A lot of you have asked, either through conversations via phone, e-mail or in person, how I am really doing? As you discovered through the post about Josh's leave and other posts since then, I have been running while Josh has been away and even participated in a few races this summer. It has been very therapeutic in dealing with the daily highs and lows. A good run can completely change my day and a long, hard run makes sleeping easier at times. Well, as some of you know, in March, I signed up for the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, which will be held on Sunday, October 12 -- 39 days and counting!!
After registering for the marathon and like several other runners, I submitted my response to the question, "What is your marathon story?", sharing my reason for signing up and pursuing yet another marathon. Since Bank of America is the title sponsor, they have created the "Inspiration Bank". There are a handful of runners who post diary entries (aka blog) about their running - sharing their trials and tribulations of training, pieces of advice and big accomplishments. There is also the Expert Q & A feature, where past marathon champions provide some advice on staying the course and finishing the marathon. The final feature of the Inspiration Bank is the Featured Runner section. Can you guess where this is going? Yes, out of 45,000 runners in this year's field, I was selected to be the Featured Runner for September! My story is posted on the website and will be included in some electronic newsletters for other runners to read, and hopefully gain some inspiration for those 18, 20 and/or 22 mile runs that will occupy our time in the weeks ahead. Please check out the Chicago Marathon site to read the story!
If interested, you can also sign-up for runner tracking (now available!), where you will receive updates when I cross the timing mats at 15k (9.3 miles), 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles), 35k (21.7 miles) and the finish line!
My training has gone really well thus far. I am a much stronger runner for this marathon than I was for the last one. I have a great "coach" here in Cortland. Harland works upstairs in my building and has ran close to 70 marathons. He is a coach for Teams in Training and has provided me with some amazing advice. Instead of running the entire marathon, I am using the run/walk method. For training, I run 9 minutes and then power walk 1 minute. In the end, it will add approximately 30 seconds to my per mile pace, but it allows you to "refresh" each mile, giving you more energy throughout the entire race, and will hopefully alleviate the impact of "hitting the wall" around mile 21. Harland actually used this approach and qualified for the Boston Marathon! So, here's hoping!
This is all very exciting and a great way for Josh and I to connect long-distance. I always send him updates of my running, pretty much after each run, but especially the long distance runs! He actually did not know that I submitted the story until I sent it to him recently (even after he was home for leave). He is just as excited as I am and will be running with me that day - in spirit and in heart!
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