Anyway, so I guess I'm still doing the race tomorrow. Regardless of my lack of training because of everything that has happened in the last couple of months and my achilles tendon bugging me, I will be there bright and early, and I will finish. I might just be REALLY slow, heh.
But that brings me to what I've been thinking about a lot this week. The day before my last race (my first half-marathon ever) was Josh's birthday. It was the first time he'd been admitted to the hospital with complications with his chemo. It was the first time those horrible fevers showed up--and then never went away. We took Baby Girl with us and headed up to the hospital to visit him, to take him a little present and some ice cream for his birthday. I dedicated that last race to him, believing 100% that he would be running the Halloween Half with us next time.
I still can't believe he's really gone.
He got me through that last race. I'd never gone that far in my life, and it was a really rough run for some reason. I started to lose energy at mile 5, which was crazy. My 11 mile run two weeks before was cake in comparison (only the last mile was hard). But the thought of him fighting cancer, of how I'd dedicated my race to him is what got me through it. I had tears in my eyes for the last three miles and I had this burst of energy every time I thought about him and that's how I finished strong.
I think every race I ever run will remind me of him, since he got me through my first. The pain of his loss is still fresh, and tomorrow will be an emotional day for me I think. But maybe this time he will be running it with me, just not in the way I'd hoped.
I love you and miss you Josh. We all do.
2 comments:
xo
I've got a half tomorrow, too. I'll be thinking of you.
This is a beautiful tribute. One you'll renew again and again. And you know what? I think you'll never run a race alone.
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