Hi friends and family,
First, the good news!
As of last Friday, Fred's Team Chicago has raised $330,000 for critical cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, passing our team goal of $300k! Thank you so much, my friends and family, for being a part of that amazing news - with your help and generosity, I passed my personal fundraising goal of $10k, and hit $12,000. YOU ALL MADE IT HAPPEN, and for that, I'm eternally grateful!
On to the bad news... Race day has come and gone, and as you might have read in the press, it was extremely hot in Chicago on marathon Sunday. High of 89 degrees,very humid, and sunny all day. I altered my pace accordingly to be safe, stayed hydrated (I had thankfully carried my own water), and ran safely, but when I got to mile 16.5 on the course, I found it barricaded by the police where I would have made the turn to head south for the last 10 miles. The decision was made by the race directors to call off the race part way through for safety reasons. At that point, we were made to continue east on Jackson to head directly back to Grant Park (the finish area), another 1.75 miles. All in all, I ran about 18.25 miles that day.
I can understand the race director's decision, and it was done for the safety of the runners - no argument at all given the conditions of the course and the day. I just know it was a disappointing day for me. I trained well this year for my race, I did the work to get to race day, I ran safely and smartly, and I didn't get to go the distance.
Soooo, after trying to get a last-minute entry to the 2007 NYC Marathon with no success, I've signed up for the Myrtle Beach Bi-Lo Marathon in February 2008, and I'm going the distance. Heaven knows heat won't be an issue then! :-) I'll continue with the training plan I used for Chicago, my running is going really well right now, and I'll arrive at the start raring to go!
Thanks again, all of you, your support means the world to me!
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