To all those who Believe:
First and foremost, I want to thank you. Your donations will make a remarkable difference in the lives of others, and more so will your actions. Many of you probably don't realize it, but you are living examples of mine and my sister's cause for this run. One is obviously to help out the less fortunate, to give them reason to believe that there are people out there who care, and that they can overcome their current situation. But the underlying cause is to inspire other, anyone and everyone, to believe in themselves, the goodness of others, and the beauty of their dreams. We want the joy of the season to be held within all hearts, to make Grinches and Scrooges into happy believers. There is so much things in life, so many people in life, that are wonderful and amazing. At times this is heavily covered by sadness, destruction, and negativity, but WE can change that, and WE can make a difference. Hence, the "I Believe Run".
As usualy, I have been overwhelmed by the goodness of others, who have been a good deal of inspiration to me in training for this run. There are so many people I would like to thank, but with my lack of a good memory, I think Id forget quite a few names. So if you made a donation, left me a comment, or a crewing for this run: THANK YOU!
However, there are few shout outs I would like to do. In the logistical preparation for this run, we have had a series of unfortunate events. Actually, we just figured out our crewing situation in the past few days. Graciously, Chris Wagner is taking off work tomorrow to crew us Tuesday. However, he does not get off work till 11 pm tonight, in which he will drive to Parma Hts to pick up me and Sandi, leave around 1230-1 am, drive 4hrs to Cinci, and start our run. He will then crew us through the day, and then drive back home so he can catch some sleep before work the next day. What a trooper! The next day, Ms. Pope (Sandi's bf's mom) is driving to meet us early Wednesday (she teaches a night class on Tuesday) morning to crew. Then, by sometime on Thursday, by boyfriend, Steve will be taking off time from his busy schedule and be crewing us from then on. These are some of the best and positive people I know, and I know will do a wonderful job crewing me and Sandi. (However, if Steve chooses to be obnoxious, a water bottle will be thrown, possibly or possibly not in his direction). ;)
Im sure some of you want to know a little bit about my training as well. The first part was basically doing very little. I was slow to recover from Oil Creek, and still probably pushed it too much. I didnt start to feel good until Bills Badass 50k, which me and my friends took slow, had a wondeful time, and I barely felt sore the next day! I think the next week on Saturday I went out for about a 5 hr run. The next week was my "big training week" though still toned down as my 100 miler was still my base of training and I was still healing. Starting on Thanksgiving, me and Steve set out on a 24 mile at 5 am from my house in Parma Hts to Edgewater park, the finish of the I Believe Run. It was one of the most miserable run of our lives. In Cleveland, it was pouring, windy, and cold. On the way back, we stopped at a McDonads for a bathroom break and attempt to dry out our gloves. For 10 minutes, me and Steve listened for the other to hit the hand dryer in the bathroom, before the other one hit it again. We must of got some strange looks sitting down as we attempted to drink coffee without spilling it from our uncontroable shaking. But we made ourself get up, put one foot in front of the other, and keep going (and ofcourse my hip flexor decided to tighten up after that, making the last 5 miles cold AND painful). Im not sure if I wouldve made that one alone. The next day, me and Steve me for another 20mile trail run (and then I got in a few more miles after walking through the mall with my mom and sisters, it was Black Friday). On Saturday, we had a group trail run to support our the I Believe Run, and got to run with a great group of people. In the first 5 miles, somehow I managed a 9 min mile pace (!?). It wasnt till the last leg that I (and Steve) really began to feel the effects of our training...but we finished up with another 20!
So thats the physical part...mentally, I was ready throughout. I know that I can do this, and that we have a good game plan. If we keep things slow and dont try to push ourself too much the first days, we will finish running. However, I am human, I still worry. I was worried because of my continual battle with anemia. Last time I went to the doctor, she told me to add another iron pill to my diet, so I dont know how much that will really help, plus, it takes 3 months to get back to normal iron levels. Second, despite me and Sandi being twins, we are very different runners. Even in a race, Ill slow down to see the sunrise/set, Sandi will keep her head down never slow down. And with two 100 and two 50 miles races under her belt, she is a stronger runner than I am. I want to enjoy the run and a good pace, check out the scenery, and just enjoy the experience. If my anemia kicks in, I know I can keep going, just a bit slower. Hopefully, well I know we will, find a good balance.
With that, I also have to mention my boyfriend. He has been a blessing to me these past few weeks, and (for you Train fans) "my calm thought when I see red". Steve has not only helped me push through my training runs, but been there when my worries kicked in and helped spread his positive demeanor to me.
I will talk to you all again in a few days. Keep Believing,
Rachel
