The Eagle Has Landed. Literally.

If you haven’t seen my blog in a few posts, here’s the dealio: I’m currently running ten miles a day for ten days. I wanted to do the challenge anyway, but asked for donations for my cousin’s fundraiser for Huntington’s Disease to get me to do it NOW.  I’ve been able to raise almost $500 to help the cause, and I’m writing about my challenge as I go. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the fundraising.

Yesterday, I had some good company with Paul from Running Wild, who was in town for work, during my third ten mile run in three days. It was nice to have a distraction from the running and a nice conversation. I find it really cool to be able to meet other bloggers who happen to be runners, as I did in Boston.

Day 3

Gorgeous view from the north tip of Wrightsville Beach at sunrise.

My legs are feeling really good, but I’m having a few issues with my toes.  My baby toes sort of go under the one next to it, so they’re bruising. It happens on and off (my toes are shaped like triangles), and unfortunately, it’s ON right now.  Will it stop me from completing my ten miles a day for ten days? Hell no.

Today’s run wasn’t bad at all, except for the toe thing. Two of them hurt a little with every step and one (the one who hasn’t got its full nail back) hurts a little here and there. The humidity is killer. I’ve actually started running without my shirt (yes, I’m wearing a bra, I’m not into showcasing) so I won’t have it sticking to me for 6 miles. It’s gross. I’m drinking during my runs which is unusual, and I’m drinking TONS after I run.  But I feel good. And I know I’ll finish this challenge. I “only” have six more days to go. Today, I even saw what I believe to be a baby eagle.  This spring, I heard some baby calls and my son looked them up on the internet, and it sounded just like baby eagles. The nest is eagle-y too, so I just have to put two and two together and assume they’re eagles. So. Cool.

Day 4 Complete. Not bad considering I stopped to get and put band aids on my toes without stopping time!

Eagle’s nest with baby perched and looking out (I swear he looked right at me)

Way back about a hundred zillion years ago, when I would run and race for fun, I ran a race that served as a fundraiser for the local cancer center. Each year, they made a wish list of a big purchase they wanted/needed for their patients, such as TV’s in the rooms so the people getting chemo could have something to distract them and give them something to do. It was a fun race too, and little did I know, my mother would end up getting treatment at that same cancer center. I’m glad I helped just for the sake of helping. ANYWAY, the weather was pretty bad on the way over to the race start, if you call torrential downpours “pretty bad”. I wanted to turn around and go home. Then something hit me. I almost laughed as I thought to myself, “You big dumbass, running in the rain is a lot easier than getting chemo!”  So I got out there and ran my race.

Sarah, my cousin who I’ve been talking about and who is determined to raise as much money as she can to find a cure for Huntington’s Disease, lost her mom from Huntington’s. It hits very close to home for her. Like bullseye close, which is why she’s so determined to make a difference. Sarah let us know that a friend of hers, Kayla, lost her battle with the disease.  She was only 26 years old. Sarah challenged everyone to run/walk/bike 5.2 miles (the length of the run/walk/bike in her fundraiser Bar-2-Barbara) in honor of Kayla.  So today, as I thought about having to get up and run in eight million percent humidity, I thought about Kayla, and dedicated my run to her.

We go through a lot in our daily lives, don’t we? We have good days and bad days. Some people have more difficulty, such as Kayla, and some people are healthy their entire 100 year lives.  There’s not always a rhyme or reason to all that is life. What I do know is that, as a runner and especially as a marathon runner, you learn how to push through discomfort, push through pain, fatigue. We thirst, we sweat, we chafe, we bleed, we fall down. But we keep going. We fight through, we push ourselves, will ourselves forward.  I have to believe that being a runner has and will help me through issues that have and will arise in my life. Just like I don’t give up in training or a race, I won’t give up with life challenges. And I will NOT give up on my 10 miles a day for 10 days challenge.