26.2

Today I am grateful for the Valentine Vessel of Gratitude. We emptied it last night, reading what had been put in over the last weeks and starting a new batch of appreciation.

I am also grateful to be just around the corner from marathon #10. Each marathon we have done has been memorable for it's own reasons. The Chicago Marathon will always hold a special place in my heart because it was our first. What I had dreamed of doing at 19, I finally got around to at 39. I covered 26.2 miles. I am not a crier, but when I saw the 26-mile marker and then turned the corner and saw the finish line, I was overcome with emotion.

The Kansas City Marathon will also hold an extra special place in my heart. We ran it on October 17, 2009, ten months to the day since my mastectomies. Darcy and I had started several marathons side by side by then, and gone up to 20 miles together. But after going through breast cancer treatment and surgeries, and having to drop out of the Twin Cities Marathon the previous fall because I was going through chemo, we decided that our goal in KC would be to finish together. It was a very fitting goal for us after what I had been through as a cancder patient and what he had been through as my spouse and key support. Kansas City was a wonderful marathon weekend experience overall, capped off by our side-by-side finish.

After my first marathon, I got hooked on that exhilirating feeling that only comes after finishing 26.2 miles. There's no doubt about it; those last few miles are tough and one step at a time takes on new meaning. But I keep going back for more. And I feel deeply blessed to be able to do so.

Marathon weekend means a blog break. I look forward to telling you about Omaha when I return next week.

One step at a time, 26.2 miles can be covered, and so can any goal you have. Start today.

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