Denver Rock N' Roll Half with TNT

I well surpassed my minimum fundraising requirement and even my own goal.  The incredible generosity of the people in my life means so much because it will make a difference in the lives of those fighting blood cancers.

I have loved my experience with Team in Training.  It's been fun to train with a group and it's been especially fun to train with a number of folks attempting their first distance races.

I raced in honor of my cousin Pat Wittenberg and my friend Kay Kay's Dad, John Webster.

Training has been hard with work travel and school so I toed the line with a whole different mindset than I have previously.  It's not about how fast I run, in fact it's not about me at all.  It's about raising awareness for LLS and raising funds to make a difference in so many lives.

So the expo was like any expo.  Lots of giveaways and lots of things to buy.  I walked out with only giveaways.  Phew.  

The inspiration lunch really was incredible.  Some guy named John from Competitor sports - the organization that puts on Rock N' Roll events - gave last minute tips.  He was hilarious.  And he knew it.  But that was okay.  His point was made.  He'd previously done something like 15 TNT events and so when he came to Competitor he was instrumental in getting them to team up with LLS and he's instituted something called "the bump" - a brilliant concept really.  Instead of sweeping folks off the course that appear unlikely to meet the cut off, they give them a bit of a four wheel bump, maybe a mile, maybe two.  Then they are back on their feet.  Some purists might say this is cheating, but I think it's a brilliant way to support first timers so that they'll hit the road again for another race.

After John spoke, Dave Eckberg, an LLS Team Hero spoke.  Dave has CLL - a type of Leukemia.  He was diagnosed in 2002.  He's been in remission twice.  He isn't today.  And yet he still completed the half marathon on Sunday in just under 4 hours.  He has remarkable courage and an indefatigable spirit.  Just 6 months of his treatment costs about $200,000.  Our Rocky Mountain team raised $254,000.  $254K seems like a lot of money, until you put it in that perspective.  LLS really is an amazing organization.

Post lunch I headed to the hotel to study a bit.  Eventually, Tabbie, Denice and her husband Phil and I headed our for dinner.  And then it was back to the hotel to put everything together.  This was Tabbie's first ever half marathon.  She was nervous and so we chatted and chatted.  And then Leti came up; Sunday would be her first marathon and only her second race ever!  We helped Leti get her stuff organized.  It was 10:30 before Tabbie and I turned out the lights.  I don't usually stay up that late before a race.  But this race wasn't about me.  It felt good to be needed - to be able to help Leti and Tabbie get ready for their races. After about 2:30 I woke up nearly every 45 minutes.  Classic pre-race sleep - fear of missing the alarm.  4:45 comes especially early when you go to bed late.  But adrenaline propelled me out of bed.

We met our group in the lobby at 5:50 am.  The pictures capture us just as we headed to the start line.   Pre-race time was a whirlwind.  Plenty of porta-potties, but not a well placed or easy to find bag drop.  Ugh.  Unnecessary stress.  Ah well.  I squeaked into Corral 5 (yes there were 11,000 half marathoners and 4000 marathoners so we lined up like cows) as the crowd surged forward.  Nick of time.  It took about 4 minutes to cross the start line.  Beautiful Day by U2 was playing as I crossed.  A good omen I thought.  I ALWAYS play that song pre-race - this morning included.

And my race was fine.  It wasn't until about mile 6 that I realized why all these people were calling my name out.  DUH.  It was on the front of my singlet.  Too little sleep?  Maybe.  Either way, TNT jerseys draw voice to them.  Anyone who has ever participated will holler out "Go Team" or something like that.  It means for a lot of little adrenaline rushes.  Might make one think you'd run the race of your life.  And I think Tabbie and Leti did.  I didn't. But that's okay, because this wasn't about me.  Mile 9.5  was where Denice was hanging out - she couldn't run because of a nasty spill about three weeks ago which left her ankle still swollen and her knee unhappy.  She cam anyway and she helped at an aid station and she cheered us on.  What a great spirit!  Mile 7 was hard, so were 8, 9 and 10.  Somewhere in their my right IT insertion at the knee started to give me fits.  Real pain.  Aw heck.  I was really hoping to finish under two hours.  It wouldn't happen.

2:00:06.  Ah well.  I had to fight back tears of disappointment, but only for a minute or two.  Because then I thought about Dave, the team hero.  About Pat and KayKay's dad.  And Tabbie and Leti.  And I remembered that the reason I did this was to run with purpose, not just for a time and definitely not just for me.

Exiting the finish chutes I found Mindi.  Her big toe had blistered so badly that it bled through.  Slowed her down considerably.  But he boyfriend finished his first ever half.  Cool.  And then we waited.  And then came Tabbie.  Tears streaming down her face.  She'd done it.  Run her first half marathon in about 3:20.  Her 5 year old son was out on the course with her friends who were outstanding spectators - they saw her FOUR times on the course.  Awesome.  

And Lauren finished.  And so did our marathoners - though I couldn't stay to see them because I had a midterm on Monday night for which I needed to study.  Leti came in around 5:38.  First ever marathon.  She loved it.  Her email today asked if I wanted to run one with her next year.  It took me 6 years to consider running a second marathon.  It took Leti less than a day!  And Will and his buddies from Michigan finished in about 4:30.  And our San Francisco team finished too. 

It was a beautiful fall day.  It was an incredibly inspiring and uplifting day.