Last summer, my friend Jim Asker came up with the idea for Team in Training to do an international event, with Dublin, Ireland to be the destination. I excitedly agreed to be a part of this inaugural event for the Tennessee chapter, and what an adventure it ended up being. Here's a recap of the trip.

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Paige and I in Philly |
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Exhausted and stuck in Philly! |
Our flight was delayed, then we were delayed in Philadelphia for a day, which we were less than thrilled about, but Paige and I decided to make the best of it. We decided to go out and about in the city, which I ended up loving. The art and history in the city are amazing, and I can't wait to go back and explore more when I have more time.

On Monday, race day was upon us. It was windy and cloudy but then again I wouldn't have expected anything else in Dublin. I can see why those people drink so much - the weather is beyond depressing! Someone handed me a poncho early in the day and for some reason I decided that it was worth holding onto. That gut feeling proved to be correct - as it started pouring later on in the race. The race started at 9, which was awesome. It gave us time to eat, talk out some last minute jitters, and take a shot of vodka before starting. (I kid, I kid, it was whiskey). My teammates and I headed out for a race we had been preparing for for months.
Things started hurting around Mile 2 - that's when I knew it was going to be a long day. Thankfully, sweet Paige stayed with me throughout the entire race. By Mile 8, my hip had pretty much had it and I was beginning to think I couldn't do it. By the time I got to Mile 13, I was ready to call it quits and hang out in the Sag Wagon for a few hours. Much to my disappointment, the Sag Wagon never showed up. We kept plugging along, and at Mile 15 the torrential downpour started. That was fun. By mile 18 I was really beginning to question my sanity in addition to my stupidity. I hadn't trained more than 14 miles, it probably was pretty stupid to take on 26.2 but my stubbornness set in somewhere around Mile 20. I hit the infamous "wall" at Mile 22 and broke down crying. Paige was there to comfort me and encourage me but never have I wanted to just sit down in a puddle and splash and cry as much as I did in that moment. She pushed me along and kept me talking. Around Mile 24, it was game over. I started sobbing where Paige kindly told me that if I didn't stop crying she was going to kick my face. Okay, maybe she didn't but it sure felt like she was being mean to me telling me to stop crying and all. I mean, it hurt... I was cold, it was dark, and dammit I wanted to see that finish line! I'm not sure how she kept me going and out of the puddles, but she did and soon we could hear the finish. However for some reason, we could never see it... then we discovered we were going the WRONG direction. By this time, any expletive ever known to man was coming out of my mouth and I was ready to punch someone who looked at me wrong. Crossing the finish line is honestly a little fuzzy - almost like I was drunk exhaustion. I remember stumbling back to my hotel thinking, Wow, I'm a marathoner! I got to the hotel bar and immediately ordered a drink! It was great seeing my teammates comforting faces and getting congratulatory hugs.

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Wouldn't be a trip to Dublin without some Guinness! |
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This is what I got to come home to! |
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