We Did It!!!

We Did It!!!

Early race day morning. Randy was still waking up.

Sarah is ready to run!

Randy is ready too!

Our supporters are ready also! We are officially Half Marathon Finishers. It was one of the most amazing experiences. As we were getting ready to start, I was sooo nervous, but once we past the starting line, I eased up and off I ran. One of the best parts of the run was looking forward to being cheered on by Grandma Swann and Jolee. They were waiting at just after 3.5 miles into the run for us. Seeing them was better stimulator than any power bar could ever be. After meeting us along the way, Grandma and Jolee drove to the finish line to wait for us. Passing the finish line was very emotional for me. It is hard to put into words the feelings that were running through me, I was thinking about Susan, our supporters and our donors, that I completed a half marathon (something 6 months ago I wasn't sure I could do). I can't believe how much fun it was to run. So many people cheering us along the way. The beautiful views. Having my loving husband at my side. This was truly a great and wonderful experience. I took oodles of pictures on my phone so as soon as I am able to figure out my new phone and how to get the pictures onto the computer I will post those with a more play by play of what was going on throughout all 13.1 miles of fun.

Some Stats for Finishers:

Name: Sarah Swann
Bib#: 37132
Chip Time: 2:46:57
Overall: 12859/17593
Place by Sex: 8619/12560
Division Place: 1747/2245
Age Grade: 39.4%
Pace: 12:45
5 Km: 36:01
10 Km: 1:16:40
9 Mile: 1:52:59

Name: Randy Swann
Bib#: 37131
Chip Time: 2:46:57
Overall: 12857/17593
Place by Sex: 4240/5033
Division Place: 638/708
Age Grade: 35.5%
Pace: 12:45
5 Km: 36:01
10 Km: 1:16:39
9 Mile: 1:52:59

Approaching the finish

Stopped for a quick picture

Crossing the finish line!
The Swann Family post run Thank-you so much Grandma Swann and Jolee for being there to support us! Thank-you to our amazing donors. You are wonderful! Thank-you to Anna for being our captain/coach/mentor. Thank-you to Susan for being the type of person that inspires people to better themselves and for always thinking of others.
-Sarah

This is it!!!

At the very moment I'm typing this, Randy and Sarah are running their very first half-marathon in Seattle, WA!!!! They both put in an incredible amount of work to prepare for this day. Here's an update from Sarah on their visit to the expo yesterday. Don't forget there is still time to donate and help Randy and Sarah reach their fundraising goal. GO RANDY AND SARAH---ROCK THAT SEATTLE FINISH LINE!!!!! We are so proud of you!


Here we are right after picking up our race numbers!!!
Jolee is less excited than we are.

Our big day starts nice and early tomorrow. We will start our run at 7 am. To say the least, I am going crazy with excitement! In 12 hours we will be lined up and ready to run our very first half marathon. WOOO HOOO! Yesterday we went to the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up our race packets. Talk about shockingly fun. We ate so many different kinds of power bars. Got free chair massages. Jolee drank a healthy drink and she is going to be on their website because she was SO cute chugging it. I tossed a little ball in a shoe and won a teddy bear for Jolee. Watched a Lizard Man run across liquid. And just had a great time.

Mom and Jolee getting ready to rock.
Randy showing how it is done. ROCK ON!
Rockin Swanns!

There is still time left for last minute donations to help us meet our fundraising goal! Any amount is VERY appreciated!


-Sarah

THANK YOU

I wanted to give a special thanks to all of you have generously donated to help us raise monies for Susan's Foundation. It has helped keep us motivated during training and will keep us motivated while running. It helps knowing that we have so much support from people such as yourselves. Please keep the donations rolling in, any dollar amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you, THANK you, THANK YOU!!

- Randy and Sarah

Last in Arizona

No. she is not picking, just pointing.
We just got back from our last training run in Arizona. Our next little run will be on a treadmill in a hotel in Seattle. The next run after that will be the SEATTLE ROCK N ROLL HALF MARATHON! Woooo hoooo! I listened again to Hello Seattle by Owl City and I took off like a bullet. Randy even told me that I was running too fast this morning and that he had a hard time keeping up with me. Which is even more impressive given the all out, feels like running in an oven feeling that the heat caused this morning.

Wow, it was HOT! High today for Tucson is 103. It wasn't that hot, but it was at least 80 and it wasn't even 8 am. Anyways, we only ran about 2 1/2 miles this morning. We planned on running 4 or 5, but we slept in a little too late and getting heat stroke days before a race is a bad idea. We are getting so close to race day and so excited. Our bags are packed and we are ready to go. We just need to finish the last of the laundry, last minute house work, and I have 2 more nights of work. So close I can almost taste the salty sea air.
We are looking for inspiration for our big day, please leave any quotes or motivation you can think of that we can use to mentally motivate ourselves as we attempt to conquer the hills of Seattle!

Also, there is still time left to donate. All donation go to the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation, benefitting young adults with cancer. Happily accepting donations of any amount. Feeling tight on cash, but you still want to donate? Donate $1. Every donation makes a difference and will help to encourage us on race day.

8 Days Left - Update

I can't believe that we are 8 days away from our first half marathon! I remember back in December when we really made the fleeting thought of running a real idea. This is what I sent to Anna to let her know we would be joining...


"As crazy as I think this is. I think Randy and I want to be a part of the team and do a half marathon. Yikes, I actually said it. I am terrified at the thought, but I want to do this. (I am so out of running shape! I walk 3 miles 3-4 times a week). The biggest challenge will be getting enought time off of work. It also depends on when Randy will have to start work. He graduates in May and will hopefully be starting to teach this summer at a year round school. I have been doing research on training and pre-training. I think I will be walking a lot of it. I want to do this to support you and to help raise money for Susan's foundation. I am looking forward to seeing which state it will be. If I survive this, maybe we can do future marathons too. I will definately need some education on how to get myself started. "
I was so nervous at the very idea of running. In fact, I was nearly faint at idea. I am so happy that we made this decision. I am grateful for the support that Anna has provided to us throughout our training... providing us with training material, answer question after question, and providing never ending motivation. We have slowly overcome all of the obstacles that we have faced during training, whether it be lack of sleep, having to face running in the heat or at 3 in the morning, running around my ever changing work schedule, or old injuries. Becoming a runner has been life changing. I really never believed that I could ever run more than 3 miles without stopping. At the beginning my main goal was just to finish within 4 hours, and to be able to run for 3 miles at a time without stopping to rest. My plan was to run 3 miles, walk a mile, run 3, walk 1, run 3, walk 1, run 1.1. With how much I have changed in my abilities, I can now run without stopping to walk at all. I am really looking forward to not being forced to stop by red lights. Most of all, I realized how important having something to run for keeps me going. I wonder if Susan ever looks down and is surprised at how much she has affected the world in her short life. She really changed my life. I am so humbled to be running in her honor and to help raise funds for a foundation set up in her memory. Yesterday, one of my coworkers told me that Susan was her EFY councilor and how much she liked Susan. It is little things like that that keep me wanting to do better. I often think about my life and I wonder if I am doing as much as I could to help improve the lives of those around me. I want to be like Susan and be remembered for being kind and friendly and making the world brighter.

We are still in need for donations for Susan's foundation, we are getting closer to our goal, but we need a little more help. 8 days and counting left to donate. Once again we appreciate all of the support we have received!

-Sarah

Seattle Marathon - Announcement from Anna

Hello to all my wonderful marathon mile sponsors,

If you've been following the blog this season, you know that myself and fellow teammates are scheduled to run the Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon in just 19 DAYS. As always, all of the donations raised during the training process go to support the Susan Mortensen Turley Foundation, helping young adults fighting cancer.

Unfortunately I need to make the very sad announcement that I will not be able to run the Seattle marathon this year. About a month ago I had a surprising run-in with some kidney problems, which has since turned into complication after complication of infections or flaring up other chronic health conditions. The last few weeks have been a continuous cycle of doctors, hospitalizations and medications trying to work things out, though recovery appears to be a very slow process. Words cannot describe the disappointment I feel in not going to Seattle this year, especially after all of the support you've shown. However, inspired by the 'Lemonade Maker' spirit, I'm going to do my best to put my pity party aside and focus on what I can do to support the cause.

Randy and Sarah Swann are both new runners who have worked endlessly the last few months to prepare to run their first half marathon in Seattle and raise money for Susan's Foundation. They are strong and ready to run-- though they still have a ways to go to meet their fundraising goal. I'm hoping that we can all come together to help them meet their goal before race day on June 26th. There is no minimum donation-- any amount at all would be greatly appreciated.

My plan is to hold all of my current Seattle marathon mile sponsor donations right where they are and continue to recruit the rest of my mile sponsors when I attempt to run Seattle again next summer. For both health and financial reasons, I will not be attempting another marathon until then. This means that for the next year, Randy and Sarah's half marathon this month is the only time we will be recruiting donations through this fundraiser. Since we're going to have such a long gap in between, I'm hoping you will consider stepping up to help support these runners and a very worthy cause.

Thanks to all of you for the support you've shown to myself and my teammates in the past few months! Please continue to check in with the blog over the next month to read about Randy and Sarah's preparations and race day experience. I have no doubt they will rock that half marathon finish line in 19 days and make us all very proud!!

www.anna-marathon50.blogspot.com

Thank you!!

Anna