Never underestimate 26.2 miles

WOW!!! What an experience! That's right today was the big day, October 21,2007 will go down as an unbelievable day. We started out at 5:30am going out for a Team in Training group picture. By 6:15 we were walking down to the start and by 7:10am the race started. The past week has been very emotional and the whole thing was very surreal. I started running and instantly felt my knees refusing to run. I was in so much pain. I thought maybe it was just because I was cold and it would work itself out in a mile or two. One person passed me noting how I was struggling and I wasn't at the 1 mile marker yet. I'm sure I started freaking out but by 1 plus I made the decision to stop running and hoped to walk the kinks out. It felt really good to walk. I attempted to run again and knew instantly it wasn't going to work. I decided that I was better off walking as much as I could and somewhat quickly. I had a chance, keep my pace under 15 minutes and I could finish under the 6 hours and 30 minute time frame. I was trucking going a strong 14 minute mile until 10 miles. I started hyperventilating and I hit the wall. I didn't think my legs were going to move one more inch. But they did and I kept going. At 13 miles Bill met up with me and knew I wasn't doing good. He started walking with me, he really was trying to keep me in pace. Having trained the last 5 months to run, my body wasn't to happy with me. I was using muscles I haven't abused. By 14 the Team in Training coaches started to appear checking up on me. By 17 we had a coach with us. Bill wanted to know if I wanted to stop. Of course I wanted to stop, but my body kept moving. The bus came up at 18 and said get on you're done. I was done too, but I just kept walking. Then there were 2 coaches walking with us. I was in it and at that point there was no turning back the fastest way out was to keep going or take a short cut. One point I asked for friends to come pick me up, but I kept walking. By mile 23 there were 3 coaches with us. And I kept walking. The spectators had gone home, the course was broke down, the fluid stations were gone, but I kept walking. By mile 25 there were 8 coaches walking with us. I was the last one, the very last one. By the time I crossed the finish line, well where the finish line was anyway I had 11 coaches and an unofficial time of 6:50. Twenty minutes to late, but I finished. I don't really know what it was that kept me walking but I couldn't stop no matter how bad I want too. I didn't run, I didn't finish with an official time but I'm still very proud of myself. Bill for not training, he walked 13.1 miles today with me and I couldn't have finished without him. This has been my journey, I've found a power within me I hoped was there and now I know is. I finished my journey not the race but my journey. All in all we, my group of friends, raised over $10,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We've done an amazing thing today and I've extremely proud of everyone of them for finishing their own race!