A month out from what would have been my first marathon, I suffered a bilateral pulmonary embolism that pretty much smashed my race hopes. Two months later, I was finally released to start training again, so I picked a race that was approximately six months out. The embolism had damaged over 40% of my right lung and I was told that I would need to "retrain" my entire right lung to compensate for the damaged part. My doctors warned me that a race that soon might be a little bit of a lofty idea; however, I'm pretty stubborn, so I signed up for the race anyway.
The doctors were right, I struggled mentally and physically and often wondered if I was in over my head. Then, two months before my race, I received a package in the mail from The Silver Maple. Nestled inside was a necklace. The face of the necklace was stamped with the number 26.2 (mileage of the marathon), along with the race location and date. My eyes zeroed in on that 26.2 and I was instantly smitten with the need to do this race, there was no quitting now. I used that piece of jewelry as my motivation over the next couple of months and total bragging rights after the race.
Three years later, I still wear that necklace. It's a little tarnished and a little worn looking, but for me, it will always symbolizes a huge personal achievement and the fact that the body can accomplish most anything, if we only believe.
