Grateful

It officially has been one year since our car accident. 1 year ago today our lives changed forever. It wasn't that we were seriously injured, God was watching, it was that we lived and will forever live our lives differently as a result. Here is how it happened...

I won Galena triathlon in May of 2007 and got a free weekend away at a really cute hotel in Galena. A resort like town about 2.5 hrs from where we live. Going away in the summer is impossible so we decided to take Noah to Galena right before Christmas to take a sleigh ride and bond as a family. Part of the package that I won was a free massage at some fancy spa (I never go to places like this). I got a prenatal massage since I was 6 mos preg with Molly. They had nature music playing that made me want to pee every 5 min. I semi enjoyed it laying down in a pillow that had a belly cut out for my huge tummy. It was a little weird. Anyway Bill and Noah dropped me off at 8am for my massage and took a little car ride before heading back to pick me up. There was a big snow storm that previous night so black ice and tons of snow were all over the roads. The spa was in Dupuqe Iowa about 20 min of Galena. After my fancy massage I jumped in the jeep super relaxed to take a quick ride to a toy train outlet store down a country highway. Not far into our ride is when it happened. We never made it to the toy train store. It was a 2 lane highway each way with a grassy ditch in the middle between the east and west. Bill was coming over a bridge when he lost control of the Jeep on black ice. I remember holding my breath and just saying Bill over and over again. Our car slide fast forward then it started to slip to the side picking up speed. Once the wheels caught dry pavement we were sideways so the car started to flip over and over again. We rolled in the the grassy snowy ditch and then kept rolling and sliding into oncoming traffic until we eventually came to a stop on the shoulder of the opposite side of traffic, upside down. Bill was calm in a scary way. He immediately got his seat belt off since we were hanging upside down. We didn't know that we were in the way of semis. I think he knew. So he got Noah out of his car seat and by then passerby's were at our windows taking Noah from the window. The top of the car had crunched down since it rolled a few times and I could barely get out of the tiny window with my belly. We walked a few feet away from the car and stood there staring at it. We didn't cry or scream. We were just quit. We were all alive but I thought for sure I had lost the baby. All we could do was wait to get to a hospital. The ambulance didn't have the equipment to hear a Heart beat inside of a belly. Obviously she is here and okay so it went well. A few bruises from the car rolling on my shoulder but that is it! I am not religious but I DO believe God was watching or angels were there. People that saw our car roll told us how lucky we were to pass into oncoming traffic without getting hit. We happened to cross over when there was a break in traffic.

Days like today when there is snow and ice on the roads I have to take a deep breath and relax. I will forever be nervous driving now. I DON'T care how mad others are around me that I go slow.

That night that the accident happened Bill and I laid in bed and just kept hugging each other and Noah. We were all there and healthy and THAT was the best gift that anyone could ever ask for. I am grateful for my family.

BarbQue... OH and a run

Thanks Mira for the photo! You can tell I don't fit in:)

Brian and my Dad post marathon BBQ meal.

The best ribs in Memphis post race. Take note my Dad's ribs are on the left. He really cleans them off. I am on the right. I guess I am not good at eating ribs.

This is at the halfway point or so. I wasn't that miserable yet:)

Next time I decide to do a marathon someone slap me. OR better yet someone slap me if I decide to do a HILLY marathon with 13mph winds and freezing weather. I would NEVER call a marathon fun. I am a 10k runner at heart and always will be I think. We left Friday morning for the 8 hr drive to Memphis, TN. It was me, my Dad, and my brother. We have never gone anywhere alone. I was really nervous about the quiet moments in the car. I cannot stop talking if there is silence it makes me nervous. My brother, Brian, can totally just space out and focus on a spot of dust for h0urs on end. Which is why he is a good endurance runner. Not only was it a long car ride but my the two of them have to eat meals. NO snacking on clif bars and fruit and calling that lunch like I do. They have to eat a meal at a restaurant that you order from a menu and get served! What a waste of time. It was a little funny. WE talked about everything. Car trips are a great way for families to talk and really communicate. We spend so much time plugged into life literally with cell phones, computers, television that we don't accually communicate anymore.

We got to Memphis in time for dinner. I think they were relieved that a meal was coming. I was just glad to walk around. Brian and I got our race packets. This whole running only thing is so foreign to me. NO packing a transition bag, traveling with a bike, wetsuit, and every other odd and end that you might need. IT was just a small bag of running shoes and some clothes. That's it. So simple. I get why people do this, for the pure simplicity of running. I didn't even have to spend time at night getting my race stuff ready. Just made sure I remembered my shoes.

The morning of the race we got up and it was FREEZING. Memphis was suppose to be in the 50s this time of year! What happened. It was in the 20s with the wind chill and VERY windy. I felt like I never left Chicago.

I got the in Elite start Corral, shouldn't have. I looked around and I was the slowest looking person. At least I thought so. All of the "runners" are sooo tiny and they wear these itty bitty running outfits even though it was freezing. There were even Kenyans! I did not fit in. Oh well first marathon really so it was all for the experience. Before the gun went off and looked back to see if I could see Brian. There he was just laughing at me, he knew I looked ridiculous too. Just as I didn't want to do I went out WAY too fast. I got caught up in the excitement of the moment and ran the first mile at 6:30. Oops. I tried to slow down for 6 hilly miles but had a hard time doing it. I knew I would pay for it later. I think I averaged 6:45 or so for the first 10k. Not my plan. But really up to the halfway point I felt good holding 6:45-6:55. Even though the wind seemed to get worse and the hills never went away. I held 6:55 or so until mile 19 when my calfs were screaming at me to stop and lay down. I didn't really bonk it was more leg pain. Lack of endurance training I think. I stopped at mile 19 to pee! I would never do that but it was way too cold to pee in my pants and then run wet. So I crouched down in front of someones house, not pretty. I think a few people got a very white butt shot. I felt better. At least I was hydrated. Pretty much from then on I was on survival mode. I was just trying to finish. I actually slowed down for the water stations and drank thinking that would be a magic pill to my legs hurting. Not so much. I ended up finishing the race in 3:05:04. Not too bad for my first real marathon. Next time I will actually pace myself better AND run a flat course. If there is a next time.

All about the experience

In less than 48 hours I will be "racing" a marathon. I have never raced one before. I have jogged 26.2 miles for fun back in college withe friends or my husband but never at any speed that would elicit a bonk or hitting the wall. After my season ended early in September I decided I needed a goal to keep me motivated and honest thru the early winter. After talking to my brother I decided that a marathon would be a great goal and a new experience for me. I will be racing an Ironman in less than a year as a pro triathlete I thought it would be a good idea to get the sense of 26.2 miles. Not only the racing aspect but training for that kind of mileage. Let me tell you 20 miles is LONG. And BORING. I don't know how distance people do it race after race but I am a short course athlete at heart. I LOVE the intensity and time that is involved in Olympic distance triathlons. BUT I need an new challenge. I need something to make me get out of bed in the morning and put fire in my step. Ironman and marathon did that for me.
My brother signed up for the Memphis Marathon with me. He is pure runner no swimming or biking in his bones. I think wet he might weight more than me. But the best running partner. He never complains, never bonks, makes me laugh all the time, and well he is my brother. You can talk to your family about anything. And 2.5 hrs of running brings out every conversation imaginable. He is everything I am not. He is a night person, not intense, or competitive with others, passive in some ways, very techy, funny, and even more impressive he can totally disconnect on a treadmill. He can run for miles and miles with no TV or music. I on the other hand need movies and music non stop to keep me working out in the basement. This whole marathon experience has been awesome! It has been a reason for me to see him almost every week. Without training I barely get to see him now that we both have kids. Saturday I have a high goal for myself. But if I don't reach my goal I will still come away from this marathon with an amazing experience of spending time with my brother. And that will make it a success!