Am I really going to blog?: Lesson learned!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Lesson learned!

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

Sunday marked t-20 days to the Athens Half Marathon. Thought it would be a good idea to get in one last long training run. It was also an opportunity to give the clothes & shoes I was planning to wear a trial run too. If you want to see the breakdown, checkout my garmin site at: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/156933272

In some ways, I am glad that I did this little experiment. I certainly learned some valuable lessons. The capri pants & shoes were fine. The shirt - black, long-sleeved Under Armor: TOO FREAKING HOT! & it kept riding up on me. The vest may have been ok if it were 10 degrees cooler. The pockets were handy to keep my energy gels in, but that is about it. The absolute worst of all? The stupid freaking sports bra!OMG - I have the worst case of chafing ever! In the most inconvenient of places where every bra that I wear will rub. and burn. and maybe bleed a little.

Guess I need to invest in some of this stuff:

Also, I think I may have mentioned that it was HOT?!? The wonderful city where I run has a beautiful bike path. Unfortunately, the water fountains have been turned off for the winter. I had to go over 6 miles to get to the lone working fountain. Now I am thinking I may need one of these as well - the Handy Hydtration. Holds 10 ounces of water, velcroed to your hand.

I don't want to get carried away with the hydration though cause until the fountains get turned back on, the bathrooms are locked up too! Don't want another episode of peeing in the weeds!

So the moral of this story? Should have taken a marker to my new socks - scratch out bad & add in "dumb!"

****
Mileage update:

22.12 + 17.72 + 244.95 = 284. 79

Until next time,
Lori

3 comments:

AnonymousMarch 13, 2012 at 1:05 AM
NO, NO, NO!!!! Not a "dumb" ass by any stretch of the imagination!! Actually the savvy runner who knows to check her gear before she races!! Skip the water bottle velcroed to your hands though!! There will be water and some gatorade stations along the route. If you go the the Athens Marathon 1/2 Marathon site, they should identify the water stations. Boy scouts have "manned" ("boyed"?) them in past years. 8^)
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AnonymousMarch 13, 2012 at 1:07 AM
And yes, YOU are STILL a BAD ASS!!!!!
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Gina SampsonMarch 20, 2012 at 3:12 PM
Where did you get those socks and why havent you worn them to a race yet?????
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I HOPE....

I hope you never have to hear the words, 'Your child has cancer.'

I hope you never have to hear, 'The prognosis is not good.'

I hope you never have to prepare to undergo radiation or chemotherapy, have a port surgically inserted into their chest, be connected to IV poles. Look at you with fear in their eyes and say, 'Don't worry Mommy, everything will be okay.'

I hope you never have to hold your child as they vomit green bile.

I hope you never have to feed them ice chips for lunch.

I hope you never have to watch the 'cure' you pray for slowly take away their identity, as they lose their hair, become skeletal, swell up from steroids, develop severe acne, become barely or unable to walk or move, and look at you with hope in their eyes and say,'It's going to be okay, Mommy.'

I hope that you never have to stay in the hospital for weeks, months, or years at a time, where there is no privacy, sleeping on a slab, with your face to the wall, where you cry in muffled silence.

I hope you never have to see a mother, alone, huddled, in a dark hospital corridor...crying quietly, after just being told, 'There is nothing more we can do.'

I hope you never have to watch a family wander aimlessly, minutes after their child's body has been removed.

I hope you never have to use every bit of energy you have left, with all of this going on around you to remain positive, and the feelings of guilt, sorrow, hope and fear, overwhelm you.

I hope you never have to see a child's head bolted to the table as they receive radiation.

I hope you never have to take your child home (grateful but so afraid) in a wheelchair because the chemo and radiation has damaged their muscles, 35 pounds lighter, pale, bald, and scarred. And they look at you with faith in their eyes and say, 'It's going to be okay Mommy.'

I hope you never have to face the few friends that have stuck beside you and hear them say, 'Thank God that is over with,'...because you know it never will be. Your life becomes a whirl of doctors, blood tests and MRI's and you try to get your life back to 'normal'. While living in mind-numbing fear that any one of those tests could result in hearing the dreaded words...'The cancer has returned' or 'The tumor is growing.' And your friends become even fewer.

I hope you never have to experience any of these things... Because...only then...Will you understand...

(author unknown)