The 'wall' came tumbling down!

Yesterdays 20.4 mile run was a hard and amazing run.  Thanks to three fellow Annapolis Strider runners I made it ALL the way to the end.  I had pre-set a plan to incorporate walking every 45 minutes and ended up throwing that completely out of the window.  This was only possible because I ran with Kathy, Rachel and another women, whose name I cannot remember, and without them I would not have made it.


The B&A trail collapsing between mile 7 and 8 (we usually turn around at mile 8.5) so we had to start the run by going over the Naval Academy Bridge, down King George Street to the Academy's Gate 1 and then back to where we started at the park.  That is right we ran the Naval Bridge twice and I cannot believe I'm going to say this - it was EASY!  I think the fact that on the way back over the sun was raising and the sky was pink, purple and blue - so beautiful.  So from here we ran to the B&A trail down to mile 6.5 and back to the start.


The woman I was running with kept the mood light, funny and were full of energy that was contagious.  I owe Kathy a HUGE THANK YOU as a few times I fell back a bit and she slowed down to stay with me and helped me catch back up, especially the last two miles which always try to take me down.  She remembered me saying (around mile 6) that I had been struggling the last two weeks and she wanted to see me break down the wall.  Boy did I!  I only walked a bit after each water stop (usually only 1 minute) and the rest was all running.  Kathy kept me talking and my mind away from letting Evil pop up (see previous blog if this sounds strange).  Around mile 14 I spotted the Donnelly family along the trail - there was a Kids Tri along part of the trail and one of her kids must have been in it.  I couldn't stop to say hi, for fear of not being able to get going again, so I yelled out and received a huge cheer back which helped me pick up my pace!  Thank you Donnelly family!!


At the end of the run I thought I could have done another 6.  I really wanted to cry when we stopped because I was so happy and overwhelmed with what I had just accomplished.  The tears were in my eyes and I had chills all over.  Instead, because I didn't want the ladies to see me cry, I just kept saying thank you and I couldn't do it without them.  Now that the wall is down I really hope it doesn't have a chance to build back up over the next 42 days.

Having raised over $1,500 I have received my race days shirt!

After my run I rushed home, got cleaned up and headed to Paige's first soccer game.  I wasn't moving very fast (and was dealing with some unexpected chaffing) but there was no way I was going to miss it.  Luckily I got there just as she was being put into the game.  Though her team did not win they had a great time!  I was very proud of Paige and her team!

Paige at the end of the game

The rest of they day is a bit of a blur for me because fatique set in and so did the soreness from my run. Because the kids had been good all week we agreed to let them have a sleepover in Paige's bed.  This lasted one hour due to the fact that they would not stop giggling and chatting.

You can see it in their eyes that there was going to be NO sleeping

Today (Sunday) has been a relaxing day with errands and cleaning.  Oh, and of course football.  James game me my anniversary gift early today - we celebrate our 8 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday!  James gave me my first Chargers jersey!!!  I have wanted one for so long.  I have been wearing it all day with the hopes they will win todays game.

CHARG - ERS!!!

As always thank you everyone for your support and continued interest in my training.  It all motivates me to keep going and try harder.  One thing that really motivate me are your donation!  I have raised $1,790.00 of my new $2,000.00 goal.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation click here and visit my fundraising page.  For anyone who donates $50.00 or more I will write your name on my marathon day shirt.

Marathon Shirt Names:

Mom & Dad

Linda B.

Matt, Cheryl & Yuengling 

Jenn & Randy Smith

George S.

Don & Candace W.

Jo Ann P.

Todd N.
Shannon & Stan K.

Ada M.

The Buckner Family

The Wooley Family

The Wolff Family

The Lemke Family

The Perret Family

The Pollitz Family

The Dunham Family

The Leslie Family

The Harris Family

The Hannon Family