My Teammates: Erin & David

This past weekend's run was amazing. It was perfect in its challenge and pace. While I was running, I realized two things:

1. The importance of being in a group.
2. The importance of inspiration.

Erin

I met Erin at the beginning of training. She was literally the first person I met. She had a yellow jersey over her running shirt so I thought she was someone with information. My hunch was correct, she is a TnT Mentor. Before I get ahead of myself, let me explain a TnT mentor. Due to the number of people training for various marathons, TnT decided to break the group into smaller groups, assign a mentor, and create a small community with a liasion to the bigger TnT group. My mentor, Emily, is amazingly sweet. She runs in the advanced group so I rarely run with her.

Back to Erin. She was wearing a yellow jacket because that is what mentors wear to be spotted easily. She runs in the Intermediate group, like me. During my first Tuesday run, my stomach started cramping around mile 2.5. I started walking and doubting myself. How could I ever finish 26.2 miles when I can't even finish three? A few moments later, I started up again. As I started to get into the groove with running and nursing a stomach cramp (caused by dehydration, a common issue with me), a person ran by and asked me, "You doing okay?" She waited long enough to hear my response, "Yeah, I'll be fine." At that instant, I felt like I was on a team. I haven't been on an athletic team in a long time and it felt good! That person who cared and followed up with me at the end of three miles turned out to be Erin.

Ever since that practice, Erin and I have been running buddies. She has introduced me to her mentees and I have introduced her to my mentor and mentee collegues. She encourages me to keep running and I try to do the same to her. This Saturday, my knee started to pain around mile 4. She kept going and ran ahead of me at her own pace. She would look back and make sure I was running. Watching her run ahead of me inspired me. It kept me going, I didn't stop even though a voice in me wanted me to (sidenote: I would have stopped running if I was in advanced stages of pain.). Erin has been nothing but an amazing running partner. Some days I run faster than her, other days she runs faster than me. But, I know that she is always looking out for me.

David

Around mile 7, my body was starting to hurt a bit more. The voice was getting louder. I knew I had one more mile, but the sweet bliss of walking that one mile started to tempt me. All I could think about was David. If David could do it, so could I!

David is an honoree teammate for the New York City Chapter. He is also running the Chicago marathon. And, get this: he finished his last radiation six.weeks.ago. SERIOUSLY people, how does this happen? The man is a pure hero with such a great heart. He shared his story with us on Saturday and not only did it bring tears to my eyes, but it brought a lump in my throat. He has such a unique ability to share a story, his story, with ease, humor, and gratitude. I wanted to hug him afterwards. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease a few months back. TnT asked him to speak on a cold Saturday in January. He had just finished chemo that week and was tired when Saturday rolled around. But, he got out of bed, caught the subway, and his subway had a malfunction at 72nd Street. He left the subway and ran to Central Park. He missed the morning meet-up. Then he saw the running crew making their way down Central Park West. He cheered them on, in the snow and sleet. All of a sudden, he said, he started running with the team. Although his body was aching and cold, his heart was filled with such warmth as he finished running one hour (for the first time e-v-e-r).

His tests came back negative on Friday and he gave a huge smile when he shared the results with us this Saturday. And I noticed that his front two teeth were missing. David later said that he bought a bike and got into a bike accident, when he crashed into a tree. He lost his bike and his two front teeth. He is going to the dentist in a few days to get replacement teeth. And he is STILL running!

After the eight mile run, I found David munching on a muffin. I went up to him to thank him for sharing his story. I told him that his words inspired me to finish the last mile. He smiled and thanked ME for running and raising money for more research in finding a cure to cancer. Pshaw! It is nothing compared to the obstacles (including trees) that David has had to overcome.