The 48 hour countdown...
Sooooo...marathon weekend kicked off when my folks arrived in town Friday afternoon. There was some drama with leaving work (like craming 8 hours of work into 3 business hours) and getting to the airport in traffic and the whole nine yards...
...but they got here...eventually...and all went well. After we got them home and unloaded what not we headed Portillos for lunch and then to the expo for some fun.
We picked up our numbers and loaded up on all the goodies...including the jackets (ACK! soooo exciting....thanks mom & dad!! You Rock!)...the expo was overwhelming. Soooo many things to see and do. We ran into two fellow TNTers (Paige and Sean), my friend Tracy, and two folks from my work. Good times!
40 hours and counting until start time...
...and we were able to take a quick shot with the big ole winners trophy as they were preparing to pack it away...would our names be on it in the following days!?!?
(we can wish, right!?)
As you know, later on Friday night I ended up having a nice big fat anxiety attack during Wicked. Which, of course, was no bueno. But I won't dwell on that (cause it'll end up becoming a factor on race morning...which I'll get to in a later post)...
The next day, we took it easy. Ran a few errands...slept in as best we could (which was uhh, until 8:30?) and hit up the TNT pasta party that night for some extra motivation...
Words cannot even begin to express how amazing it was.
When we first sat down to eat, a patient honoree from Georgia sat down at the table and introduced himself...he traveled with the Georgia Chapter to cheer them on as well as all the other TNTers on the course. He thanked Mike and I for all of our hard work with training and fundraising and told us his story. He went to every table in the room and extended his appreciation to every last person involved with TNT. His words were truly inspirational and I knew he'd be in my mind when I ran the following day. He was nothing less than amazing.
The Penguin (good ole John Bingham) was the night's emcee and was hilarious, as always. And then Mimi (Keegan's mom) spoke. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as she told her son's story and about how they became involved with TNT. I know I've written about Mimi and Keegan in the past, but I have such admiration for her entire family...I really wish everyone could have a chance to get to know them.
I gave some of my mentees some last minute advice (cause I'm such a pro at this marathon stuff...har.har.har.) and hugs and headed home.
I was optimistic about the weather up until this point. By the time we left the pasta party the weather was rapidly dropping and it was starting to rain. But still, I remained cautiously optimistic for prime weather for the race.
Once we got home, we finished our last minute preparations. We laid all of our clothes out...I wrote on my patient honoree bracelet "26.2 Miles for Keegan" -- the bracelet that I would leave out on the course...and then we finalized the "race plan" for my parents (you know...the whole go here for us at this time, this is how fast we should be running...anytime you see purple, cheer for them, but really just cheer for EVERYONE cause we all need it...etc...etc...) and got to bed by 11:30 for as much rest as we could get. ....which wasn't very much....
...cause well, my nerves continued to get the best of me...
....because in a few short hours, we would be headed to the starting line....
...but they got here...eventually...and all went well. After we got them home and unloaded what not we headed Portillos for lunch and then to the expo for some fun.
We picked up our numbers and loaded up on all the goodies...including the jackets (ACK! soooo exciting....thanks mom & dad!! You Rock!)...the expo was overwhelming. Soooo many things to see and do. We ran into two fellow TNTers (Paige and Sean), my friend Tracy, and two folks from my work. Good times!
40 hours and counting until start time...
...and we were able to take a quick shot with the big ole winners trophy as they were preparing to pack it away...would our names be on it in the following days!?!?
(we can wish, right!?)
As you know, later on Friday night I ended up having a nice big fat anxiety attack during Wicked. Which, of course, was no bueno. But I won't dwell on that (cause it'll end up becoming a factor on race morning...which I'll get to in a later post)...
The next day, we took it easy. Ran a few errands...slept in as best we could (which was uhh, until 8:30?) and hit up the TNT pasta party that night for some extra motivation...
Words cannot even begin to express how amazing it was.
When we first sat down to eat, a patient honoree from Georgia sat down at the table and introduced himself...he traveled with the Georgia Chapter to cheer them on as well as all the other TNTers on the course. He thanked Mike and I for all of our hard work with training and fundraising and told us his story. He went to every table in the room and extended his appreciation to every last person involved with TNT. His words were truly inspirational and I knew he'd be in my mind when I ran the following day. He was nothing less than amazing.
The Penguin (good ole John Bingham) was the night's emcee and was hilarious, as always. And then Mimi (Keegan's mom) spoke. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as she told her son's story and about how they became involved with TNT. I know I've written about Mimi and Keegan in the past, but I have such admiration for her entire family...I really wish everyone could have a chance to get to know them.
I gave some of my mentees some last minute advice (cause I'm such a pro at this marathon stuff...har.har.har.) and hugs and headed home.
I was optimistic about the weather up until this point. By the time we left the pasta party the weather was rapidly dropping and it was starting to rain. But still, I remained cautiously optimistic for prime weather for the race.
Once we got home, we finished our last minute preparations. We laid all of our clothes out...I wrote on my patient honoree bracelet "26.2 Miles for Keegan" -- the bracelet that I would leave out on the course...and then we finalized the "race plan" for my parents (you know...the whole go here for us at this time, this is how fast we should be running...anytime you see purple, cheer for them, but really just cheer for EVERYONE cause we all need it...etc...etc...) and got to bed by 11:30 for as much rest as we could get. ....which wasn't very much....
...cause well, my nerves continued to get the best of me...
....because in a few short hours, we would be headed to the starting line....
posted by Iron Jayhawk at 5:04 PM
17 Camper Comments:
Awesome! I've got some GREAT pics of ya! Congrats on the HUGE PR, TOO!!! :)
You suck. You are torturing us on purpose!! I want the rest of the story. When is the next installment going to arrive?!?!
love the expo pics :-) we also have pics of us with our numbers looking slightly nerdy :-)
You Rocked it girl! SOOOO Much Fun meeting you and your husband! Next time you are in Cleveland you know where you can stay!
Love the pics! You mean you didn't get that trophey? Next year...next year Barb! :-)
Ahhhh!! Can't wait to hear the rest!!
Awesome pics, Barb.
You know what. When we were in Phoenix together, I was SO calm the night before the marathon. I just wanted to get to sleep...period. Go figure. I think it's better to have the nerves a couple of days beforehand than nothing. Nerves are blessing. It gives us strength to move forwards and conquer the 26.2 miles. Bring on the rest of the story.
Come on! Don't leave us hangin' like that!
Wow, a race report with a cliffhanger!
I'm going to be checking back here way too often! (Fortunately for me, surfing the Internet is the only activity I can engage in that doesn't hurt.)
Tell us more, tell us more!
Running for a great cause and a great purpose! Looking forward to reading the rest of your 26.2+ adventures.
Great job BARB!!! I was soo glad to have seen you out on the course your positive words of encourgement was just what I needed!!! You gave me the "boost" I needed at the right time & I kicked it's ASS!!! even if it was a slow beating - I still beat it!! Way to go!
Erin
What happened? I'm have to know!
Stop the torture! We need the rest of the story!
more more...i want to hear more!
can't wait to hear the rest of your tale of conquerment. (don't know if that's a real word, but it works) Way to go on your PR! you owned that marathon.
Barb your public awaits!!!!
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