I crossed the finish line Saturday, but not before this race kicked my rear.

I felt good before Saturday’s race. I was dressed for the cool temps and mentally and physically prepared to run uphill against the wind. I was a Road Warrior sporting a new race apron, so I was all set. Or, so I thought.

Everything was cool for the first five miles of the race. I went out “slow” with speedy Melissa and Matt. And just when I was starting to feel warmed up and comfortable, the heartburn came on in a flash and kept my chest burning for the next 10-plus miles.

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I promised the coaches that I would go to bed early tonight, so I’m going to be brief. I just want to report that my race apron is done. It reads: “Every 15 seconds a woman is battered. Stop the clock. The bravest thing a woman can do is run, so run like you mean it.” I collected signatures from my teammates and the kind folks representing my charity sponsor, Safe Haven Ministries and stitched those on tonight, too. (I left space on the apron for the teammates I missed today and will ask them to sign before the race.)

My running in aprons kick started on the eve of last year’s Fifth Third River Bank Run, but I never thought it would become a pre-race tradition. And never did I envision myself sitting at my kitchen table sobbing as I hand embroidered a depressing domestic violence statistic onto an apron. But that’s when it became clear this race is about so much more than running. We all know we can run, as we’ve been training for months.

Tomorrow’s race is about digging deep and running for causes and reasons larger than ourselves. Whether you’re out there making the most of a second chance or running on behalf of someone who can’t, don’t forget to take a moment to look around and take it all in. It’s such a beautiful thing to run down the city streets in a sea of thousands of people from all walks of life. We’re different people from different places, but for a few hours on Saturday the only thing we’ll really notice is what we all have in common.We’re all runners challenging ourselves for 15.5 miles.

Best of luck everyone! I’ll see you at the finish line.

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I’m thrilled to report that the CraftSanity Necktie Apron Show raised more than $1,600 for Safe Haven Ministries on opening night and the best news is that we’re not done yet. You can bid online for aprons that are up for auction this week (including apron #124 by Jaye Lapachet, of Daly City, California) by clicking the links from CraftSanity.com and there are more aprons available for sale on Safe Haven’s Etsy shop. So check go check it out! Thanks so much for your support. I really appreciate it.

Okay, enough talk about aprons. I have a workout to do. I’ll decide on the way to YMCA if I’m going to run or swim. I could go either way…

Cheers!

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What? You guys aren’t beading race aprons, too. That’s probably a good thing. It’s not the best idea to add weight to race attire in the form of glass beads. Yet, I always seem to be looking for ways to increase the degree of difficulty when facing life’s challenges. :  )

We’ll all be at the starting line in less than a week and I can’t believe it. Time sure did fly. It’s been amazing fun to be part of the the 2010 Road Warrior team. (You guys rock!) Our hard work is done. Now we just have to try to stay loose and get ready to leave it all on the course this Saturday.

Part of my race day fun will be to show up blurry-eyed in a new race apron. The good news is that I started beading it today and plan to have it done in time to collect signatures from my teammates at Friday’s fashion show. I realize my crafty race prep routine is completely bonkers, but it makes me exceedingly happy so humor me, please. :  )

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I wasn’t sure what would happen when I decided to host an apron design contest and show to raise money and awareness for my charity sponsor, Safe Haven Ministries. So I was pleasantly surprised when about 200 people came to Friday night’s opening.

After spending the better part of two days setting up the show at the David D. Hunting YMCA with the help of a talented friend, I was pretty well spent by the time guests started arriving. The opening was a happy a blur. I was exhausted, yet energized by the fact that lots of people came to have a slice of pie and check out the show featuring 86 aprons. A special thanks to Brooke, Walter and Michelle for stopping by. Walter helped me push the head count up by bringing his entire family and Brooke and Michelle made my day by showing up in aprons. (Brooke’s daughter was sporting a darling apron, too.) Thank you all so much for your support!

If you missed the show, no worries. You can check out the Flickr gallery and read all about the award winners on my CraftSanity craft blog. The aprons will be on display at the David D. Hunting YMCA through 5 p.m. Thursday. Many aprons sold Friday, but several are still available for purchase. I’ll post an update and instructions for online bidding tomorrow. The Safe Haven staff is scheduled to post the online auction tomorrow.

Now that the apron show is up, I can refocus my attention on next Saturday’s race. I can’t wait! Let’s do this thing!

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