Run Around the World With Me!

Have you heard of Earthathon, the relay around the earth? Until a couple of weeks ago when Laura invited me to join the relay as part of the #RunderfulRunners team, I hadn't heard of it. The idea is so cool:

Run anywhere. One team, one planet.

Join Us Today.

Be A Part of Something Big.

Become an "Earthathoner"

So I signed up and started tweeting all of my runs towards the #RunderfulRunners relay around the world. And it has been So. Much. Fun. The #RunderfulRunners and other #Earthathon teams are so supportive and engaging! Playful tweets, tweets of encouragement, tweets filled with fun emoticons and so much more. I really feel like I'm on a virtual relay team with an important mission. And everyone wins - when one team finishes the relay, they will join other teams to help them finish the relay. Read more about the founder of Earthathon and how he does it here.

Will you join me on the #RunderfulRunners team? Become a member of the Earthathon team, the relay where everybody wins! 

Signs Point to Yes?!

I've had kind of a crazy whirlwind afternoon that I never would have anticipated this morning. Long story short...I might be running my first marathon this year. Read on for the longer version...

People often ask me when I am going to run a marathon. I tell them I have no plans to do so, I'm not even sure it's on my bucket list. That I don't have the time to train for it, maybe when Freddy is older I'll think about it. And I believed that. I had no twinges or doubts when I said it. My co-workers reminded me that I just said this yesterday when we were taking a prospective colleague out to lunch.

Then, today, the stars aligned to show me a path I didn't even know I wanted to be on. It was kismet. Here is what happened:

• Our staff meeting ended a few minutes early, and I was extra hungry, so I got my salad out of the fridge and took a mental break to read Running Lonely's Imaginary Tour of Runner's World (you should go read this after finishing my blog post - it's really, really good).
• Not only was the blog post good, but the comments were exciting! Bart Yasso had seen the post and wanted to invite Running Lonely (aka Marsden) to visit the Runner's World Campus! I headed over to twitter to send Marsden a congratulatory message.
• I sent the message and then noticed this tweet from Marsden:

• I glanced at the clock - it was 12:00 exactly - registration had just opened! Like a pavlovian dog, I clicked the link.
• What happened next is kind of a blur. I checked the date of the race, confirmed that 17.75k is 11 miles and in-line with my Cherry Blossom training, and had a flash of  "I really want to do this!" that seemed genuine rather than pavlovian. 
• I started filling out forms and clicking continue, knowing I was unlikely to get in and it would sell out almost immediately. I had flashbacks to how impossible it was to register Rick for MCM in 2013. And yet, it was smooth, and quick, and by 12:04 I had my confirmation email. By 12:08 it was sold out.
• And then the reality started to set in for me - finishing the MCM 17.75 gives you guaranteed entry to the 40th Marine Corps Marathon on October 25, 2015! How do you pass that up?!

I'm still thinking about it, weighing the possibility in my mind. And for the first time, I'm really, seriously considering it. And thinking that maybe it is on my bucket list after all. On my commute home I was reading the new issue of Runner's World on my iPad and I saw this:

Maybe today really is someday. Maybe all signs do point to yes.

Vicariously Coming Full Circle

Today's run was a roller coaster of emotions for me, as I vicariously came full circle through Lynn. Our training run was moved from the usual location at the =PR= Reston store and the W&OD trail due to snow and ice. We relocated to Fox Mill Elementary as our home base, with the 3-mile stretch of Viking/Pinecrest as our substitute trail.

I ran here once last year during Cherry Blossom training when we similarly affected by snow and ice. It was a big day for me. I ran seven miles. It was the furthest I had run in more than 20 years and I conquered some mental demons that day. Today, as I headed towards Fox Mill, I thought about Lynn getting ready to do the same thing. Lynn's top distance before today was a 10k, and she was eager to see a 7 on her Garmin.

As a coach, I was thrilled to see how many of our runners came out for this morning's run. Snow and ice, coupled with cold weather and an unfamiliar location, make it easy to say no. To stay in bed, stay home, put off the long run until the weather improves later in the weekend. But our runners came out! In droves! Coach Mike brought the water and Gatorade coolers, Coach Laura brought Dunkin' Donuts Coffee and Munchkins, we were ready!

Look at that turnout! Amazing given the circumstances.
photo courtesy of Laurentina Photograhy

Running with Lynn, Karen, Christina, and Jamie, I reflected on that run last year. That was the day I met Karen, and we discovered we had similar paces. We've run countless miles together since then. I can't believe I've only known her for a year. I can't believe I've only known Lynn for a year and a half. My mind boggles at the thought that there was a time, not so long ago, that these women - all four of them, and so many others too numerous to list here - were not yet in my life!

Running on Viking Drive with Lynn
photo courtesy of Laurentina Photograhy

We ran three miles and took a quick break at the school for fueling. GUs, Honey Stinger Chews, and munchkins were consumed. I won't tell you who ate what, but all were effective at giving us the needed pick-me-ups. We headed back out for the next four miles, and long story short, ended up doing five more instead.

Karen, Lynn, and me - This one goes to 8!!

I could see the sense of accomplishment and pride all over Lynn's face. She told me that she now knew she would be able to run the ten miles of Cherry Blossom. I told her she always had the ability to run the ten miles, the difference is that she now believed she had the ability. And for so many of us, that's really the battle, isn't it? Knowing it, believing it. That's the battle I won last year, and today I watched Lynn win it, too. Full circle.

Lynn celebrates with munchkins & coffee