{"id":507,"date":"2013-10-10T03:41:41","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T03:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=507"},"modified":"2013-10-10T03:41:41","modified_gmt":"2013-10-10T03:41:41","slug":"pedal-the-cause-the-rest-of-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/?p=507","title":{"rendered":"Pedal the Cause-The Rest of the Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today was a beautiful day.\u00a0 I\u2019m not just referring to the fact that it was a perfect, 75 degree day in the Midwest in October.\u00a0 Mostly I am referring to the beautiful souls that I got to spend part of my day with.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite memories from my youth, was my dad picking me up from softball practice and we would listen to Paul Harvey tell \u201cthe rest of the story\u201d as we drove home.\u00a0 If you read my post last week about Pedal the Cause, you\u2019re now going to get \u201cthe rest of the story\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Sunday morning, I was up bright and early\u2026well, that\u2019s not entirely true.\u00a0 It was so early that it wasn\u2019t bright at all, in fact, it was still dark.\u00a0 I dropped the kids at their dad\u2019s and watched the sunrise over St. Louis as I drove down 40.\u00a0 I knew I had probably over-estimated how much time I needed, but since I wasn\u2019t exactly sure what I was doing, how parking would be and what the packet pick-up situation was, I didn\u2019t want to feel stressed.\u00a0 I was also hoping to catch Teri before she pedaled off for 50 miles, which left an hour before my 25 mile ride.<\/p>\n

As I neared downtown, I noticed a car in front of me with a bike on the back, so I figured they knew where they were going.\u00a0 I made the right call following them, since they led me to a stellar parking spot about a block from the PTC Village (and it was free!)\u00a0 As I was heading over to pick up my packet, I got a text from Wes, so I offered to grab his stuff as well.\u00a0 Once I had our gear, I went to find Teri, who was right where her email said she would be, near the corral, with distinctive blue star balloons guiding the way.<\/p>\n

I figured with all of the chaos of the weekend Teri probably hadn\u2019t found time to read my last post, but I should know by now to never under-estimate this woman.\u00a0 The first thing she said when she saw me was how much she appreciated it.\u00a0 And that she wanted to go with me to Inga\u2019s chemo appointment.\u00a0 Goosebumps.<\/p>\n

After I chatted with a couple other friends and Teri set off on her ride, I headed back over to my car to get myself assembled and meet Wes.\u00a0 We put stickers on bikes and helmets, pinned on bib numbers and gathered whatever we needed and then set off back toward the village.\u00a0 Once we got over there, we found snacks, a port-o-potty, coffee (yay!) and our friend Roberto, who has the annoying habit of being such a fantastic cyclist that he can ride around through a crowd while holding hot coffee.\u00a0 After commenting on this, I promptly bumped into someone with my bike, and all I was doing was standing there.\u00a0 I apologized and then told Wes that I should probably just walk around wearing a big sign that says, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually we found our way into the start corral, had someone take our picture and tried to stay warm in the sun.\u00a0 It was a chilly morning, one that runners kill for on race day, but cyclists not so much.\u00a0 However, Pedal the Cause isn\u2019t a race so much as a ride to benefit cancer research.\u00a0 Or maybe it was just the non-cyclist in me that wanted to believe it wasn\u2019t a race.\u00a0 Wes teased me about how nervous I was.\u00a0 True, I was completely out of my element.<\/p>\n

Finally we were off.\u00a0 We headed west out of the downtown area, past Forest Park (where I very nearly jumped off my bike and went for a run) and through Clayton.\u00a0 It was at about that point that I told Wes it was time to pick up the pace.\u00a0 I thought he was right behind me.\u00a0 I thought wrong.<\/p>\n

The ride itself was mostly uneventful, other than just being a beautiful ride.\u00a0 Despite Grey\u2019s assessment that it was a flat course, there were a considerable amount of hills.\u00a0 Perhaps in comparison to Wildwood it was a flat course, but it didn\u2019t feel flat.\u00a0 I could have done without the moment that the cop directing traffic through the intersection at Forest Park Parkway and 170 decided to have me stop and let the cars turn left in front of me, where I had to break hard and unclip quickly and very nearly crashed and burned.\u00a0 As I eventually went on through the intersection, he yelled an apology because he hadn\u2019t seen me.\u00a0 Well, at least he wasn\u2019t \u201ctrying\u201d to get me killed.\u00a0 Yikes.<\/p>\n

The best part of the ride was, without a doubt, hearing other riders on the course yell \u201cYay, Team Teri!\u201d when they saw my Powered by Hope jersey.\u00a0 It\u2019s a pretty incredible feeling to be a part of a team named for a really incredible woman.<\/p>\n

As I headed back up Chestnut to the finish, the sun was shining on the arch and there was a big US flag held between two Fire Truck ladders flying over the shoot.\u00a0 It was picturesque and for a moment I considered dismounting my bike to capture the moment with my phone.\u00a0 But instead I let the cheers of the crowd pull me to the finish where I received a medal for my efforts of the day. That hardly seemed necessary.\u00a0 I rode a bike.\u00a0 The people I rode for are all fighting cancer.\u00a0 They are the ones who deserve the medal.<\/p>\n

I waited for Wes at the finish and we hung out a little bit before I had to head back to the valley to spend the day at work and he had to catch a flight to DC.\u00a0 We both agreed what a great event it was and that we are planning to rope all of our friends into doing it with us next year.<\/p>\n

Flash forward to today.<\/p>\n

After an early staff meeting and a brief Mat Science class (Thanks Courtney!) I made my way over to St. Luke\u2019s to join Inga at her chemo appointment.\u00a0 I sat in the waiting room until Inga was ready for me to join her.\u00a0 We went into the Infusion room, found a spot and I proceeded to tell Inga stories about all kinds of stuff from training and racing to our small world connection of both knowing Steve.\u00a0 Occasionally I worried that I was too loud.\u00a0 I know, imagine that. Me?\u00a0 Loud? \u00a0And I definitely wondered if I was too hyper.\u00a0 I\u2019m always hyper.\u00a0 But before I knew it, an hour had passed, and I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Teri\u2019s voice tease that I never call or respond to texts.\u00a0 Unfortunately, my service wasn\u2019t great in the hospital.\u00a0 But fortunately, Teri is resourceful enough that she found us anyway.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t positive she would make it, but as usual, she didn\u2019t let me down.<\/p>\n

Teri has a way of lighting up a room.\u00a0 Even a chemo infusion room.\u00a0 I introduced my friends.\u00a0 We talked about kids and families.\u00a0 We talked about training and racing.\u00a0 Teri told us about an amazing woman she had met who has continued to compete in triathlons after becoming an amputee.<\/p>\n

They talked about various types of drugs and other cancer related topics that I don\u2019t fully understand.\u00a0 But I sat and listened.\u00a0 And I was amazed at their strength.\u00a0 Totally different women, fighting totally different battles.\u00a0 Teri\u2019s strength is very in your face (in a good way).\u00a0 I mean, the woman does Ironman triathlons.\u00a0 That\u2019s in your face strong.\u00a0 And Inga is the picture of quiet strength.\u00a0 She smiles as she tells the nurse that she needs a later appointment time next week so she can put her kids on the bus.\u00a0 And she remains positive after 70 chemo treatments.\u00a0 And she never stops believing.\u00a0 Despite their differences, these women draw their strength from the same source.\u00a0 They are both Powered by Hope.<\/p>\n

One of the things I rattled on and on about today with Inga is my excitement over the Chicago Marathon that I will be running this weekend.\u00a0 I can hardly contain myself.\u00a0 My anticipation and adrenaline are higher than ever.\u00a0 I\u2019m so ready to go do this.\u00a0 The weather forecast looks great.\u00a0 My best friend will be on the course with me.\u00a0 And I\u2019m healthy.\u00a0 I\u2019m healthy\u2026<\/p>\n

As Teri told the story about her triathlete friend, Karen Aydelott, I couldn\u2019t help but think that when I start to hurt on Sunday, when I feel like I don\u2019t feel like running anymore because the pain is too great, I will think of these amazing women and the strength and courage it takes to overcome the pain they face on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

As we were about to leave today, another patient sat down in the chair next to us.\u00a0 Her name was Brenda and she seemed terrified.\u00a0 Inga tried to put her at ease saying, \u201cThis is a good place.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to take good care of you here\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m so glad to know that my sweet friend is in good hands.\u00a0 But knowing how strong her faith is, I should have already known that.<\/p>\n

I made it back to my car today before I started crying.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t tears of fear or sadness or doubt, but tears of feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and unbelievably blessed at the opportunity to have these women in my life.\u00a0 And to bring them together today and get a glimpse of what it truly looks like to be Powered by Hope.\u00a0 And if that doesn\u2019t carry me through 26.2 miles on Sunday, I just don\u2019t know what will.<\/p>\n

And now you know the rest of the story.\u00a0 Rambling Runner Girl\u2026Good day.<\/p>\n

\"Teri<\/a>

Teri and RRG at Pedal the Cause 2013<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today was a beautiful day.\u00a0 I\u2019m not just referring to the fact that it was a perfect, 75 degree day in the Midwest in October.\u00a0 Mostly I am referring to the beautiful souls that I got to spend part of my day with. One of my favorite memories from my youth, was my dad picking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-randomthoughts","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-8b","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=507"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":510,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507\/revisions\/510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}