San Jose Half-Marathon Recap and Thank You!

I can't believe that the race was just two weeks ago! The day started at 5 AM for me since I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep because I was so nervous. I went to Eunice and Wonki's house to carpool with them and a few other members of the team. If you ever run this race, seriously consider taking public transportation because we were stuck in the off-ramp traffic for half an hour. This is not good when the race is starting at 8 AM and you are still on the ramp at 7:45. Somehow we made it off the ramp and drove to a parking structure close to the start line. Because Sophie was with us, we were able to park in a handicapped spot, which made it possible for us to catch the other members of the Cure CMD team to take a photo before we all ran to the start line.

While we were stuck in traffic, we all compared notes to see what songs we had on our various Apple devices. I had loaded on H's iTouch all my favorite Korean gayo dance songs and the songs that my FB friends had recommended, including both Eye of the Tiger and the Theme from Rocky. When we ran to the start line I took out the iTouch and put the headphones into my ears. I tried to start my playlist. I looked and looked and then suddenly realized that I HAD THE WRONG ITOUCH! It was R's iTouch, not H's! (Don't think my kids are spoiled; we didn't buy either of these devices, one was a gift and another was won at a golf tournament raffle.) And of course the only songs on R's iTouch were their favorite Laurie Berkner CDs, Victor Vito and Whaddaya Think of That, and Dora's World Adventure. Somehow I just couldn't run while listening to these songs so I put the iTouch back in my Gu pouch.

It really was a good thing that the race was the Rock N Roll Half-Marathon because there were bands every few miles that helped break up the monotony of running. It was also a good thing that Stewart met me in mile 7 and gave me turbo boosts whenever I started feeling tired. Having someone push you from behind when you're running uphill helps immensely!!!! I finished the race in 2 hours and 16 minutes, only 11 minutes slower than I had run as a 22 year old. I thought of Sophie and how I couldn't let her down and ran the entire way. By the time we got to the finish line, I was so tired I had no kick left. When I was 20-something I always had something left at the end of a race and would speed up to finish strong. As a 30-something mom of two kids, I was glad just to finish!

After we crossed the finish line, Stewart helped me walk to the bag check. I didn't see any other Cure CMD team members so I started walking with Stewart to where he had parked the car--at the mile 7.5 mark. I knew if I sat down I would be demolished. This turned out to be the smartest thing I could have done. After my previous long races, the next day I wasn't able to walk and my legs took weeks to recover. Because of the long walk back to the car (it was only 4 miles from the finish line because of how the course was set up), I was tired and had a bad headache that day, but the next day I felt pretty good. I could walk without support!

I am proud to have run this race as a member of Cure CMD. When I received Sophie's thank you video, I knew I had to share it with everyone who had sponsored me and contributed to the effort. Thank you! Your donations will help find a cure for Sophie and all the other children with Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy. Every dollar makes such a huge impact because this is a rare disease that does not get much attention or funding. Thank you for helping Sophie!