Crossing the finish line...

I'm proud to say that marathon day has come and gone and I survived...God gets all the Glory on that one!

On that Sunday 33,000 runners (9.000 full marathoners and 24,000 half marathoners) participated in PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix, AZ.  Of those, 1,100 of us were with Team in Training to benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.  Together we raised 3.6 million dollars!  In our Kentucky & Southern Indiana Chapter alone we raised nearly $100,000.  Pretty cool!

Race day itself could not have been more perfect, as far as weather goes.  Sunrise was about 41-42, but it quickly rose to 65 and it was a beautiful sunshiney day in Phoenix.  My biggest problem throughout was with my knees.  I opted for Tylenol over Ibuprofen beforehand and it just wasn't a wise choice on my part.  I might as well have taken nothing at all.  But I was there to finish so I adjusted my IT bands and pressed on. 

I had also struggled with monotony while training before; just the whole forward motion thing got boring sometimes.  But there was no time to be bored on this course.  It's called the Rock n' Roll Marathon because there were live bands and radio stations planted throughout the course.  Not to mention all the people on the sidelines cheering you on.  That made the biggest difference.  It was awesome.

My goal in all this was to make one small difference in the lives of people somewhere that needed help….that needed a little hope.  Did I do that?  I’ll never really know.  In my heart I think that I did.  Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” That makes me feel like I did it for Him, which was on my heart the entire time I ran...talk about inspiring!

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of Team in Training.  Twenty years after it began, the Leukemia Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) is the world’s largest endurance sports training program, providing coaching and support for people to cross the finish line at marathons, half marathons, triathlons and 100-mile cycling events. Over 360,000 participants have raised more than $850 million for lifesaving cancer research and to help blood cancer patients live longer, better lives.

I'm not sure that I'll run another half marathon anytime soon.  Some people are just born to run, others are just born to work out.  So bring on the working out!!  I would like to do a Triathlon with Team in Training next year, if my schedule permits.  I'll keep you posted on that.  If you would like to participate in a marathon, half marathon, triathlon, or 100-mile cycling event please go to www.teamintraining.com and it will direct you to the next informational meeting.  I promise you won't be sorry that you did it.