Larry,

I hope you are doing well.

I had to email you and let you know how your program continues to impact my life in so many exciting and positive ways.

On October 19th, I ran The Columbus Marathon. It was an amazing experience.  I finished in 5:28:31…which is less time than I thought it would take. The goal was to finish in under 6 hours, and my hope was to finish in 5.5 hours.  I paced myself very well during the race to try to prevent “hitting the wall.” I am pleased to say, I didn’t hit the wall because I had trained smart and ran a conservative race.  The best part of that was when I rounded the corner at mile marker 26, I had enough energy to sprint the last .2 miles down the chute to the finish line.  My Garmin told me I was running at under a 5 minute mile for that short distance.  It was so great!

The marathon was a truly life changing experience…one I’m so glad to add to my list of mid-life adventures.  It was rewarding in ways I don’t think I can fully express with words.

I started the race in a Clif pace group.  The group leader, Marie, is an amazing athlete…full of energy and stories.  I ended up running ahead of them after mile 6 because Marie was using Galloway (the run/walk method) which I had tried in training and found made my body ache more because of the pace variations.  So, because I was still running through the walk breaks, I got ahead of the group enough that I couldn’t really hear her, but felt her energy through the entire race.

One of the things Marie told us before the race was to dedicate miles to things and people that are important to us and those who got us to this point in our lives.  I dedicated mile 8 to you, Larry.  You were Mile 8 because it was 8 years ago that I bought your program, lost 60 pounds and changed my life for the better in so many ways I never dreamed possible back then.

The marathon capped off a great season and an incredible journey for 2008…starting in March with the Heart Mini Marathon 15k, Tri for Joe Sprint Triathlon in May, Fit to Fight Sprint Triathlon in July, my first Olympic distance triathlon in August, a half marathon in September and the full marathon October 19th.  I took up triathlon last year which was exciting since I didn’t know how to ride a bike when I decided to do it.

I am currently looking at what athletic events I want to participate in for 2009, but I know I want to do some triathlons and another half and full marathon.

The journey continues… thanks to you!