"Mommy, Did you win the race?"

Happy 4th of July!  Once again, I say, what a difference a year makes.  Last year on the 4th I "ran" about 20 yards while holding my daughter's hand in a little kids fun run.  At the time I weighed a little over 100 pounds and was on a fairly strict diet that wasn't particularly conducive to flavor, or second helpings.  I was suffering from steroid induced insomnia and had not slept for more than a 3 hour stretch in days.  And I was fairly anxious about getting to +100 days and getting to go home to Massachusetts.

This morning I got up and ran in the Hingham Road Race with my friend Bryan (he was incredibly patient with my pace...and quite enjoyable to run with).  So....last year 20 yards and this year 4.47 miles!

At the end of the race my daughter and husband were there to give huge hugs and smiles.  I picked up my little girl as she asked me "Mommy, did you win the race?"  I was just about to explain to her that, in fact, lots of people had finished before more and a few people finished after me, when I stopped and really thought about the question...."Yes Grace, Mommy did win the race".  She kissed me and I swear in all of her 4 year old wisdom she understood exactly what I meant.

In the spirit of this story, I want to announce to all of you that I will be running in the Maine 1/2 marathon on October 2 with Team in Training.  My sister, Susannah, is the Boston City Team Coach and in addition to being the "Honored Hero" for the team I decided to give it a go.  In doing this race in October I am committing to raising money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I am including the link to my fundraising site here as well as at the top of my blog.  Please remember that every little bit helps and every dollar I raise is another dollar that just might help some one like me to win the race.  http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/maine11/enaylorek4