52 weeks + one day

A year has come and gone since I last ran a marathon.

Last year, I ran the Denver marathon with a heavy heart. It was my first marathon I had run since Kelly died.

This year I had to drop back to the 1/2 marathon distance. The injury that began over a year ago still hasn't healed completely.

I am not sure if my heart has completely healed, but the experience this year was very different.

I had no sorrow in my heart this year. I still miss Kelly very much. She will always be my hero.

I had done very little training for the 1/2 marathon. A year ago, it seemed like I ran six days a week. Now it seems like I run one day a week. I wasn't overtrained for this event.

The neat part for me this year was being able to run with Laura. Laura ran her first half marathon on Sunday. Well, I lined up at the start line with her and she disappeared in the sea of runners during the first ten seconds of the race. Still, it was neat to know she was running ahead of me. I wondered how she was doing, mentally guessing how far ahead of me she was. What would her experience be like.

Another blessing, Kelly brought to me. My daughter the swimmer, now a distance runner :)

One of Laura' friends from high school, Vicki talked Laura into running the 1/2 marathon. I think Vicki totally rocks!

Laura and I did a couple of training runs together. The runs didn't feel very good, but how I loved being able to spend time with Laura this way.

I had run a grand total of 18 miles during the month of October. Interestingly I added 18 minutes from the last time I ran a half marathon. Good thing, I didn't train any more than that... Who knows how much time I might have added.

I saw one of the Rocky Mountain Chapter's team heroes(Sharon) early in the run. I ran over and gave her a hug, thanked her for providing inspiration to us in her journey. I had hugged Sharon last year at the finish line. It was neat to see her out there, living full out.

It was kind of sad running by Coors Field seeing the Rocktoboer 09 sign. The playoffs ended so soon last year. In 2007, running past Coors field was magical.

The miles passed by fairly quickly. I was wearing my TNT purple singlet. I had pictures of Kelly and Laiken on the back of my singlet. Running for and with my angels.

Surprisingly, the miles passed fairly quickly. My pace was consistent. I tried to put on a burst of slow the last two miles.

No tears this year as I crossed the finish line.

Laura did great on her first 1/2 marathon. I was so proud of her for taking on something she didn't think she could do.

Next year, the Denver marathon will become a Rock and Roll marathon. I wonder what that will do to the growth of this event.

I hope next year, I get to find out. Maybe next year, Vicki will talk Laura into running the marathon. How cool would that be?

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