A Very Special Training Run

As many of you know I am training for a half-marathon. Well today was the dress rehearsal for my race in two weeks. I planned my 12 mile route very carefully last night and went over it in my mind as I was stretching this morning. As I ran, my route seemed to take on a life of its own. I am sure that when I look back on all of my training in a few weeks, that this mornings run will end up meaning more to me than all of my other runs (even the race itself). This is because my new route brought me to see my biggest cheerleader of all, my grandmother.

My grandmother had a massive stroke on Friday. I am unable to share the details (too emotionally drained to go there right now) but I can say that the doctors are amazed that she can speak given the severity of the stroke. She has lost the use of her left side and has a very long road ahead of her. At age 84 she is unsure of how much rehab she is going to be able to take and we just hope and pray that she can find the strength to get through this.

S, Z and I have been staying with my parents this weekend so that we could be close to the hospital and my mom. S has been busy cooking for the past few days, working to feed us all (he's Italian) and Z has been a pleasant distraction for my mom and uncle. It has been a weekend of family which has been really nice.

Well, when I came up on mile 4 today, I found myself on top of a huge hill. I looked down at the city below and there in the distance was the hospital. It was then that I decided to forget my mile markers, forget my desire to run 12 miles straight, basically forget my training and decided to go and see my grandmother.

You see my grandmother has been one of my biggest cheerleaders when it comes to my running. After every race or long run I have called her to tell her about my accomplishments. It makes me feel so good to hear her "ooh" and "ahh" about what I have done and she is always so excited to share my accomplishments with others :) She is the greatest and has also shared in a lot of my training this summer. She was often there after my long runs at the lake and would sit and veg with me when I was completely wiped out :) We would both complain about all of our aches and pains :)

So today at around mile 6, I broke out of my running stride and into the hospital. There I found my grandmother sleeping peacefully. I smiled at her, shed a few tears and blew her a kiss. On the way out I whispered that I loved her and that I would be back later. After my very short visit I found new life in my run. I was so happy to have seen her and shared that with her (even though she was asleep). I know it was that visit that helped me to get through the 12.2 miles with out too much trouble.

I called my mom at the hospital after my run and told her that I had visited my Noni. She laughed and when she told my grandmother that I had been by my Noni said, "that's savage entertainment". My mom agreed and then said that she couldn't even run 2 miles and my grandmother said that she couldn't even run 50 feet!

Well Noni, you might not be able to run 50 feet now but we are all praying for you and hope that someday soon you will be back with Ruby (her walker) and we will all go to the Olive Garden (or whatever restaurant you choose) for a big celebration dinner :) I love you Noni!!!!