The Double Pump

Real quick... I finished the Double Pump (15K) over the Savannah River Today. It is the "Toughest Bridge Run in the South" The bridge is a 5.5% grade.

What you do to do the Double is run a 5K over the river, then turn around, and run a 10K back over the river twice, ending up at the same finish line. 5K - 27:20 and 10K - 58:something.

It was the best race I've run so far... tons of fun. But I felt like I was cheating. Wearing the TEAM in Training jersey gave me such an advantage; people cheering for me, getting waves and shouts of "GO TEAM" from other TNT runners. It just gave me the biggest lift. I met most, if not all, of the Savannah TEAM; what a bunch of totally nice people.

Today I was running for a kid with leukemia that my good friend Tanner Shultz was a bone marrow donor for. (talk about being heroic) And I really want to thank Tanner being the biggest donor I've had so far, and his company Eli Lily does a 100% matching donation. Whoo!!

The most important thing that happened to me though was during the ascent over the bridge for the third time. I was feeling it big time, and had slowed to a walk at one point. All of a sudden I heard a voice in my ear, "Remember who you are running for" A man ran by me, and he pointed at me, and said, "They didn't quit, you can do it too" It was like a rocket being strapped to my back; I took off and passed all kinds of people, and made it up the last part of the bridge. After the recovery on the back half, you have to run through the flat part of the finish, but there is one more not that tiny hill to conquer. No problem!

I sought the man out after the finish and gave him a big hug and introduced him to my sister, Trellis, who'd run the 5K. He told me that he had been involved with TEAM in training for seven years, and just when he had stopped, his grandson was diagnosed with AMS. So, he knows what the society can do. He knows how it helps people and families diagnosed with cancer. It was a humbling and uplifting experience at the same time. That little voice of encouragement came at the best time and was such a powerful motivator, I felt like I was cheating, like I had taken a hit of some performance enhancing drug or something.

So, keep plugging away, keep running, if not for someone else, just do it for yourself. More pictures from the race and a few more stories to come. What a great day!!!