Here We Are, Face to Face

This is it, guys.

Tomorrow I leave for Anchorage for my half-marathon.

I'm already crying, don't worry. This is so emotional for me!

It's hard for me to not to be a bit disappointed in myself. Five months ago, I set out to run a marathon to raise money and awareness for blood cancers. I was only able to meet half that goal, and it still stings a little that I failed to do what I set out to do. But when I think about what it has taken for me to even get to this point, then I am very proud. Because what a ridiculous roller coaster these past few months have been for me since I began training in February:

• I got the flu while traveling for work, and as a result, I began training two weeks late.
• I ran a 10K - my very first race since high school!
• However, I overtrained, and suffered from iliotibial band syndrome (one of the most painful "injuries" I've ever experienced), which would define my training endeavors for the rest of the season.
  
• I battled iliotibial band syndrome, and found my workaround - swimming, spinning, and the elliptical machine.
  
• I managed to run 10.5 miles without massive pain over a month and a half before my event, which included running over the Golden Gate Bridge!
• I raised over $4,000 (and still have so many wonderful people to thank!) for blood cancer research.
• I was hospitalized (for an afternoon) with a kidney stone due to dehydration less than a month before the race.
• Did I fail to mention that I moved from Houston to San Francisco without a job? Oh yes, there was that, too.
  
• I redefined who I was in terms of stamina, endurance, and self-worth. Over and over and over again.
  

And yet, none of that compares to what those battling blood cancers have to deal with on a daily basis.

So, while I might still carry residual disappointment about not being able to run the full marathon, that's only when I look backwards and think about what I can't and couldn't do. What I've come to realize - right now - is that when I look ahead of me, there's a lot that I have done and can do and will do for blood cancer research and myself.

And I've done amazing, amazing things. Which makes me an amazing, amazing person. Backed by an amazing, amazing cause.

Full speed ahead! Anchorage tomorrow! GO TEAM!