What a difference a few days can make. On Sunday I had a
high and a low. I ran a great race at the Modesto Marathon and ended up with a
6 minute PR, unfortunately that wasn’t enough for a win that day. I lost the
race by 15 seconds. But, another high point was that I was still able to run 10
miles afterward and see my friends and kids I mentored in the Teens Run Modesto
program finish their marathons. My plans were to continue training for the 24
hour National Championship the first weekend in May. My tickets had been
purchased and I was on track to gear up my training and head out to Cleveland in
hopes of qualifying for the U.S. National Team for the 24 hour race in Poland
in September. Then, my plans changed. On Wednesday I found out I was bumped
from second alternate to first alternate on the U.S. National 100 km team. Then
Thursday I found out I made the team. They asked me if I could commit to being
in Italy on April 19th. That’s a whopping 28 days until the first
official team meeting and 31 days until the World Cup race.
Needless to say, I was shocked, thrilled, scared, excited,
and overwhelmed by the opportunity that was laid out before me when I checked
my email that Thursday evening. I joked with my wife that late night emails
have been pretty exciting and high points of my running career (aside from the
races). I found out I was second alternate via a late night email in January of
2012. Thank goodness my wife and I got our passports in order in January after
that first late night email. We thought it was all for naught, though, when no
one dropped off the team after the notification was made and put the thought of
traveling to Italy this spring out of our minds. Then Wednesday I was notified
that I was now the first alternate. A confusing email on Thursday made me think
I was actually on the team so I called the team captain and was told it was
true. I was named to the team because 2 people who had qualified above me had
dropped from the team.
Representing the USA in a national competition has been a
lifelong goal of mine and I couldn’t believe I was going to have the chance to
feel the pride of representing our nation as I stood at the opening ceremonies
wearing team USA gear! Yes, we get to wear what the athletes wore in the 2008
Olympic Games. Too bad the race wasn’t after the 2012 Summer Games, maybe we
would get the new stuff, but I am not complaining. I will proudly wear the red,
white and blue as I try to run yet another PR in a race in …oh my goodness…as I
write this it is 28 and a half days.
This has been even crazier because we have been elbow deep
in landscaping our back yard . Wednesday
evening we were out in the dark with headlamps to guide us laying sod and
spreading dirt. Thursday, more sod and trying to straighten out sprinklers.
Friday my daughter had T-ball practice and we had 5 cousins along with our kids
for a play date. Then, finally, on Saturday, after a day prepping baseball
fields for games that start next week and trying to get more landscaping we were
able to start planning for this unexpected trip!
Oh yeah, in the meantime I was trying to keep up with my
running so I could perform at my best for the race. On Friday I got in 24 miles
(including running the Super Mile with middle school students at lunch).
Saturday I ran 18 in between landscaping and more landscaping. Sunday I
squeezed in 25 miles after church and before more landscaping. I was too tired
after the week’s activities to get up at 4 am like I usually do for my weekend
runs, so my wife gave me permission to take off mid-day both Saturday and
Sunday.
The only thing that makes my wife and I think twice about
this wonderful opportunity is leaving our 2 kids behind stateside as we head
over to Europe. We have never left them for this long, and we are planning on
making the trip 10 days to enjoy a few sights while we are there and get over
the jet lag before the race. Once again, we were blessed by generous offers of
family members and friends to watch the kids while we are gone. We are talking
to them every day about the trip and what to expect so that hopefully they are
prepared for when we go. We plan on using Skype and finding Wi-Fi at every stop
to connect with them. I think that seeing their smiling faces on the computer
screen will give me the boost I need before the race!
Now, maybe I can begin to sit back and enjoy the ride as we
continue to make our plans for this incredible trip. I have already been able
to enjoy the support of the wonderful people I know as I have been getting a
steady stream of congratulatory emails and Facebook posts. I have been offered
donation money by thoughtful friends and my brother is trying to get me a
fundraising night at Oodles. The trip is partially funded, but we are trying to
figure out the details of how much we will need to make it happen. It seems
like everything has lined up perfectly so far, so no doubt, it will all work
itself out.
