Saturday's Pasta Party

The day before the marathon.....

The odd hours and the time difference were playing with me a little bit and I had decided the extra rest would do me good. So I slept in. Until 8am (which is 10am Memphis time - wow!). We were instructed to take it easy on Saturday - not a lot of walking. And to drink a LOT of water. Julie and I had a nice little breakfast and then I went down to an outdoor mall area and just looked around a bit. It wasn't long before we had to take the shuttle to the Pasta Party.

The Pasta Party.... It was just beyond amazing. I really didn't know what to expect, other than some pasta for our carb-loading. But it turned out to be an event that I will never, *EVER* forget. It was at the Town & Country Resort & Convention Center.


As we headed toward the entrance, we were greeted by a huge 'TNT cheer line'. All the coaches and LLS staff and mentors were lining both sides of the walkway. They were cheering and screaming and clapping. They had horns and cowbells and airhorns. It was the neatest thing. It was loud and just totally electric. I've got chill bumps right now as I type just thinking about it.

Nicole and I grabbed hands and just walked through the hundreds of purple clad, wildly decorated people. They were cheering for US. "Just think what tomorrow will be like," we kept saying to each other. I don't know how, but I saw George on the other side of the walk. He pushed through all the people and gave me a big high five. Ever play Where's Waldo? Let's play Where's George? ....

Then, I saw a younger woman holding a sign that said "This survivor thanks you." And she was just crying and smiling and saying 'thank you'. And that's all it took. Because then I was crying too. I honestly don't think I'll ever forget that image of her. Then I saw Andrea - big hugs. And then there was Lindy - our teammate, a leukemia survivor herself. She was the only person I had not seen yet since we arrived in San Diego. Big hugs and more tears.

Thanks to Jessica and Jacob for sharing their pictures with me. I was so totally overwhelmed by the whole thing, using my camera never entered my mind.....




The line ended at the pasta buffet. So we filled up our plates with good carbs and headed to the ballroom to find our assigned tables. There must have been 2500-3000 people in that room. All TNTers and their friends and family. WOW! But then I realized that this was just the first seating for the Pasta Party - there was another seating that afternoon at 5pm. So we're talking 5,000 people. We heard from John "The Penguin" Bingham. He's a writer for Runner's World and also a spokesman for the TNT. He was so hilareous and gave us an overview of what to expect on race day. Sadly, all of funny, silly, crazy things that he said would happen during the race, totally did.....He's called the penguin because of his 'no need for speed' approach. My kind of guy. Penguins are apparently still faster than turtles though...Our other speaker was David Monson who is the husband of Susan Butcher. She was a champion Iditarod sled dog racer who fought and lost a battle with leukemia. He was excellent. He said that the LLS had asked him to come and speak to the runners, to be an inspiration to us. He said that HE was not the inspiration, that WE were the inspiration. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. And there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I was crying so hard that I was just hoping I wouldn't make some kind of choking noise or gasping sound or have some sort of audible sobbing. Wow - he was something. Our last speaker was a VP from Elite Racing (the company that puts the race together). He said he was probably the only person in San Diego that had on a suit at that moment. And the reason he wore a suit is because his mother told him that when he met important people, he should put on a suit. (That's us - important people!)

They recognized an 84-year old woman who would be participating in her 11th marathon on Sunday. And there were several fundraising awards. The national winner raised $51,000! Wowie. They also announced that we had all raised $12.5 million!!! $12.5 MILLION. Isn't that awesome?!?!?

We left the Pasta Party totally charged. It was an incredible experience - full of emotion. Truly an unforgetable event.

Next on our agenda was the Team Meeting.....

By the Numbers

Just wanted to share a little bit of data and info about the weekend's race. I thought some of it was quite interesting.

51 - percent of people who were participating in their first marathon

1 - percentage of people who have ever even run a marathon

17,828 - number of official starters (This doesn't include the half marathoners. Another total I saw said over 22,000 but I'm not exactly sure what that includes. Regardless, it was a LOT of people)

16,373 - number of official finishers

15,733 - my overall place

7,948 - number of male finishers

8,425 - number of female finishers (51.5%)

7,924 - my place among all females

948 - my place in my age group (out of 1016)

33 - number of racers and spectators taken by ambulance to local hospitals for nausea, vomiting, heat, cramps, dehydration, etc.

5:01:08 - average finishing time

7:00:53 - my finishing time (woo hoo!!!)

8:21:00 - caboose's finishing time (yea for him!!)

2:10:06 - winner's finishing time (Isn't that nuts?!? He was probably on the plane back to Kenya when I was at mile 23....)

3,400 - number of Team in Training runners

5 - number of TNT members on our team (not counting coaches & mentors)

$12.5 million - dollars raised for LLS by runners in the marathon

$134.6 million - dollars raised for LLS by runners in the 11 year history of the Rock and Roll Marathon

$22,700 - dollars raised by our team (that was my last total - I bet it's more now)

$4,536 - my total (THANK YOU!!!)

224 - miles I logged during 6 months of training

26.2 - miles I ran and walked (continuous forward motion) on Sunday at the MARATHON!!!!!

1 - totally awesome, life changing, unforgettable experience

Happy Feet

I just saw Dr. M. in the hallway -- he's one of our foot surgeons. I told him I had run the marathon and I had hurt my toe. He said "Congratulations. I told you so." (He had told me in December that I would be 'seeking him out' when it was all over.) Anyway, he looked at Big Toe and said it didn't look like I was going to lose the toenail! HOORAY!!! He said it was just 'major bruising from a traumatic injury' and I should rest it. Yea for that. He also couldn't understand why I was upset over the possibility of losing a toenail. Anne & I were high-fiving the salvation of the toenail and he kept saying "It's just a toenail. Why were you upset about that?" BECAUSE IT'S SANDAL SEASON!!! AND I'M A GIRL!!!!! I had taken the polish off Big Toe last night to see if it was discolored and now am sporting 9 toes featuring OPI Cajun Shrimp and 1 plain toe. I will have to remedy that tonight. Anyway, Mr. Went To Market Toe, I'm glad you decided to stick with the other piggies.

Today, I'm still moving a little slow, but much improved from yesterday. I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait.

More to come real soon about my marathon weekend.

We've arrived!

Our flight to San Diego (via Minneapolis) was at 6 am. So that called for a very early start on Friday. My alarm clock went off at 3 am.....zzzzz......


The flight from Minneapolis had other TNT'ers on it. The flight attendant made an announcement on the plane that "Today on board are over 50 people who are going to participate in the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego. They have been training for six months and have been raising money for the Leukemia Society. Go Team!" And some other stuff, but you get the idea. Everybody cheered and clapped.

When we got to San Diego, there were even *more* TNT'ers waiting for the shuttles. It was the neatest feeling to realize that this whole "training" thing - this whole "team" thing - was so much bigger than our little Shelby Farms group. Connie compared it to going to church out of town. Does that make sense?







We grabbed a quick sandwich and headed for the expo to pick up our race packet.

The expo was huge. Lots of vendors peddling anything related to running. One booth had tshirts with cute little sayings on them like:


"In my dreams, I'm a Kenyan"
"I know, I know, I'm almost there"
"This seemed like a good idea three months ago"
"Toenails are for sissies" (that may not be so funny in a day or so)

But my very favorite was this one:







The Leukemia Society booth had a big banner that the TNT'ers could sign.....








A group of us walked to the Gaslamp Quarter (neato area) and ate dinner at a little Mexican place called Fred's.


We did encounter two interesting groups on our way to and from dinner. The first was a "Red Dress Run" by a group of hashers which is apparently running and drinking club. It was a bit nuts. They were ALL (men included) wearing various styles of red dresses and running down the streets - I guess from bar to bar. It looked completely out of control wild. I had to look it up on Wiki to get more info. If you want some too, help yourself. The other sight was Critical Mass -- *thousands* of bicycles that aim to draw attention to how unfriendly the city is to bicyclists. I've never seen anything like it. Again, more info.

So, after those two enlightening experiences, we headed back to the hotel and watched the National Spelling Bee. (I *love* the spelling bee!) It didn't take me long to fall asleep that night because I was e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did it! I FINISHED!!! I don't even know where to start. It will take me several days to get my thoughts together and write about my whole experience. There is so much to talk about. I can't wait to share my story. It was truly one of the greatest days of my life! So many emotions before, during and after. It was just amazing. Just truly amazing.

I am somewhat stiff and sore today. My war wounds include a blister on each foot, some chafing on my legs, a raw spot on my back, a touch of a sunburn on my shoulders and one very questionable big toe. George says I could either be losing the toenail or the toe could be broken. I'm actually pulling for the fracture. Should know something in a day or so. Anyway, I am gimping just a little bit today. But it's ALL GOOD!!!

Thanks to Connie for an excellent job as guest blogger. I'm sure she'll be starting her own very soon (Connie, I told you this was addictive.)

Thanks to you all for your support and encouragement during these last six months. And for sharing my excitement these last few days. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

More later. I promise.

I DID IT!!! I RAN A MARATHON!!!!!!

My last guest post...!

Angie will be returning this evening around 5:20. Last night when I talked to her she was still feeling pretty good, but starting to get a little sore. I guess she might be "slow" for a few days with maybe a little bit of a "hitch in her get-along" but all that will be minimal and over shadowed with the euphoria of reaching her goal!!! She worked hard and she crossed that finish line (on her own, standing upright, not on a gurney!)....how cool is that?!!!

I have enjoyed being her guest poster...this blog-ey thing is quite fun. Maybe I should do one....would I have to run a marathon to do that? On second thought....

7:00:53!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HOOOORRRAAAYYYYY!!!!!!
According to the live updates, Angie finished about 15 minutes ago...7 hours and 53 seconds (unofficial time!!).
I'm bawling! SOOOOO proud of her. I was watching live streaming video of the finish line, looking for her...I was watching about that time and I think I might have seen her, if she was wearing a pink cap. I'll have to verify that! I guess she is refueling at the moment...hope to get an update soon!
How exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO ANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


19847 • Angie Whitfield • Cordova TN • F-42 • Marathon •

Gun: 6:35:18 AM
Chip: 6:47:07 AM (her start time)
1:37:05 (10k)
3:22:12 (1/2)
5:31:32 (21 mile)
7:00:53 (finish)
Race Pace:
15:38 (10k)
15:26 (1/2)
15:48 (21 mile)
16:04 (finish)