It's Almost Here!!

I have been thinking that I should put something on my blog, but there always seems to be something else that needs to be done, and blogging gets put on the back burner.  Well, the marathon is less than 2 weeks away, so I thought I should move it to the front!

I can't believe the marathon is almost here!  I have been sticking to my training schedule pretty closely.  Thanks to my running buddies who are willing to get up early and run with me, I haven't had to miss very many miles. My Saturday run last week was my longest training run - a whopping 22 miles!  Only 4 away from the full run!  It took me forever, but I was able to keep running the whole time with a couple of water/gatorade breaks and a few stop-and-stretch breaks.  There were times when I would find myself moving so slowly!  I would have to give myself a pep talk and get my pace back up again.

Kayla was asking me about the run and and wondered how I kept from being bored and what I would think about while running.  For some reason this is not a problem for me.  I think about Callie, of course.  I think about my family and what all is going on in their lives.  I think about friends I know who are going through hard times.  I think about work and what I am going to teach the next day or week.  I think about how my feet are landing, how my knees are holding up, which street to run on next, how my heart and lungs are working and just about everything else you can come up with to think about.  I don't wear headphones because I need to be able to hear the traffic around me, so I sing to myself a lot.

A couple of weeks ago was the 5K on the Greenway that I have run as a tradition every Autumn Leaves weekend.  (The picture of me with Callie on my first blog post was taken after that race last year.)  Well, it took me until the day before the race to decide to run it this year.  I wasn't sure whether or not to run it because I was supposed to have a 14 mile training run that day.  So, I got up early, ran 8 miles, showed up in time for the starting lineup instructions, ran the 5K (I PR'd at 27:57, a 9.01 pace!), and then finished the last 3 miles of my training run.  It felt good to run that well, even though I am still not at a competitive pace.  I can feel myself becoming stronger as a runner.

I am so thankful to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor.  My family has been so understanding when I had to be gone for hours at a time to do my long runs.  My running friends have encouraged me and helped me improve my pace.  So many have made donations to the GSF to help support the research that is so important for Callie and other children like her.  I know that without all this support, I would not have the motivation to stick with it.

I saw a quote at work one day recently, and I thought it expressed very well how I feel about running this marathon for Callie.  It goes like this:  "There's a difference between interest and commitment.  When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit.  When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."  -- Art Turock        

Each time I have done a blog post I have put a link to our fundraising page.  I was about to let this go and not even mention it this time, but I have to remember that without the fundraising, it would just be running a marathon for fun.  I started into this to join with Jessica's efforts to make a difference.  I have to believe that every effort, no matter how small, can help find a cure for SMA.  It's better than doing nothing, at least, so if you are able to help with our efforts, that would be awesome!  I'm putting the link again, and if you aren't comfortable with online donations, you can just send a check to The GSF.  I love their motto and slogan...NEVER GIVE UP.....Move your body so one day they can too.

 I can't even begin to express how much I would love for Callie to be able to get up and walk, but I also can't begin to express how much her sweet little spirit has blessed my life.  She is so fun to be around, and she is learning so much. Her mom and dad have shown so much courage and strength of character as they carry on each day and teach her about the world around her.  I am including some of my favorite pictures of Callie with this post.  I love them because when I see them I think of how joyful Callie is and how much joy she brings into the lives of all around her.   

Thanks again for your support.  Wish me luck in Richmond!!