It has been a week since the Baltimore Marathon and now I finally have a few moments to re-hash the day.

I wanted to complete my 10th marathon in 2010. I thought it would be fun to have a nice numerical day. 10th marathon in the 10th month in 2010 which also happens to be the 10th anniversary of the b-more race. Whoo Hoo! I convinced MM to fly out and join me so off training we went albeit in different states (sucky!).

We showed up race morning via the Light Rail and made our way to the Alz Stars tent (my Mom’s on the team), dropped our stuff, and shivered around in the wind for a while. A $1 shot of DD coffee was just the perk needed to warm up the body and mind. Kisses to K and texts to CJT, who would be our superfans on this day, and off we went to the starting line.

We placed ourselves around the 4:45 group, knowing that it was going to be a long day. The night before we had written out a list of all the topics we had to cover in our 26.2 mile long chat. The cannon blasted and off we went, shuffling along and heading up the road.  And I do mean up. I knew that the late miles were hilly but I hadn’t experienced the first 13. The first four-five miles were quite an uphill adventure. We talked and talked and just kept moving forward. Our conversation picked up right where we left off when we saw each other last Christmas.

My body seemed to handle the first handful of miles well. I knew that my muscles would tighten early. We kept the pace pretty even, averaging about 10:30min/mi pace. I missed my second GU timeline, but got back on track at 1:45. I really enjoyed the first half of the course, it was a good mix of hilly and flat with awesome fan support. I absolutely LOVED the two cheering groups near AVAM from local charter schools. The spirit was exactly what I’d like to see from a school.

We saw our superfans at the start, somewhere around mile 6, and then again at the half point, they popped up everywhere!! They were awesome. As CJT said, “Jesus wants you to run” which kept us laughing for a while. We headed through the party parts of town (Fells, Canton..) and then through Patterson Park. Ah, then the hills began. Miles 16-20 we knew were coming. Rolling is really an understatement. It just felt like up and up, over and over. We finally reached the top of the worst hill of the race up to mile 20. I promised MM that we were at the last hill (ok, the last worst hill) and that we would get over 2 miles of flats. God Bless Lake Montebello!!

I still felt mentally and physically acute even through the big hills. I wanted to soak all of it in. MM had started feeling a bit of pain in the late teens, so we took lots of time to stretch in the second half. Through the parties of Waverly we went where we consumed both delicious beer and gummy bears, then we found our way back to Howard Street where we took the race home. I had forgotten about going over the bridge at MICA but MM and I pushed up and down the bridge. We were surrounded by walkers. Press on, I said.

We turned left onto Eutaw for our final mile and I saw the famous Bromo Tower. It became our beacon of hope as we hit the “no walking” phase of the race. We saw our superfans one last time at mi. 25 and picked up our turnover. Even here at mile 25 into 26 we saw so many walkers. For me, having finished “slow” before, this was normal. For MM, who has never finished under 4:20, this was a new experience. In those last miles, we started targeting our footsteps. We would pick our targets and work to get past them. Not to “beat” them, but to give us a purpose for forward motion. We made our way through Camden Yards and came around. We saw a man decked in full Ironman apparel and made that our last target. It was easy. 🙂

We came across hand in hand in 4:46:25. By far the slowest marathon for both of us. But it didn’t matter. Really. To have the chance to share my 10th marathon with my best friend and the world’s best running partner in Charm City…that is awesome no matter the pace.

My thank you’s go out to my Next Step coaches and running mates, to our amazing Superfans, to the organizers and amazing neighborhoods of Baltimore, and to MM. I could not have done this alone, nor would I have  wanted to do so.

In the spirit of 10.10.10 today, I thought I’d reminisce on the last ten years of my life and look at what has come, gone, and begun. Here is what has happened…

2000: I performed my senior recital, was a Celebration choreographer, moved in with the Edmonds, ended a 2.5 year relationship, student taught in Liberty, MO.

2001: moved to Iowa and learned a whole new way of life, moved to Kansas City, sang in a fantastic worship band.

2002: decided to leave teaching, started running, worked at DC opera for the second time.

2003: Spent the year on the Opera America Fellowship, learned more than I could have ever imagined, grew exponentially in my ability to deal with change, met my favorite opera singer, learned to row, ran my first marathon.

2004: lived in San Diego. met amazing people, ate amazing food, fell in love, fell in love with Buddy, trained with an amazing group, sang and taught Godly Play in an amazing cathedral, ran my second marathon

2005: moved back to Maryland and to the classroom, trained with Striders for the first time, ran my third marathon with my college best friend, got engaged, met MM-the world’s best RP.

2006: changed schools and moved to Independent school world, bought a house, got married, started my Master’s, ran my fourth and fifth marathons.

2007: lived a fairly benign life, felt settled, did my first triathlon, became a part of Team Hole in the Wall, ran my sixth and seventh marathons.

2008: watched my world collapse, learned who my real friends were, lost love and hope, participated in KSI and learned a million new things about teaching, ran my eighth and ninth marathons.

2009: took the crazy challenge of a year of training, finished my Master’s, rode my first Angel Ride, spent a summer on the road, fell in love again, finished an Ironman, was reborn in so many ways.

2010: spent a lot of time on the couch, had my first “real” injury, lost my puppy love-bug, moved in with a boy who made me believe in love again, started my fifth year in the same job, swallowed a big cup of pride punch and joined next step, and (in a week) ran my 10th marathon.

A decade of blessings and learnings. What shall the next 10 years bring? I will not worry about that today, I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Last week I did probably made the craziest athletic choice since signing up for IM. I signed up for my first 50k. And, it’s a 50k trail race. (I have been trail running probably no more than 25 times and only 3 miles to boot.) I wanted a new challenge and a softer surface for my big “bones” so I jumped into the pool and got into a race that I truly have no business trying to run.

I was excited about this and shared it with a colleague. The colleague looked at me with utter horror and said, “why???”. Not, “why you crazy lady?” but rather, “why are you stupid enough to do that? and why must you take on more physical challenge”. It was overwhelmingly hurtful. I don’t believe intentionally but I was expecting, “wow, another challenge for you” not really, a judgmental “why”.

So my answer to WHY is…I was a pretty sedentary kid, teen, young adult so I didn’t understand what it meant to push the body physically.  When I started running at age 23, I became a new person. When I did my Ironman last year, I was reborn to discipline. In the last year, I have let that discipline lag tremendously. My muscles know it, my pace shows it, and my mental state has been a clear marker. By giving myself a goal which right now seems ludicrous, I have given myself the chance to renew discipline and try something new. To remind myself everyday that I am not defined by my job, my life circumstance, or by any other outside factor unless I choose to be. And I choose to be a runner.

Why WOULDN’T you?