Marathon: My personal journey

Tomorrow, I will be running again. It is the first time since the marathon and I am excited. It will be a smaller run.

I can't wait!

WOO HOO!

Yesterday, I successfully completed the Quad City Marathon. What a fun race! I LOVED so many aspects of it. The people (fans), the volunteers, friends and my biggest fans (Teri and Nile) were AMAZING! 

Chad and Heather- thank you so much for lettings us stay at your house. It was so much fun to visit with the Natalie and Kaitlyn...and our night with Shawn, Michelle and Alex was magical. I am so proud of you all. You guys have wonderful families. Your mom and dad are proud! Your generosity and friendship means the world to us and it was such a highlight to the weekend.

Today I gave Nile a granola bar from the race. He said "did they give one to Natalie?...I am not eating it. Make sure she is OK". Needless to say, he really enjoyed this weekend and we have to do it again.

I will never forget Teri driving me to the start and helped me get motivated for my journey. I loved seeing Teri and Nile at mile 25. I LOVED seeing Nile run along with me. This powered me through the last 1.2 miles. They sure were longer than expected. YAHOO.

I did the pump and run. I benched 170 lbs. fifteen times and curled 95 lbs. nine times. It was great to give back to charity.

My mile dedications were spot on all day.

I will share more later this week. Thank each and every one of you for supporting me. It means the world! This is me before the race, all smiles and ready.

I trust in my training plan and I have faith that I will finish on Sunday. Just like this road, I cannot see where it goes after a certain point. I ran across this road ten minutes before. Is it the same? 

Have faith. 

Have faith in something. 

Have faith in yourself.

I have faith and believe. 

I believe in God:) She will get me through.

.

I am grateful for my abilities, time and mind. These awesome flowers were photographed during my runs recently. Enjoy!

Later this week I will share with you my changes. It's going to be the best race I have ever run.

Can't wait! 

I love the sound of "long run in the books, rest day coming". I really enjoyed my long run today. I was worried about it, changed my mindset and zoomed along. It was a difficult run, but I managed physically and mentally.

I am feeling more ready for the Quad City Marathon, as every day goes on. YES!

As I ran today, I kept thinking about Tyler Sash and September 11th. I said a few prayers for the families.

Thank you for reading and supporting me!



Image source:
http://www.911memorial.org/explore-memorial
http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sports/college/iowa/football/2015/09/10/tyler-sash-death-iowa-hawkeyes-football-helmet/72025844/

The other day my wife called to tell me that Tyler Sash passed away. I was in shock. I hoped it was a hoax. I have never met Tyler Sash, but saw him play football for my beloved Hawkeyes and the New York Giants. I loved how real Tyler Sash was. As a fan, I appreciated his love for the game, intensity and passion.

He played hard and was a true Hawkeye at heart. Personally, he represents a time where I was struggling with my father's cancer. I vividly remember close games in 2009. I was able to watch many games with my Dad. He loved Adrian Claiborn, Derell Johnson-Koulianos, Tony Moeaki, Ricky Stanzi and Marvin McNutt. Above all, he loved Tyler Sash.

He loved every aspect of how he played. My Dad would say he defines a "Norm Parker" player. My Dad was right. I can see Tyler Sash playing the part of a "fireman" to put out the fire started by the opposing team's offense.

So when I got the call from my wife, I was stunned. It conjured up some feelings. I feel for Tyler's family and friends. The loss is unthinkable. The Hawkeye family is grieving too. Tyler Sash was the  definition of a Hawkeye.

Over the next week, I will write about my experiences in watching Tyler Sash. Heads up for a post about how he saved the season against the Indiana Hoosiers. More on that later.

Rest in Peace Tyler Sash.

GBNB
#9
#RIPTylerSash

Image source:
http://qctimes.com/gallery/photos-tyler-sash/collection_4c1812d8-5655-11e5-8d64-b72ad45c88ff.html#0

I am so excited that week 13 is finished. This morning I had a long run and struggled quite a bit. The humidity and a total of 57 miles this week really caught up with me. I am excited for a couple of rest days. This journey has been intense and many up and down moments.

It's going to be a fun marathon, I can feel it. For now, I can't wait to rest!


Image source:
http://www.whatacharacter.com/p-s/s--page10.htm