I did it! I ran a marathon! It took me 5 hours and 8 minutes (roughly). By the time I was done it was close to 90 degrees and the Marathon course had been closed because of the high temperatures. Fortunately, they let us finish but encouraged us to walk. Ice and water and the incredibly faithful support of Cindy and Hollis, Julie and Avis, Martha and Marcella, Lois, Chuck and Jean, the Ono family, Paul and Cindy, Ed, Tami, Grace and Ben, and LuAnn and so many others carried me through. It was an incredibly tough but exhilerating experience. As soon as I entered the chute for final two or three blocks of the race I almost began hyperventilating with the emotion of the day. I ended strong and proud of my accomplishment and so grateful for all of the support I've received along the way.
The first 13 miles or so of the race I managed to stick with the pace group that would have completed the race in 4:45. That's a pace of 10:53 per mile. When I reached the 13 mile mark I was 2:22 into the race and the temperature was really starting to climb. Unfortunately, shortly after that the course took us around Warner Park and along Sherman Ave. where there was little to no shade and lots of pavement and traffic. I really started to feel tough as I could feel my body temperature rising. It was a struggle to keep going. No amount of water was enough during this stretch and it was toward the end of that time that they closed the course and started to encourage people to walk. I did take many more walk breaks than I might have otherwise but I was determined to finish the race as strongly as possible.
Hollis and Cindy stuck with me throughout the race and were so incredibly helpful getting me ice and gu and water and encouragement right when I needed it. I truly couldn't have done this without them and also without Julie and all the other supporters who seemed to show up at just the right time to cheer and shout words of encouragement. It was an incredible experience of the community of love and support that surrounds me and that was invested in this effort. I am humbled and grateful.
My favorite radio program is "This American Life" and I had decided to download an episode of this program to my MP3 player to listen to during the race. When I went to the website I discovered that one of their most recent shows was titled "Island Time" and was a series of stories about life in Haiti after the earthquake. How perfect! And so as I approached 3:30 into the race I turned on my MP3 player to listen to this program. It was so well done - thoughtful and interesting. They had an in-depth report of the challenges of trying to navigate the complex network of Haitian government organizations and NGOs and Haitian culture and history in order to provide support to the Haitian people that would empower them and actually be helpful. I found the reporting sensitive and insightful. It was really wonderful to listen to this program for an hour of my run and remember that although I was struggling for a few hours to complete a challenge it was a challenge I chose and it had a specific ending point.
There is no specific ending point to the struggles and challenges of life in Haiti. The opportunity to raise money through this marathon effort to support people in Haiti that I've met and that I know are doing good things with the funds we provide to them fills me with gratitude and also humility. I lift up prayers every day to the people in Haiti who are trying with such faithfulness and ingenuity and hope for their country to make a difference for the good and I feel honored to be a small part of this work. I also pray for all the people around the world who with generally honorable intentions are involved in Haiti also trying to do good. I pray for humility, compassion and the wisdom needed to do as much good as possible. Thank you all for your generous support of this effort and for lifting me and the people of Haiti in your prayers. Soon, I will be able to report how much money was raised for Haiti through this effort and properly thank all of you for coming along on this journey with me.
I do believe I have been carried through this effort by God and by all the people who gave money to Haiti Partners MCC in honor of this effort and who have offered prayers and words of encouragement along the way. I owe a major debt of gratitude to Dr. Dawn at Pro Health Chiropractic who was instrumental in keeping my body healthy and to Kristen at Orange Show Gym for being my personal trainer and fan. And last but certainly not least, I am so grateful to my dear, sweet Cindy who put up with all these hours of training and who was right there every moment when I needed her and when I didn't. She is the best partner a girl could ask for. Thank you.
Amen.
The first 13 miles or so of the race I managed to stick with the pace group that would have completed the race in 4:45. That's a pace of 10:53 per mile. When I reached the 13 mile mark I was 2:22 into the race and the temperature was really starting to climb. Unfortunately, shortly after that the course took us around Warner Park and along Sherman Ave. where there was little to no shade and lots of pavement and traffic. I really started to feel tough as I could feel my body temperature rising. It was a struggle to keep going. No amount of water was enough during this stretch and it was toward the end of that time that they closed the course and started to encourage people to walk. I did take many more walk breaks than I might have otherwise but I was determined to finish the race as strongly as possible.
Hollis and Cindy stuck with me throughout the race and were so incredibly helpful getting me ice and gu and water and encouragement right when I needed it. I truly couldn't have done this without them and also without Julie and all the other supporters who seemed to show up at just the right time to cheer and shout words of encouragement. It was an incredible experience of the community of love and support that surrounds me and that was invested in this effort. I am humbled and grateful.
My favorite radio program is "This American Life" and I had decided to download an episode of this program to my MP3 player to listen to during the race. When I went to the website I discovered that one of their most recent shows was titled "Island Time" and was a series of stories about life in Haiti after the earthquake. How perfect! And so as I approached 3:30 into the race I turned on my MP3 player to listen to this program. It was so well done - thoughtful and interesting. They had an in-depth report of the challenges of trying to navigate the complex network of Haitian government organizations and NGOs and Haitian culture and history in order to provide support to the Haitian people that would empower them and actually be helpful. I found the reporting sensitive and insightful. It was really wonderful to listen to this program for an hour of my run and remember that although I was struggling for a few hours to complete a challenge it was a challenge I chose and it had a specific ending point.
There is no specific ending point to the struggles and challenges of life in Haiti. The opportunity to raise money through this marathon effort to support people in Haiti that I've met and that I know are doing good things with the funds we provide to them fills me with gratitude and also humility. I lift up prayers every day to the people in Haiti who are trying with such faithfulness and ingenuity and hope for their country to make a difference for the good and I feel honored to be a small part of this work. I also pray for all the people around the world who with generally honorable intentions are involved in Haiti also trying to do good. I pray for humility, compassion and the wisdom needed to do as much good as possible. Thank you all for your generous support of this effort and for lifting me and the people of Haiti in your prayers. Soon, I will be able to report how much money was raised for Haiti through this effort and properly thank all of you for coming along on this journey with me.
I do believe I have been carried through this effort by God and by all the people who gave money to Haiti Partners MCC in honor of this effort and who have offered prayers and words of encouragement along the way. I owe a major debt of gratitude to Dr. Dawn at Pro Health Chiropractic who was instrumental in keeping my body healthy and to Kristen at Orange Show Gym for being my personal trainer and fan. And last but certainly not least, I am so grateful to my dear, sweet Cindy who put up with all these hours of training and who was right there every moment when I needed her and when I didn't. She is the best partner a girl could ask for. Thank you.
Amen.
