Arms Wide Open

Because nothing says “I love you” like….

Here it is..the training is over and all that awaits now is the race itself. I am really excited about this one for some reason. Maybe after running one already, I have a small idea what I am in for. Overall, I enter this one on Sunday in a better place mentally and physically than the half marathon we did in May. I am most excited that Heather and 2 other friends are running the race Sunday too. Next time I post, it will be a recap of the race. Pray for us Sunday as we push off around 7:30 am. Thanks for sharing the journey the past 9 weeks!

PS, I should probably wait until AFTER the race on Sunday to announce that I have decided to run the FULL Columbus Marathon on October 18, 2009. The difference for this one is I am actually going to train for it (vs. Cleveland where I just kind of “winged it”). Who’s with me?

On the journey……

I’m early on this, but we’ll be on the beach when our Anniversary is official and no where near internet connections. To my wife I wish you a Happy Anniversary. Thank you for 12 years of “Beautiful Chaos”! You save me.

WOW! What a 48 hours that was. As I mentioned Friday, my sister was kind enough to register for us on Saturday. I received a text message that read “Congratulations, you are now signed up for your first Marathon”. It was at this point that the reality started to kick in. I think it was better that I didn’t have time to really think about what was waiting on us at 7am Sunday morning. It is very hard to get your head around 26.2 miles and at least 4 hours straight of running. Driving up to Cleveland (from Columbus) on Saturday night, I zeroed the trip ticker just to get a feel for how far 26 miles is. Trust me…it is REALLY far.

So there we were lined up with nearly 13,000 other people on the streets of Cleveland (half and full marathon runners) and the temps were a very chilly 40 degrees. The horn went off and the sound of “Cleveland Rocks” filled the air. I cannot begin to express how special it was to accomplish this in my hometown. We started off by running by the LeBron James “Witness” billboard, passed “The Q” and Progressive Field, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Science Museum, Cleveland Browns Stadium and across the Hope Memorial Bridge. Great memories to kick off this race. My wife and I were cruising through the first 10 miles. Literally.

When we hit the later stages of 11, 12 and 13, we were running on the freeway right next to Lake Erie. We had been warned that it was a slow and steady incline and the warnings proved true. We got through it and made our way on to  the second half of the marathon. This was uncharted waters for me as I have never run more than 13 miles in my life. The next 4 miles were flat and somewhat boring so it was good to have my wife right next to me. Around mile 18, things started getting interesting. The legs started to go and I knew the next 8 miles would be all mental.

It was such a blessing to make it through the last 8 miles and home stretch. I hate to admit it, but I felt really good as we cruised into the final three miles. It got very long and tough the last 3, but we kept at it and crossed the finish line holding hands. Great day. Great weather. Great memories. I don’t know that I will put a full marathon the schedule any time soon (the half marathons are much more fun), but it is a moment and a day I won’t soon forget. My sister did awesome and sharing the day with 2 very special ladies in my life (my wife and sister) made it even better. Thank you Cleveland for one more great memory!

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.2567052&w=425&h=350&fv=host%3Dpicasaweb.google.com%26amp%3Bcaptions%3D1%26amp%3Bhl%3Den_US%26amp%3Bfeat%3Dflashalbum%26amp%3BRGB%3D0x000000%26amp%3Bfeed%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fpicasaweb.google.com%252Fdata%252Ffeed%252Fapi%252Fuser%252Fauncfan%252Falbumid%252F5338332683685774433%253Falt%253Drss%2526kind%253Dphoto%2526hl%253Den_US]

Final Time: 4 hours and 20 minutes

Place: 1241 out of 9504

Pace: 9:55

Best sign I read  all day – “Run like you stole it”!

[audio http://leftfield8.com/audio/cleveland.mp3]

I’m sure you read the title and think I am going to make some analogy about how marriages are like a marathon and not a sprint. Okay, I might mention that, but there are a few other things I came up with today that reminded me of the continued lessons I am learning through this training.

1. R-E-S-P-E-C-T - With apologies to Aretha Franklin, I have learned my share of respect for my wife over the past 6 months. It wasn’t long ago that I stood at the finish line as she finished another half marathon mildly taking a few pictures and thinking what was next up that day. I have mentioned several times that I failed to show and communicate the tremendous respect I have for her ability to complete multiple half and full marathons…AND continue on the rest of the day. I am reminded how often I take for granted the achievements of running a home, a family and still having time for me at the end of the day. She has earned and deserves my respect. More importantly, I should communicate that fact.

2. Yin and Yang – Early in our marriage we learned that “we don’t work without we”. When we have had the opportunity to share a run together, we have discovered something about our style and endurance. Due to my training, I tend to start our runs very strong. We really found this to be the case on the 5K we ran together. Heather has been running since High School. Her training is for long distance. We have discovered that it is my strength in the beginning of the run that sets our pace. As we get into the higher miles, her strength and training kicks in and carries us through. It is the same in our marriage. There are times when her strength and stability keep our family at bay in the storm. It is my hope that I provide the same at times when the storms rage.

3. Being okay with 2nd - I have been asked more than once after a race if it upset me that Heather had a better time. I usually get a good laugh out of that. Honestly. I might be one of the most competitive people I know but seriously, I’m happy for her success and glad to have finished the race myself. Heather’s been doing this for years. I never ran a mile until 6 months ago. There is not an ounce of my fiber that is jealous for her success. The same has to be true in our marriage. God has given each of us unique gifts. Thankfully they are different. I need to celebrate and be okay when the spotlight shines on my wife. I need to encourage her, support her and cheer her the same way she does for me. I need to be okay with 2nd place.

Now that I look at it, I guess I made it all the way through without the sprint vs. marathon cliche. Just remember…marriage is like a marathon, not a sprint.

We’ve  hit the road !  We’re in downtown Louisville, Kentucky this morning for the Anthem 5K run along the river walk. Temps are currently 60 degrees so it’s a perfect day for a quick run. Last night we had a nice dinner at the Old Spaghetti Warehouse and went on a horse drawn carriage ride through downtown Louisville. Over 9000 people are registered for the race this morning so it should be packed at the start. We’ll post an update on how we finished later next week. Based on the street signs….it appears that there will be no stopping on this race.

Update:

What a race! They estimated over 10,000 people lined up to run the 5K this morning. I have never seen so many people at one race before. The final stats have 7,824 people that finished the race. Heather and I made our way to the front of the pack before the race started so we could avoid the crowd. We got out fast and kept the pace (including a 7:20 2nd mile!). We were both paying for that quick pace on the last mile (I much more than Heather). Heather had a little more energy left than I did at the end and finished strong. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. Now for the results:

Heather - time 24:54, finished 1211 out of 7,824.

Aaron – time 24:58, finished 1242 out of 7,824.