On 3 November 2013, I completed my first half marathon in 2:38:39!!!!
I trained for over 5 months. I raised a total of $2300 (my initial fund-raising goal was $1500, so to surpass this was absolutely awesome). And the total funds raised for this season by me & my teammates was over 96K.
The race course wasn't too harsh and I could tell immediately that my training had paid off. I was amazed at the amount of people who were out watching & supporting the runners. In addition, TNT had specifically set up support for us all along the race course. For me, this really enhanced the race experience & made a huge impact on getting to the finish line. Our coaches also showed up at random places along the course to check in us, offer support, etc. Some of the most memorable moments included running past little red-headed Lindsey (she's in remission & doing very well) and she was cheering her heart out for every TNT runner. At Mile 6, TNT owned the curve & little island that divided the road with signs of support out everywhere, folks cheering us on and there was a line of kiddos each giving us a high five as we ran past. I nearly missed one little girl, but she ran up along side of me and made certain that she high-fived me. PRICELESS! Then after crossing the finish line, I had a survivor embrace me in a huge hug thanking me. She had been there since 0600 to see everyone off at the start and she was there at the finish line in the chilly, windy weather (standing for hours mind you, as the full marathoners went as long as 5+ hours), but this didn't stop her. She stood there waiting for EVERY single person on my team to cross the finish line so she could personally hug them & say thank you. I can't even try to put this moment into words.....
To those of you who made a contribution to this mission: THANK YOU
It is because of you, that a newly diagnosed individual has access to information, resources & support networks as they begin their fight.
It is because of you, that a patient received their treatment today.
It is because of you, that a patient received a surgery they needed to
remove cancer from their body.
It is because of you, that caregivers have access to support, education & resources that they need to care for their loved one.
It is because of you, that a patient made it to/from their chemo treatments.
It is because of you that another patient entered into remission!
It is because of you that I was able to run to help beat cancer!
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| My hydration pack w/ names of angels & survivors |
On race day, I was up at 0330 & out the door by 0500 to make the hour drive to the race course. The first thing I learned about race day was that arriving to a race an hour ahead of time, DOES NOT WORK! While parking was very well orchestrated, I discovered that the words I read prior to race day about the port-o-pot lines was never more true ("get in the port-o-pot line, after you go, get in line again"). I quickly signed in at our TNT table (it's one of the golden rules of TNT to sign in and out of every training, race, etc. to assure the safety of every team member) and then I made a mad dash to the port-o-pot line. I've stood in my fair share of port-o-pots lines, but race day port-o-pot lines take it to a whole new level.
Like a true rugger (& hiker), I contemplated finding some woods, but then it occurred to me that based on the geographical location that would mean peeing on campus property or in someone's backyard to which would potentially lead to being arrested to which would be a really bad idea. As I got closer to the port-o-pots, a guy with a megaphone began barking at us saying some single digit number for how many minutes we had til the race started. I looked up the hill and saw the mass of runners lined up at the start, but my bladder told me it didn't care where we started in the pack and that I was staying in the port-o-pot line until said bladder was emptied. Runners started falling out of the line & finally I had my port-o-pot moment. I busted out of the lovely plastic green house, sprinted up the hill to grab my pack & headed towards the start. I stopped shy of the start to get my pack on & fish out my yellow Turtle towel that I always run with. It was given to me a few years ago by Paigeann in one of the surprise treat boxes that she'd mail to me when I least expected it. I was now ready to run & decided to just leap over the barricades hitting the start. From here it was "Onward Turtle, Onward".....
The race course wasn't too harsh and I could tell immediately that my training had paid off. I was amazed at the amount of people who were out watching & supporting the runners. In addition, TNT had specifically set up support for us all along the race course. For me, this really enhanced the race experience & made a huge impact on getting to the finish line. Our coaches also showed up at random places along the course to check in us, offer support, etc. Some of the most memorable moments included running past little red-headed Lindsey (she's in remission & doing very well) and she was cheering her heart out for every TNT runner. At Mile 6, TNT owned the curve & little island that divided the road with signs of support out everywhere, folks cheering us on and there was a line of kiddos each giving us a high five as we ran past. I nearly missed one little girl, but she ran up along side of me and made certain that she high-fived me. PRICELESS! Then after crossing the finish line, I had a survivor embrace me in a huge hug thanking me. She had been there since 0600 to see everyone off at the start and she was there at the finish line in the chilly, windy weather (standing for hours mind you, as the full marathoners went as long as 5+ hours), but this didn't stop her. She stood there waiting for EVERY single person on my team to cross the finish line so she could personally hug them & say thank you. I can't even try to put this moment into words..... |
| Crossing the finish line!!! |
I don't remember much about crossing the finish line b/c my brain was foggy & everything seemed so surreal. I do remember hitting Mile 12 and having to pull myself together to prevent myself from having an anxiety attack (literally) from the overload of emotion that I was experiencing. I literally told myself "pull it together, you gotta finish this, having an anxiety attack this close to the finish line is not an option, you can meltdown after you cross the line, let's go Turtle, let's do this". I immediately snapped out of it and trotted onward. Two seconds later, I remember seeing Coach and her hubby. I remember him giving me his "hell yeah" face and she got up in my face making it crystal clear to me that I was gonna finish. It was actually kind of funny. I still have her facial expression from that moment embedded in my memory. HAHA! The next thing I recall is hearing my name being announced as I came up on the finish line. I remember thinking how lame it sounded as they announced my full name instead of just saying "Turtle". After crossing the line, I blew right past the medal folks. Next thing I know, one of the medal folks had stopped me, threw a medal over my head and I just looked at him like "what are you doing"? I had completely forgotten you get a medal. HAAAAA!!!
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