Portland Marathon 2010

How this moment came about I really cannot say, but at one point I received an e-mail from Erick with a forward from my brother-in-law, Arron, early January showing me the registration for the Portland Marathon to be held on October 1oth, 2010. Erick writes, "Does it feel real yet?" It didn't.

In January I wasn't at my most unhealthy state, but I most certainly wasn't were I felt like I wanted to be either. I always told Erick that if I had a goal to drive me I could stick to an exercise program. So here it was. No more excuses.

Life moved forward and amazingly I found the time and determination to start running. Every mile was a great success for me. The hardest part was accepting my body as it was and accepting that my body wasn't the same as it once was and it would never be. This didn't mean that I could never be healthy again. This simply meant that after having children, after a massive amount of weight gain, my body was forever changed and getting through my runs was accepting my new body and learning new limits.

My first obstacle was my knee. It hurt. It swelled. It limited my running. After seeing doctor after physical therapist after specialist it wasn't until 3 days before the race that all was explained to me (nice hu?) My ligaments and tendons are loose and when I run they rub, which create swelling. Obviously I didn't let knee pain hold me back from training. I figured either nothing was going to happen or I'd be meeting these guys in the ER. I don't recommend this to my readers... these actions of mine were only done after no one was giving me any answers, and even so I came out lucky.

The next obstacle was making the time to get out there and just run. With planning around the girls and amazing support from Erick I was able to pound out the miles. At times I found myself running long miles around a high school track. Others I was in the gym watching cable tv, which can get pretty boring after 6 plus miles.

The first time I ran 8 miles, I thought I was going to die.

The first time I ran 10 miles, I thought I was going to die and couldn't run for a week due to blisters.

The first time I ran 15 miles, I may have suffered from heat exhaustion and very well could have died but I live by an old motto: "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger."

The first time I ran 26.2 miles I ended up on practically bed rest, nursing a badly sprained left foot and bursitis in my right hip... yeah it's been interesting.

I write after the journey this time and because of that, so much is left unsaid. But keep checking in on me because the Vancouver Marathon is just around the corner and this boot on my foot is coming off on Monday.