Today is the day!

Today is the day. I’m leaving for Australia.

I’m headed to Australia to run the Sydney Marathon with Team iFIT! My hope? That I enjoy every single step.

I truly believe I did everything I could this summer to prepare my body to go the distance—given the short amount of time I had. I didn’t train for this race as if I were going to chase a fast time. My goal was to train just enough to give myself a chance to finish 26.2 miles feeling strong, steady, and happy. I want to run happily across the finish line, and that’s been the goal all summer long!

My long runs were all about time on my feet, not pace. I didn’t stress about hitting splits the way I once did, back when I could knock out 20-22 mile training runs at 7:30 pace and crush long, grueling workouts week after week.

This summer, I focused on increasing the length of time on my feet regardless of pace. There were 5 super long runs in July and August.

• July 3 – 2 hours, 45 minutes
• July 6 – 2 hours, 55 minutes
• July 16 – 3 hours, 12 minutes
• July 26 – 2 hours, 54 minutes
• August 10 – 3 hours, 8 minutes

None of these were “fast” runs. But every one of them helped train my body to endure. I’ve tapered these past few weeks and now, here we go. I’m as ready as I can be.

My plan is to keep things controlled on race day. I want to run with a smile, soak in the views, and maybe even carry my phone to take a few pictures along the way. This marathon will be a completely different experience for me—and I’m embracing that. I feel like I deserve to have a great run through a beautiful city, in a country I’ve never been to, on the other side of the world.

Realistically, I’m probably in shape to run somewhere between 3:40–3:45, but I’m planning to line up with the 4:00 pace group. That should help me hold back early, run happy, and have the kind of day I’ve envisioned since finding out I was selected for Team iFIT.

Back at home, my coworkers and students are kicking off the first week of school. I’m so lucky—my classroom is in great hands. The sub covering for me is a retired second grade teacher who knows the school, the staff, and exactly how chaotic the first week can be. She came in yesterday and went over everything with me. I’m not worried at all.

At our back-to-school staff meeting, I took a moment to let everyone know what was happening. Those close to me already knew—I’ve been open about my health journey, the surgeries, the recovery, and now this. I told them about the iFIT contest, how I entered with zero expectations… and then how I found out I’d been selected. The response? So supportive. So kind. My coworkers were genuinely happy for me. A bunch of them came up afterward with big “Congratulations!”—and more than a few told me to not worry about a thing at school. That meant a lot.

So here I go.

Sydney, Australia… I’m on my way.