50 MILES, BUT...

Perhaps you are logging on to find out how the run went yesterday. I am sorry to say that this post is not going to be a mile by mile description of the rocky climb to the peak, the aid stations, chasing down runners, or the hail storm with over an hour to go. For now I will only say that I finished all fifty miles. My next post will discuss the run itself. This one is to discuss something far more important: my wife.

When she and I got married, our wedding vows included the promise to each other that we would not only love and honor but encourage each other as well. Throughout this whole process from inception to completion, she as been more than a cheerleader for the effort. I doubt that it would have been possible without her various forms of support. She carefully edited my blog to make sure that my reputation as a diligent English teacher would not be tarnished by silly blunders. She cared for our son while I spent hours upon hours mucking through training runs. When I tossed and turned all night due to aching legs, she never complained. Not once did she ever taunt me for lying on the floor of the TV room with a lacrosse ball buried deep in the knotty tissue of my back. She stood on my hamstrings to ease the pain and called me when I was overdue from runs. But her greatest gift was promising that she would still be proud no matter the outcome.

Carissa did not come to watch the race because I told her it was an unnecessary burden. She wanted to be there even if it meant spending ten or eleven hours driving logging roads with our occasionally grumpy nine month old only to see me for less than a minute as I passed through a few aid stations. At mile thirty-five my friend, Shana, who had come to support me read me a text from her which said that she loved me. Although the power of that message overwhelmed me, I knew that she had been there the whole time.

With 15 miles to go, those words pushed me exceedingly hard to succeed. I did not want to fail her. She had invested so much in me that I could not simply ignore the sacrifices that she had made to support this project. Although her opinion of me would not have been any less if something had prevented me from finishing, it was only right that I do everything in my power to push all the way to the end. Never have I dug so deep for strength to finish as strongly as possible.

Perhaps it is silly to say so, but I want to use this public platform to say that I love her dearly and am deeply grateful to have a spouse who so selflessly loves and encourages my in all of my endeavors. This is a rare treasure which ought to be celebrated. The magnitude of my success is the result of her love and encouragement.