I Eat Half Marathons For Breakfast

I ran the Philadelphia ING Rock N Roll half marathon this past Sunday. That's right, we're a week into the season, and I pulled off 13.1 miles. How did this happen, you ask? I'm not entirely sure myself, but here's what I got so far:

I registered for this race several months ago, because I liked the timing and Nicole was moving to Philly for grad school so we decided to run it together (by "run it together", I mean run the same race at drastically different paces). As race day grew nearer, I'd planned to increase my mileage and frequency of runs, but given the record-setting heat NY experienced this summer and my lack of brain cells, I didn't train at all for this bad boy. Up until the train ride down to Philly I wasn't actually sure I was going to go through with the race, figuring I would hurt myself or not be able to finish.

Well, I ran that race, I didn't hurt myself, and I finished strong! I wanted to take it nice and easy, do a little jog through the streets of Philly, and have a good time. Somehow that's exactly what ended up happening, despite my complete lack of preparation. What I gathered from that race experience is three-fold:

1. Racing is very temperamental... no matter what you do (or don't do) to prepare, there's no guarantee you're going to have a good or bad race
2. A flat course is a gift from God
3. I am in much better shape than I give myself credit for

I think #3 is the most important thing. I have come bananas far since I first started running on the reg. I went from aiming to finish a 10K last year to being able to run a half marathon more or less on a whim. Who am I?!? I am so much stronger and more capable than I think I am.

At the end of the race I was feeling pretty awesome, enjoying the beautiful Philly weather and taking silly pics at the top of the art museum steps (a la Rocky). It was the best I've felt after a race, no question, and I was just feeling the happy when I saw a girl with a t-shirt that said "There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up." I could not agree more, and it was the perfect way to end the perfect race.


National Grandparents Day

Well, I survived my first National Grandparents Day without Grandpa. It was a sad day for me. I wished so badly that I could call him and hear him say "How do you DO?!" as only he could when answering the phone, or even send him a colorful email with large font and lots of exclamation points telling him what a fabulous Grandpa he is. As my uncle said so poignantly at the funeral, he was known for his courage and his encouragement. Two fabulous qualities in a grandparent - ones not easily duplicated. He would always tell me, "You're grand, Rae", and I would always respond back with a smile and say, "So are you - it's in the title".

Today was doubly hard because I ran the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure (for the billionth year in a row) in memory of my stepgrandmother, Judy. For those who have been following this blog since San Diego, you know that Judy died in April of 2003 from breast cancer. I miss her all the time too, and I proudly run that race every year in her honor. Stephen Colbert spoke before the race again this year and as always, he managed to lighten the mood, so that was nice, and then Nancy Brinker (founder of the Susan G. Komen foundation, she is Susan's sister) got us off and running. I ran a nice easy race, got a bunch of great pink swag afterward, and it was a really great atmosphere. We were 25,000 strong, so that's 25,000 people racing toward a cure. It lifts your heart.

Grandparents in general lift my heart. It's such a special relationship, without the tension or baggage of the parent/child relationship, and with a common understanding of family and each other. I am so fortunate to still have 3 wonderful grandparents out there and to all of them I wish a Happy Grandparents Day <3

That's What's Up

Tonight at our final pre-season practice, I ran with the amazing Alicia, who is new to TNT this season. I had met her before (she's a friend of the equally amazing Lindsay "Steel" Brady) but I'd never run with her before. She was a little nervous about completing the work out, which was a 2.05 mile run, but she did GREAT. She was saying how she's not a runner, and she wasn't sure she could make it without stopping, and she wasn't wearing the right shoes, but she sincerely rocked it. Her pacing was perfect, she kept up the conversation the whole time. At the end of it I asked how she felt and she said "I feel great! I can't believe I ran the whole thing!" I remember that feeling of not knowing whether or not I could do something, and the feeling of breaking through those barriers. It's so inspiring to see someone else going through it now.

At the end of practice after we stretched, 2 random guys in the park approached me to ask about what the hell all these people dressed in purple were running for! I told them all about TNT and the training and the races and they were so interested. They were giggling at the thought of seriously attempting 26.2, and they were excited about the coaching aspect, and meeting all the great people. At the end of the conversation one of the guys said "And it's for leukemia? That's what up!" Yes, my new friend Dan, that IS what's up. They'll be joining us this Saturday morning at the pre-kickoff info session, and I am psyched and proud to have convinced them to give us a shot.

I'm feelin' good after that. Even the condensed amount of sunlight can't diminish the inspiration, motivation, and general warmth I feel tonight.