What a day! Today my husband Keith got to cross something off his bucket list. He ran a half marathon. But let me tell a little about why this is so special. Six years ago on March 29th, my husband was undergoing cancer treatment for stage 4 cancer in his left tonsil. Running in anything was the farthest thing from our minds. We were in survival mode. He had three weeks of two a day radiation treatments and weekly chemo therapy sessions left and let me tell you, it was brutal. Every day as I drove him to radiation, I was so proud of his courage to undergo the treatment necessary for him to keep being my husband but it also broke my heart because it was really taking a toll on him. It has been six years and thanks be to God and his amazing doctors, he is still cancer free. We are well aware of how every day is a gift.
So shortly before his 60th birthday last summer, he decides he wants to run a marathon. OMG I thought. He has been running 5K’s for the last several years and has recently bumped his running up to 8 or 9 miles 3 or 4 times a week. Even when we were in Houston getting rid of my brain tumor, he was able to take time out and run for a few hours. Later he told me that running helped him get through my surgery and hospital recovery time. But as we got closer to the event, he began to realize that he just wasn’t ready for 26 miles. Hey, there is no shame in 13.1 miles. Right now I’m working at just running one mile without stopping.
So this morning at 5:30 he is up, ready to go and headed to the bus to take him to the starting line. I got up just in time to kiss him bye and wish him luck. Got a quick text from him on his way to the starting line to tell me that the wind was up a bit out of the south, which might slow him down. I had to remind him that he was participating not racing. He can be a bit of an overachiever and is quite competitive. Oh and hard headed too. But that’s ok, I think I may have some of those same attributes. Probably one of the reasons we are such a great pair.
Shortly before seven my son Craig shows up. He’s excited about Keith’s event and wanted to be a part of the morning as well. We watched Keith’s progress on my Find Friends app. When he was about 3 miles out, Craig and I headed for the stadium, which is right by our house. Very convenient. We waited patiently and then we saw him coming down the road in his lime green hat. Then he is coming through the cones and into the stadium. We have our cameras out and we are cheering him. After he whipped passed up, Craig and I shot back into the stadium to see him make the final lap on Noble Stadium’s track and ultimately cross that finish line.
As he rounded the first corner on the track, he rang the bell. The A2A Marathon is a fundraiser for our cancer center. The bell is on the track for everyone to ring signifying that they have survived cancer or are running for someone who did. When I saw him ring that bell I was immediately transported back to Houston. On April 24, 2009, he had just received his last cancer treatment, rang the bell at MD Anderson and we were headed home. I remember praying with all my heart that the treatment he received had rid him of cancer. When my thoughts finally returned to his final lap on the track, I noticed that tears were coming out of the corner of my eyes. This very brave man that I love more than anything was running a half marathon. He is a cancer survivor. He is living life to the fullest and best of all, I am getting to share it with him.
Queen of My Kingdom 