Reiki miracle

Richard just came in from his last pull with a huge smile on his face and said to Charlie, "Wow, this really is fun, isn't it?" He came into the RV and said, "I don't know what happened. The last time I was laying here thinking that I was going to let Charlie down and let the team down, because my legs would just not go. There was nothing there; I was a goner. I was going to ask him for 30-minute pulls and see if he could take up the slack. Now I've got my energy back, and my legs back! I was flying and it felt so good!"

Before he went out on this last pull, I did a lengthy on-the-body Reiki session with Richard, concentrating on his ailing left knee. You don't really have to know anything about Reiki, but I am convinced it has had a lot to do with Richard's resurgence. Here's why: an indicator of how much Reiki energy someone draws is how warm or tingly the healer's hands get during a session. When I was working on Richard, sweat was literally rolling off my hands. So he took in a lot of Reiki.

When he came in this time, he said: "Wow! I'll have some pasta, then some ice, then some more Reiki. This is great!"

He knows we're close to the finish line; we all know it. I have replaced my T-shirt with my Team Reaching Heights jersey, and just putting it on makes me so proud. The guys have worked so hard, and I am so proud of them. My tears are forming already, and I won't give anybody the excuse that I'm tired. These tears are not about being tired; they are about being this intimately involved in watching someone reach a very large goal and achieve a dream. We are still 12 hours ahead of the age group record. In about four hours, it will be ours.

In fact, we're going to be so early at the finish line that, um, the team doesn't have hotel rooms reserved in Annapolis for tonight. Our reservations are for tomorrow. No problem. We'll make the extra effort of driving out of town a few miles to find rooms. What's driving a few extra miles when you've just ridden 3,000 of them on your bike? We'll find rooms. We're all exhausted but I'm not sure any of us will be able to relax enough to sleep.

We will enjoy the next couple of days in Annapolis. We'll rest, enjoy a team dinner and the official RAAM banquet. We have much to celebrate and much, much to be grateful for.

Earlier, we were given a warning by a race official because when the Follow gassed up, they turned the lights off but forgot to turn them back on when leaving the gas station. RAAM rules say the Follow vehicle lights have to be on at all times. Race officials are out and watching and we are more than happy to follow the rules. As it stands now, we will set a new age-group record with a completely clean race. That's an enormous accomplishment. I am so proud of us all.

67 miles and counting ... stay tuned.