to take a number and I just keep on running.

As the daunting task of running a marathon is small potatoes compared to fighting blood cancers, I can do the running. I need your help with the raising money portion of the program. Please do all you can to help me raise money for the fight against blood cancers.

January 1, 2011

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my Team In Training home page. I said I would do it...and now, I'm doing it. After running countless half marathons, I am going to run a FULL (twice as far as a half :-) marathon. As it should be with these things, I am running for a reason close to my heart.

Last year, I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon in honor of Macayla, Ally's BFF (Best Friend Forever for those of you not in the fourth grade know). There is something about running for a 9 year old who has already experienced too much that brings out the best in a person. I ran my fastest half marathon EVER. While my finish time was great for me, the far greater thing is that Macayla ended her treatment for leukemia in October of this year.

I said last year when I ran a half in honor of Macayla, I would next run a full marathon in honor of my friend Catherine. Catherine is my sorority sister from long ago and back in the day. As a lymphoma survivor, Cath inspired me to find out more about Team in Training. Her courage and determination should be an example to us all - you see, she has been cancer free for many years but, through her efforts with Team in Training, she is still fighting the battle. Catherine was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2001. I've attached the 2009 picture of my sorority sisters from our 20th reunion at William & Mary. Those of you who don't know Catherine will not know which one is Catherine. The thing that matters to me and the reason that I'm running is because Catherine IS in the laughing, joyous and silly picture I've shared with you.

So, while I am rather nervous about doing this, I'm training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission.

I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!