So far, I’ve enjoyed training on my own. It’s not nearly as much fun as when I trained with Team in Training last year, but I’ve found a meditative quality to it that was missing when running with others and chatting. After my headphones broke last month, I’ve been doing all outdoor runs without music and since then have fallen in love with the quiet. The sound of my feet on pavement, other runners around me, my breath, all of these make me feel more in tune with my body and the run. The motion becomes soothing and less of a challenge. I find my splits are more even and it’s easier to stick to my targeted pace. Overall, I’ve found a peace in running that I hadn’t before.

Right now, November 22 seems a long time away and, yet, like just another long run on my calendar to enjoy.

Despite two foot injuries that prevented me from finishing training, I finished the entire marathon. In 5:16:46 I covered all 26.2 miles of the Nashville Country Music Marathon with a smile on my face.

Here it is, a link to see my official race time. My bib number was 15097.

The morning was off to a rough and early start at 3:15 a.m. when I awoke to lightning storms. The rain slowly faded to a drizzle and was pretty much done by 6:30 a.m. By then I was walking to my corral, number 15, to get in some last stretches before the wave start at 7:00 a.m. At 7:29, my race began and I was nearly giddy with excitement. It blew my mind to see the crowd before me, running down West End Avenue toward the heart of the city and to know I was part of the pack.

As the coaches drilled into us for the days preceding the race, I held back. I aimed for an 11 minute mile and for the first half of the race, I was almost exactly on target and felt great. It left me plenty of energy to simply enjoy the experience. I ran until mile 14, officially making it the longest single run of my life. From there I walked every other mile. During those walks, I chatted with others who were taking a break and we laughed and helped each other along.

Friday night, I had given into my mentor’s suggestion to decorate my singlet with my name in iron on letters. It was the best advice yet. To run down those streets and hear people calling out my name…MY name…was incredible. When my feet were sore and my knees ached and my hips were stiff, to hear parents, children, and cheering squads shout out “Sarah, you can do it, you’re almost there!” was all I needed to keep on going and keep on smiling.

We ran through the city, through residential areas where people stood on their front lawns with their coffee in one hand and waving us along with the other. We ran through an industrial park beside a river where the breeze kept us cool as the sun came out. We ran through quiet parks where the view of trees and lakes were soothing as the race wore on. We ran, ran, and ran some more.

At mile 6 my left foot was sore, by mile 8 the ache subsided. At mile 9 I could, unfortunately, begin to smell myself. By mile 14 the soles of my feet burned. After that, most everything hurt at some point, but the pain came and went and I kept on going.

Nearly every step of the way there were people lining the course wishing us well, encouraging us, and supporting us. I saw one woman whose aunt ran out on to the course half-way through and was still running with her at mile 23, helping her make it to the end. I saw tiny children holding giant signs for their dads and moms. One man held up a Team in Training sign that simply said, “My wife is running for me.” Cheering squads of teenage girls went wild for a high five from the runners as they screamed and shouted us on. Even the cops that guarded intersections offered words of encouragement as we went by.

I was taken aback by the presence Team in Training (TNT) had along the course. There were 830 runners representing TNT and what felt like tens of thousands of spectators supporting the cause. From friends and families of runners to coaches from every team, TNT’s official color purple took over the course. People waved signs and cheered on everyone who wore purple and moved. Spectators shouted louder for us and thanked us. The coaches went wild when we passed them and many jumped into the crowd and ran along with us. At mile 19, our Brooklyn coach Jasmine did just that as I jogged past. She couldn’t believe I was there, going the whole distance and was possibly more giddy than I was. We laughed and chatted as I approached mile 20 and she sent me along with shouts and cheers that kept my adrenaline pumping even as the hours stretched on.

Around 25.5 miles the Manhattan coach, Ramon, joined me and ran with me to mile 26, pointing out the sign I’d been searching for since 7:30 a.m. … “Finish”.

As Ramon came out to run with me, from the sidelines David came running. Yelling and pumping his arms he cheered me on and it was by far the best moment of the race.

I can’t begin to put into words what I felt. From the moment I woke up I was determined to have a fantastic time no matter what happened. Not once did I waiver, but kept on smiling, nearly laughing at times with delight. Even when I slowed at mile 14 and had to walk, my spirits stayed high. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. When I let myself really think about what I was doing, I nearly cried. I took on a challenge that seemed impossible to me only a few months ago and despite setbacks, I stuck with it and saw it through to the end. There I was with over 4,300 people (over 21,000 ran the half) running a marathon. It boggled my mind. In a few hours, I would cross the finish line and officially be a marathoner!

I couldn’t have done it though without your support and I really mean that. Everyone has been so great these last few months from friends and family with encouraging words to an understanding boss as I left early every Tuesday. It seemed crazy in December when I uttered the words “I’m training for a marathon” and the looks of surprise that greeted me told me you thought I was a bit crazy, too. Yet, everyone offered nothing but support. Thank you to everyone that sent me emails, commented on my blog and listened to my endless (and usually unnecessarily detailed) stories about training. I’m sure you’re ready to hear me talk about something else! Thank you for everything.

Most importantly, thank you for your donations. You money has gone to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and will help find a cure for cancer. The research they do for blood cancer, will help patients of every type of cancer. You’re helping us cross the ultimate finish line of finding a cure.

Thank you to my parents and sister who supported me through this. I know you probably thought I lost my mind after being a certified couch potato my whole life. Still, you asked how things were going, offered advice and helped me make it through this.

I’d be fired if I didn’t thank David. He suffered through this more than anyone (possibly even more than me!). The early Saturday mornings when my alarm woke him, too. The Friday nights I had to go to bed early. The days I got home from training in tears because my other foot hurt. Everything I went through, he went through, too, but magnified by my rants, tears and long, long, long stories. Somehow he managed to keep on offering hugs, understanding and an endless stream of encouraging words. What more could I have asked for? The one thing he delivered, a hug at the end of the race when I was sweaty, salty and totally gross. I wouldn’t have hugged me, but he did. Thank you.

Thanks to the coaches. I don’t know if any of you will find this blog and read this, but you made this possible. You taught each of us how to run—uphill, downhill, fast, slow, and any other way it’s possible to run. I hope to keep in touch with you and maybe see you on another TNT team!

This pretty much wraps it up. When the official race photos are in, I’ll post those on Flckr. Until then, thank you for everything.

Sarah

Pacing was the focus of the night as we covered a four mile course. The goal was to keep each mile pace within a 10 – 15 second window. I ran with a girl I met on Saturday’s run who turned out to be a bit faster than me, but at a pace I could keep up with. We didn’t quite hit the goal of the run, but instead managed a negative split, which is the second half of your run being faster than the first. I was a little shocked when I looked at our split times of 9:19, 9:24, 8:50, and 8:39. The impressive part was that the last mile of the course was the hardest with a fairly long, steep hill. I didn’t feel like I was going faster that last leg of the run, but instead contributed my higher effort and heavier breathing to the hill.

To finish the workout and find I ran it better than I expected was a huge boost to my morale. I felt again as I had earlier in the season, that I was undertaking a challenge I could manage. On Saturday, I wasn’t so sure about myself or my decision to run this marathon. Today, the enthusiasm is back and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s long run. At least mentally, I’ll be ready for it.

It’s pretty incredible to think that something so deadly could lead to a treatment that has saved so many lives. It also demonstrates that research by organizations like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society into a specific type of cancer can help lead to cures and therapies that will help patients facing other forms of this disease. The cure just may come from the most unlikely place.

I want you to meet Dean Allen Christensen, just one of the lives in the mosaic. His story is like that of so many blood cancer patients—one of pain, challenges, struggles and most importantly hope.

It is for people like him that I am running. It is people like him that your donations help save.

Take up his challenge. What have you done today to solve the problem?

It’s the first “recycling and donation directory” on the web for your old sneakers. That’s right, it’s like sneaker heaven giving your trusty, but worn out shoes a second life. If there’s still some mileage left in your kicks, this site will help you donate them to someone in the U.S. or abroad that could really use them. If your sneakers have outlived their purpose on the track or roadway, Nike will offer them reincarnation as a tennis court, running track, indoor basketball court, or more.

Through a partnership with Zappos, Recycled Runners also helps you do good when you replace your donated footwear by having 50% of the proceeds go to the charity of the month. So, stop reading this and do some good with those old shoes cluttering your closet floor!

And I thought the air in New York City was bad!