One week closer ...

I'll be honest, I'm pretty tired! This morning we had another run in Reston, Virginia on the W & OD Trail -- a far cry from last weekend's run through the city. Despite not being too psyched about the prospect of running in Reston again, I found this run to be more pleasant than our 14-mile run a couple weeks ago. The Country Music kids did 16 miles while Crystal and I joined our National Marathon teammates for our first 20-miler ever! Everyone did a great job :-). (We missed having Brandon and Chris with us -- apparently skiing was a more attractive alternative.) And aside from being tired and sore, I think we escaped without any major injuries.

I'm beginning to get nervous and excited about the big day. It's less than three weeks away now! (Well, at least for two of us.) Running with TNT has been an awesome experience. As I said to someone at the beginning of our marathon training, these morning runs have been the most fun I've had at 8am on a Saturday in a looong time. And that's saying something considering how far we've been running! The energy and positive attitudes that people exude are refreshing, and I'm so happy to be a part of this great cause.

This morning there were quite a few mission moments shared, all of which were very touching. I'll admit that I'm often freezing during these talks prior to our run (I know, I could wear pants ... I'm not complaining), but they're a good reminder of what we're running and raising money for. Thinking about those individuals who are battling blood cancer while I'm running often keeps me going. Today I was hurting pretty badly around 15 miles, and the thought of having to turn around to run another 5 to the finish was ... well, less than attractive. But I thought back to the stories we heard this morning, and I realized that I was lucky to even have the opportunity to run 20 miles. Some people never have that chance. And the pain and exhaustion I feel is probably nothing compared to what those individuals have to endure.

We can do this, guys!! We're almost there!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us - we couldn't do this without you.