St. Jude a No-Go!

I'm sitting here in bed...wide awake. I would've been asleep long before now, preparing for a 3am wake-up to get ready for the St. Jude Half-Marathon tomorrow and the 1 1/2 hr. drive into Memphis. Due to Mother Nature bringing in an ice storm, an announcement was made around 7pm that the race had been cancelled. Over 20,000 runners were scheduled to run this race.

This was to be my first time running the St. Jude & my first race since April (returning from IT Band injury). This is a difficult race to get into...it sells out within hours. I decided, while I was injured, to sign up for this race by staying up 'til midnight when registration opened up...to guarantee that I had a spot. I even signed up to run as a St. Jude Hero, in which I received donations from others. This race was my drive to come back from injury stronger. I couldn't wait to see how I'd do compared to my other 2 half-marathons. I was curious to see if the PT, Active Release Therapy with the chiropractor, and all those resistance band exercises paid off.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't heartbroken when the announcement was made. I even cried a little. I busted my butt to get back to where I am. I just wanted to get out there & be a part of something bigger. I wanted to feel the excitement of running a race again. I wanted to run through that St. Jude campus wearing my Hero singlet proudly.

I know the decision of canceling the race was for the best...safety first. I have to admit, I wasn't really looking forward to running with a windchill of 5* & 15mph winds, but one of my students reminded me that it's for the KIDS! So I was willing to suck it up.

According to the email I received, we can transfer our registration to an upcoming race. So I'm eyeing the New Orleans Rock N Roll Half on Feb. 2...that is if it isn't full & I can find a room and my principal will let me off.