13.1... Done!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all my supporters.

To my friends and family for your donations of both money and kind words.
To my Team in Training peers and coaches for your commitment to success and for helping me believe I can do it!

For anyone reading who did not receive my race report email, the contents are below for your enjoyment.

On Sunday morning, I woke up at 4:15 AM, got dressed and tied my running shoes... shuttled into downtown Philly with my Team in Training teammates... waited anxiously at the starting line... and 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 47 seconds later, I crossed the finish line at the Philadelphia Half Marathon!!

First and foremost, I want to say thank you again for your support. Your donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on behalf of my race with Team in Training makes a real difference in the lives of the millions of patients and families who are battling blood cancers.

A few (okay, a lot of) words about the race... it was just fantastic. Philly is a great city and, although I don't have anything to compare it to, I thought the race course was really fun. And the volunteers at the water stops were all so friendly and smiley.

The first few miles took us through what I'd call historic Philadelphia, and along the Delaware River. We ran through South Street and then spent a good 2-3 miles on Chestnut Street. My parents showed up twice during the first half of the race, which was great -- seeing them definitely renewed my energy. One of the TNT staff members, Martin, also popped up a few times during the first half of the race to cheer us on.

I ran the first 8 miles with my friend Jen, a fellow Delta Gamma alumnae who also joined TNT this season. Around mile 5, we commented to each other that we were getting hungry, and lo and behold -- a guy carrying a box of Philly pretzels showed up on the sidewalk and started offering them to the runners! If it was midnight in Washington DC I'd have stayed far away from food a random guy offered me on the street (don't worry, Mom), but we were so excited to have a snack that we grabbed one right away.

Miles 7-8 or so went through Drexel's campus. They have some neat housing for fraternities and sororities, and the Sig Eps were outside their house on a corner, cheering and handing out water and high-fives. The race continued by the Philadelphia Zoo and a park, and my hips and ankles started hurting a little. But I had to get over that pretty quickly because to get through mile 9, I had to go up a pretty big hill. Before I could get too discouraged, I saw Jim -- one of our Team in Training coaches -- cheering on the sideline. He saw me approaching and ran about halfway up the hill with me, giving me some reminders on uphill running.

I was feeling better, and just before mile 10 saw my cousin Michele and her husband Josh, which perked me up for a few more minutes. Half a mile later, my legs were feeling a lot of pain, and once again a Team in Training coach (Colin, this time) showed up right when I needed him! He chatted with me for a few minutes while we ran together, then left, and just a few minutes later I ran into our third coach, Rich. He let me know what was coming up on the course in the last mile and a half, and we parted ways. A couple of other TNT chapters' (from other cities) coaches were around during mile 11-12, and they kept the good feelings going.

The last half-mile of the race was just incredible; there are no other words I can think of to describe it. The street was completely lined with spectators on both sides, at least 6 or 7 people deep, all cheering. Our names were on our race bibs, so people would say "GO LINDSEY!" or "GREAT RACE, LINDSEY!" or "GO TEAM!!!!" [Team in Training cheer] and even though I had no idea who they were, it put a smile on my face. This happened throughout the entire run, but all the cheering and love was just overwhelming at the end, and especially with all the "Go Team!" cheers, I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed as I dug in and sped up, and ran through the finish.

I can't wait to do it again.

Finally, I have to put in a little plug for Team in Training. I went from running 0 miles (quite literally) to being able to complete this 13.1-mile race in just a few months. If you've ever thought about running but weren't sure how to get started, and if you want to be a part of a fantastic group working for a great cause, I can't recommend Team in Training enough.

Thank you all again, very much, for your support of me and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I'm so lucky to have people like you in my life!