154: I Got into the 2010 ING NYC Marathon!

I'm in! I'm in shock. I'm ecstatic! I'm scared. I'm grateful! Soooo grateful. But you should know, I didn't do it by myself.

I have an angel. She doesn't want me to say her name but she has really got my best interest at heart. We reconnected serendipitously about a month after I started running and from that day forward has been unbending in her support. When I worried that I might be doing all this training and then not even get into the Marathon, she said, "You'll get in; don't worry about it." I trusted her. OK I had some moments of panic when I said, "But how? How will I get in?" and she just kept saying, "Don't worry. We'll get you in. Just keep training."

My angel told me she's always known I'd become a runner. Really? I didn't! She ran with me. She'd offer to meet me before a race for a pep talk. She made me feel like where I was at was good enough, like the training I was doing was solid. She told me I looked good running. She said I was doing it right. She kept me feeling positive, and motivated. I'm tell you all this because you need to know; a person cannot do this alone. A person who is going to uncover a dormant part of herself needs coaches and angels, and people who teach by example - and remind you to focus on the work, and not get caught up in the details. In this case, she handled the details for me.

When I didn't get in through the lottery, my angel called a friend with an important role at an important magazine, and asked if the pub would consider sponsoring me. I sent a note to the magazine, including my "story" and my rejection letter from the lottery, and got an encouraging note back; they liked my story and would consider putting me on their VIP list, granting me a number, and giving me access to VIP privileges on race day.

I waited patiently but every day that I didn't hear back, I struggled to stay motivated. My focus was spotty. My schedule called for longer distances and it's gotten hot in NYC. If I wasn't going to be running in this year's Marathon, did I have to be so miserable for so long so many times a week? I figured I'd wait a little while to really ramp up the training...

Yesterday I got the news - I am in!!! The magazine will sponsor me and I will receive my number from NYRR in mid-June. I felt a mixture of disbelief, excitement, fear, gratitude... and then within about 15 minutes a powerful blast of relief and desire to focus again. For me, there's great peace in knowing where I am going, where I belong, and what to expect. I now know. I have 5 rigorous months of training ahead of me. I will have the most idyllic race day one could possibly have thanks to some *cush* treatment from my sponsor. I can fund raise for charities I believe in! I can write again, and hopefully inspire some new people to get off the couch. If I am going to run the Marathon, you can train to run a mile. Do it out of solidarity! Get healthy. Healthy feels so good... It's remarkable. I want you to feel what I feel.

More than anything I hope you will take from this that when you work hard at something worthwhile, and share yourself with people who are sensitive and good, and who truly care about you, sometimes you don't have to worry about the details. They sort themselves out. And people come in and do for you what you can't do for yourself. It's their joy to support you, and be part of a transformation. There's a big payoff for people in my life right now. I am increasing my value by doing this. (Right, Erin?) So, who I am today is richer, better, more loving than who I was last fall. I'm not the only one who gets to enjoy that. The whole sandbox is a better place because I've got a D-tag on my shoe and I'm going to beat my 4 mile PR tomorrow at the Japan Race if it kills me!

Ran and walked around the lower loop today. 1.7 miles. It was hot as schweaty balls. There was a run/walk going on to support YAI and I snuck in and took a coconut water and bagel from the finish line. I hadn't brought anything to drink and hadn't eaten yet. I figured fainting at their event would bring negative attention so I was really doing YAI a favor by saving myself before anything like that happened. Then I went back to the treadmill in my building and ran 2 fast miles and spent about 30 minutes stretching.

I'm going to run in the 2010 ING NYC Marathon. For real. Lord help me there's a shit load of work ahead!