A Tough Decision...

So this post is hard for me to write. As most of you know I have been dealing with a calf strain injury for the past month. I've been getting treatment from Dr. Justin and making progress. But inside I've been stressed out. Stressed out because my next race is December 6th. And the last long run I ran was 6 miles on November 1st. Before that I ran my sub 2 half marathon on October 19th. So I haven't trained at all for this race. And that was really scaring me. All my friends said my body was so used to the half distance and it would be fine come race day. But I have never not trained for a race. Or gone into a race with no long runs the whole month before.

This race is near and dear to my heart. It's one I've been fundraising for...the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon. You may remember that I set out to run it last year. I traveled to Memphis only to have the race canceled the night before due to an ice storm. So I was really looking forward to running for those kids this year.

Since I've been injured I've been debating this race. Questions have been going through my mind about not training, will I make the calf injury worse if I run it, can I afford the hotel room and weekend travel?

A few weeks ago one of my roommates for the weekend sent us all a message and said she couldn't go. She has a lot of big life changes going on as well as a family vacation the week before the race and it was just too much. Then the next week, the second of my 3 roommates canceled also. And then yesterday, the 3rd roommate canceled. So that would leave me with a huge hotel bill for the weekend. All of my other friends already have rooms.

All the doors to this race keep slamming in my face. So in my heart I feel like God is trying to tell me something.

I've decided I'm NOT going to run the St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon...at least not this year. This will be my first DNS.

As soon as I made this decision...a feeling of peace came over me. All this pressure and stress has been lifted off my shoulders.

Now I can focus on getting my calf injury healed properly. I can continue my run streak but not stress over only being able to run 1 mile runs.

It was a tough decision to make. I've been super emotional about it. But for some reason...St. Jude is not supposed to happen for me this year. I hope one day I will be able to run this race.

To all those that helped me fundraise and reach my goal this year....thank you! Please know that even though I'm not running, your donation is still helping those kids at St. Jude.

So what's next for me? Like I mentioned, I'm focusing on getting healed and continuing my streak. My next race is Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans on January 25th. I should have plenty of time to get my body healed and back in race shape in time for that race. (Remember you can use my code ROADRUNNERGIRL to save $10 off the half and full or the code ROADRUNNERGIRL10k to save $5 off the 10K!)

QOTD: Have you ever decided to not run a race that you are registered for?

St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon Weekend Day 3!

In case you missed my other Memphis posts:

Day 1 and Expo
The Memphis Race That Wasn't in Memphis
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Tour
Day 2 and Heroes Pasta Party

Saturday morning I felt really weird when I woke up. I was supposed to be running a half marathon that day! But due to the ice storm it was canceled. So we slept in and took our time getting ready. Originally we weren't supposed to leave Memphis until the next day. We had planned on celebrating our race in Memphis that night. But because there was no race we decided to leave a day early.

When I checked the weather I was pretty grateful for my warm hotel room! Running in those temps (feels like 9 degrees!!!) was not something this Gulf Coast girl would be used to!

In our hotel lobby we saw several runners that had gone for a run that morning anyway. Some of them ran part of the route. I talked to a few ladies that ran 11 miles. They said the race officials made a good call in canceling the race because they came across several places where it was pure ice and they had to stop running and tip toe to get through it. They also said while they were running that a tree branch fell down right in front of them because it was so heavy with ice! Luckily they didn't get hurt. Hearing their stories made me feel even better about the cancellation. Safety first!

Before we left we attended the St. Jude Heroes VIP Lounge that the race officials invited all the Heroes to. This was supposed to be an event only for the top fundraisers but because the race was canceled they invited all the Heroes to attend.

The event was held in The Peabody Hotel...which was convenient for us because it was right across the street from our hotel! When we arrived the volunteers were very friendly and gave us three tickets to use at the vendors of our choice. They had all kinds of food vendors there including Panera Bread, Smoothie King, McAllisters, and Moe's Southwest Grill.

Before we ate we went to get our Finisher shirt. These were originally supposed to be for sale at the finish line. But because there wasn't a finish line...they just gave them to us instead. Wow! They had run out of my size so I had to get the next size up. It's a little big on me but I was still grateful to receive it.

After getting our shirts we set out to find something to eat. I chose Moe's Southwest Grill. The taco salad was so yummy!

The table decorations were super cute and inspiring!

After eating my taco salad I decided not to waste my other tickets. So I got a smoothie from Smoothie King. Then I also got a sandwich from McAlisters....which I wrapped up so I could eat it in the car later for lunch.

I also ran into my friend Robbie from Run 4 It! We were hoping to see each other at this race so I was so happy when I saw her!

While I was talking to Robbie, the CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude, Rick Shadyac, came by our table. He thanked us for fundraising and for being there. He was such a nice man! I told him I totally understood his decision to cancel the race and thanked him for everything he does. He said it was one of the toughest decisions he's had to make. 

On the way out Holly, Melanie, and I stopped to take a few pictures in front of the HUGE and gorgeous Christmas tree in the Peabody Hotel!

The St. Jude VIP Heroes Lounge was great! I'm glad I got to experience it! I really believe St. Jude did an amazing job trying to make it up to the runners for the cancellation. They let every Hero attend the VIP Heroes Lounge. They gave us our finisher shirts that we would have normally had to purchase. They gave us three options to choose from in regards to our race registration: 

• We could transfer our race registration to one of these races- P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and Half-Marathon, Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon and Half-Marathon, or St. Jude Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon
• We could donate our registration fee directly to St. Jude
• We could request a refund. 

St. Jude definitely handled the cancellation well! I am so impressed with their professionalism and care for the runners! It makes me definitely want to fundraise again and run this race in the future! 

QOTD: What is your favorite part of a race weekend?

St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon Weekend Day 2!

In case you missed my other Memphis posts:

Day 1 and Expo
The Memphis Race That Wasn't in Memphis
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Tour

After touring the hospital we were all starving and ready for lunch! The tour bus took us back to downtown and we went inside the convention center to decide on where to eat. We decided on pizza and hopped on the trolley and headed to a place called Aldo's Pizza Pies. We probably could have walked there but you know how they were predicting an ice storm? Well yeah...it had started. It was raining ice for sure!

To this Gulf Coast girl...it looked almost like snow!

I was happy to be inside the restaurant where it was warm. The menu there was amazing! They had all sorts of specialty pizzas. But I'm pretty picky so I stuck to pepperoni. I didn't want to eat anything that might upset my tummy before race day. I just ordered my pizza by the slice...and I ordered two slices. Well...the server didn't tell me that the slices were HUGE! One slice would have been enough! I ate a bite of the second slice and just couldn't finish it. It was delicious though! The picture doesn't show how big these slices really were!

My Sole2Soul Sisters at lunch! Love these ladies!

After lunch some of us split ways. Several of us went back to the expo (including me)! We took a few more pictures!

We also signed the wall for the kids at St. Jude!

I did more shopping than I did the day before. The vendors were putting things on sale. I bought two pairs of Swiftwick socks and got one for free! And I found the new flavor of Huma Gel...Mangoes!!!

After the expo we headed back to the hotel to rest before the pasta party. We watched the news about the ice storm and to see if there had been any changes concerning the race. So far...the news said the race was still on. So we started getting our race outfits and warm layers together and making our prayer bracelets.

It was finally time to head to the St. Jude Heroes Pasta Party. Only 4 of us were attending...the rest of our group ate somewhere else. But I do not regret attending the pasta party at all! It was amazing!

When we arrived at the convention center (where the pasta party was being held) we could hear cowbells and clapping and cheering. We soon saw what the noise was about...it was all the St. Jude volunteers and they were clapping and cheering for us! They were lined up on each side of us as we walked into the party. They kept cheering and telling us thank you for being St. Jude Heroes! I lost it! The tears could not be contained. It was so emotional!

We then walked into this huge room with tons of candle lit tables. They were showing a slideshow of pictures from St. Jude. We watched as we lined up to get our food.

Me and Jackie!

They had several tables set up with the food. It was very organized and they had the lines evenly distributed at each table. Each table had the same food so you only needed to go through one table line.

The table you chose to sit at already had your water, bread, silverware, cookies for dessert, pretzels, and a St. Jude notepad.

 The food was good! I was impressed that they also had a gluten free pasta option too!

As we ate we watched the screens. They were scrolling through everyone's tweets and pictures from the weekend! I was surprised to see all of mine on the big screens! They also told us the top 10 reasons to attend the St. Jude Heroes Pasta Party. I LOVED the number 1 reason!

We had just finished eating when we started getting texts from our friends who weren't at the pasta party asking us if the race had been canceled. They had heard that it had. I was confused and told them that no one had said that at the pasta party. So I pulled up the race website....and there it was. The race had been canceled. We were all in shock.

A few seconds later the CEO of ALSAC/St. Jude got on stage and said, "So guys we have to have a conversation. Ok? So I have to give you some news that is unfortunate. And I hope and pray that you all will hear me out...as I tell you that we can't go forward tomorrow." He then went on to explain all the reasons that aided in his decision to cancel the race. It wasn't the roads per say but the sidewalks were icy and that is dangerous for the spectators. The course itself had a tree down and low hanging limbs that were covered in ice and hanging over the course. The finish line area was literally a skating rink. 30% of the volunteers were forced to cancel as well as 15% of the medical personnel due to the ice storm. And the city of Memphis was under a state of emergency. There were about 8500 citizens that were without power. And he didn't think it was right to distract the police force from responding to those citizens that were in need due to the weather. He said decisions like this had to be based upon safety first.

I totally understood and agreed with his decision. But of course I was still very disappointed. I had worked so hard to overcome my injury to get to this race. And I was sad for my friends who this was their first half and first full marathon.

The pasta party went on to include a lady named Hillary who was a patient at St. Jude. She had a bone marrow transplant and while recovering she walked 26.2 miles in the corridors of the bone marrow transplant unit at St. Jude. What an inspiration it was to hear her tell her story!

After that we were told that we, the St. Jude Heroes, had raised a total of $8.2 million dollars that weekend! That is what this was all about! Helping those children who are battling this awful disease. The race may have been canceled but I didn't regret one moment of my time in Memphis and my time spent fundraising.

I also got to see my friend Stephani from Illinois. I was sad that her group had risked the weather and drove into Memphis...and hours later the race got canceled.

Same story for some other friends that had driven from Texas...and then the race was canceled.

After visiting with friends for a little while we headed back towards our hotel. I tried to take a picture of all the ice on the trees but it was hard to see in the dark.

My pasta party friends went to their hotel and I met my roomies and we headed to Beale Street. We couldn't leave Memphis without hearing some jazz! Everyone told us to go to BB Kings so that's where we ended up.

We didn't stay out too late because we were all just emotionally exhausted from the day. We decided to go ahead and leave the next day (a day early) since the race had been canceled. The St. Jude Marathon people invited all the St. Jude Heroes to attend the VIP Lounge (which was supposed to only be for top fundraising people) the next day. So we went to that before we left Memphis. But this post is super long so I'll save that for next time!

Thanks for reading!

QOTD: Have you ever fundraised for a race?

The St. Jude Memphis Race That Wasn't in Memphis

I'm going a little out of order here but I can't wait to write about this part. Just in case you missed it be sure to read all about my first day in Memphis which included the race expo and about my tour of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Most of you saw my Facebook and Twitter post the night before the race saying that the race had been cancelled.

Post by Road Runner Girl.

I was at the Pasta Party (which I can't wait to tell you about too...but in another post) when we started getting text messages from our friends asking us if the race had been cancelled. We hadn't heard anything like that so I pulled up the race website and sure enough...the race had been cancelled! About 5 minutes later the St. Jude CEO got on stage and made it official.

I had so many different emotions running through me. I had worked so hard overcoming injury to get to this race. I was sad that I wouldn't get to run a race that I'd been wanting to run for so long. I was super sad for my friends who this would be their first half and first full marathon. But...I totally understood the reasons why they cancelled the race too. It wasn't safe. The roads were icy. And half the volunteers, police force, and medical personnel either couldn't travel there due to the weather conditions or they were dealing with the after effects of the weather. You just can't put on a well or safe race without all those people! So I came to terms with it pretty quickly.

Because we couldn't run...we decided to head home a day early. And...we decided to go ahead and run our race...at home! They were mailing us our medals...and we wanted to actually earn those medals.

So several girls who were running the full marathon started at 3AM Sunday morning. And the girls who were running the half marathon (including me) started around 5:20AM.

Even though our race in Memphis had been cancelled...we were still doing what we loved! We were running with our friends! We wore our race singlets and our race numbers. And several of our Sole2Soul Sisters that weren't running...made this day so special for us. They woke up early and organized and manned water stops for us. They made posters for us. They met us at different points of the route to cheer us on. They even made us a finish line! It was soooo amazing to know we had such great friends who cared!

The first few miles for me went like always...they were miserable because I wasn't warmed up. But I tried not to think about that. This run was for those sweet kids of St. Jude.

A few miles in and we heard a sweet voice (it was dark still so we couldn't see). It was our sweet friend Bridget! She was on her bicycle and was there to ride with us! So awesome!

We were running and in front of us we saw a car stopped on the side of the road with their headlights on. We were a little leary but once we approached we saw who it was...our friend Christina and she was holding a sign for us! What an awesome sight!

That was a great push for us to keep going! Especially the marathoners! So we kept running through a familiar neighborhood. A few miles later we saw another sign!

We were approaching one of our water stops and guess who was there? Christina again! And she wasn't lying about the brownies! She had brownies, crackers, pretzels, and water for us! And she had music to keep us motivated!

It was the BEST WATER STOP EVER!!!! Thank you so much Christina!!!

Finally we started running again. Believe me...it was hard lol! I wanted to stay with the brownies! But thinking about those kids at St. Jude helped me get going again.

Running was going great so far. The knee and hip were not hurting a bit! At around mile 8 though I started hitting a wall. Due to my injury I had not run farther than 7 miles in about a month. So mile 8 was tough. But my friend Bridget rode her bike beside me and talked. She got me through that wall and I'm so grateful!

We got to our next water stop and I was so thankful to only have a few miles left!

We only had a few miles left to go and all of a sudden we saw more of our friends! Donna and Jennifer had come out to cheer us on! It was great to see smiling faces! I was ready to be done. I was tired. But I was thankful that my knee felt great. We gave quick hugs and kept running. Around a mile later we saw Donna and Jennifer again...at our last and final water stop. They played some music for us to help motivate us. I think we were all struggling. But we were almost there!

The last two miles were the toughest for me. But I looked on the side of the road and saw some more signs that our friend Megan had made for us! I really needed those words of encouragement (even though they were more for the girls running the full)! But I've ran two fulls...so I knew it was much tougher for them at this moment than it was for me.

Finally I saw the neighborhood we would be finishing in. And who was at the entrance? One of my best friends Paigey!!! I teared up when I heard her cheer for me and when I saw her face! It meant so much to me that she was there! And her sweet boyfriend snapped a picture of me as I turned into the neighborhood to run my last half a mile!

I had to pass the "Finish Line" and run to the end of the cul-de-sac and come back to make my 13.1 miles. My friend Kelly (who had run the half with us that day too) took a picture as I was coming in to the "finish line."

The finish line was awesome! It consisted of two very cute kids holding the ends of a jumprope! So special! I immediately went to Paige...and even hugged her all sweaty (sorry Paige)!

Some of our awesome cheerleaders!!!

We watched the rest of our runners finish their race! It was so awesome to see my friends Holly and Holly finish their first marathon! Our sisters even got them a medal!!!

Here are all the awesome finishers of our St. Jude Half and Full Marathon here at home (minus one who had to leave early)!

My friend Donna gave everyone a card with a sweet little charm inside! I love it! Thanks so much Donna!

I also had my prayer bracelet for this race. I wrote something to praise God for or pray about for each mile of the race. I've never done that before but LOVED it! It really helped me each mile!

As for the knee and hip...they did great! I may have felt a little soreness in the knee around mile 11 but it wasn't pain. And after the run...I didn't feel a thing! Yay!

I had done it! I had run for the kids of St. Jude! It may not have been in Memphis...but this race still meant so much to me! It was amazing to have the support of all my Sole2Soul Sisters!

QOTD: Have you ever had one of your races cancelled?