pepnchar
Cathlete
Hi there -- I haven't posted in a long time... I haven't even blogged in months...
I wanted to let all the Cathletes know I finished my 2nd marathon yesterday. I copied my post from Facebook and posted it here for y'all! Love ya! :0)
****
So I did it folks! The first marathon wasn't just a fluke! I can do it more than once! Yesterday was such a magical day, full of little serendipities that really made me think someone was watching over me... God? Dad? Who knows... but I knew as soon as I woke up Saturday morning that I was going to do well.
I rode a school bus shuttle to the start line. I rode in the back seat. I haven't been in the back seat of a school bus since high school band trips. I forgot how bouncy it is on the freeway. What a way to shake out the anxiety! As I got off the bus, I saw a man's shirt in front of me -- Pain is temporary - eventually it will subside and success will take its place. If I quit, it's the regret that lasts forever. I've heard that saying before, but it really sunk in at that moment.
Then I dropped off my gear. There was a line of UPS trucks waiting to collect our gear bags. I found the truck I was supposed to go to -- it was truck #26... as in 26.2 miles in a marathon. Coincidence? Maybe...
So the race begins and I run. Bands play as we pass by and that's cool. Cheer squads do their cute little cheers and that's even better. But I am reading more and more shirts and signs and that's what inspires me. One lady's shirt says "4U Daddy". Another shirt says "Finish Strong". Then here are all the Team in Training" runners who are running because someone they know is battling or has died from cancer and I read so many signs that say "In Memory of..." There was a motorcycle club that lined the route and held up American flags as we passed. There was a soldier who ran the whole race holding an American flag himself. There were all the kids holding signs that said "Go Mommy".
There were more light-hearted things that kept me going too -- tanned, toned, sweaty shirtless guys running in front of me kept me on pace. There was someone dressed as a polar bear running the race. He was running from extinction. There was more than one person dressed as Elvis. And almost all the cheerleaders were dressed in colored tights and tulle skirts -- right out of an 80's pop video.
My goal in the marathon was to break 4 hours... 3:59:59 would have been good enough for me. As the race began, I knew I started out fast and I had to keep telling myself to slow down. But I felt strong. I felt energized. I was hydrated, carbo-loaded and rested and ready to take it on. The hills were nothing. Hills? What hills? Really, they gentle at best. At a point on the course where we double back, I pass the pace-runner for the 4 hour race. I figure I am about a mile or so ahead of him. Again, I tell myself to dial it back, but I feel like I am wasting energy going too slow -- the half way mark comes and then I just count down the miles -- 13 left, 12 left, 10 left. Pretty soon, I'm equating it to runs I have already done -- "just 3 loops around Padden" or "to the park and back". The last 4 miles took us right in front of Qwest field where we are supposed to finish -- but we keep going for about a mile and a half, then turn around to finish. That was the hardest part -- to know you are so close... to see the party at the finish line, but I had to pass it. Finally, I enter the finishing area -- I have enough energy to give it a kick! I pass the pace runner for 3:45 time. Really? I cross the finish and all I see is 3 hours - something - something. That's all I cared about. I cheered to myself and started to cry a little. I walk around awhile, drink some water, inhale a bagel and pick up my stuff from good ol truck #26. I give the folks manning the truck high fives and told them how the truck number made this the perfect day. My phone was in the bag with a message from mom. She was following the race online and she had my chip time: 3:41:25. No way! That time would qualify me for Boston! Not only did I break my 4 hour time, but I qualified for the Boston Marathon too? That was just a "someday" goal -- no way did I think it would happen today.
Here's the thing... the last marathon I ran in 2008 followed a season of running 4x a week with a grand total of 300+ miles. My training journal was full of entries like "I'm so tired" "I don't have it in me", etc. This time around, I never ran more than twice a week (with some other cross training activities in there too) and my total mileage was just over 200. My journal didn't have as many of the "I'm tired" entries, because if I was too tired, guess what? I didn't run! You can bet that I was anxious about doing well after the so-called lack of training I had gone through this spring. But I guess that goes to show that we can train smarter and not harder and get good results.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to set a goal and reach it. I thank God for guiding me along the way and giving me the ability to run and the path to run on. I am so thankful that I have the physical capacity to run and to move, when there are so many people who may never get this chance. They may have a disease that prevents them from walking or standing; they may have lost a limb in Iraq, or chomo took away their energy... maybe they are just overweight and sedentary and their brain can't steer them past the couch.
Thanks to my dad in heaven. For some reason, he has been my inspiration to run since he passed from lung cancer. He was never a runner. But he was always someone who followed through on what he set out to do. Even during chemo, he would finish restoring a motorcycle, even if it meant he did it in the middle of the living room instead of in the cold garage. As a teenager, I would get up on summer mornings and go run to the end of the road and back. My dad once told me that he admired me for doing that. It showed I was dedicated to something. Most kids were still asleep as I was pounding the pavement. That stuck with me. So when dad passed, I just found that spark to get me out on the roads and trails again. It feels good. Sometimes I imagine Dad is running with me. But for some reason he's wearing a '70's style sweatband and the Snoopy swim trunks he's had for 30+ years.
Thanks to everyone who watched Megan while I went out for a run. That would be my mom, my sister and even the ex. Thanks for not making me feel guilty for dumping my child on them while I did something selfish like go running. What kind of mother am I anyway? Thanks to my little girl Megan who always tells me "You run fast" "You're gonna wil the race!" Bless you baby!
Thanks to my sister for making those awesome homemade granola bars. That was my pre-race fuel. Market and sell them! Especially the chocolate ones!
Thanks to everyone at the Northshore YMCA -- you kept me honest about my training because I knew you would all ask how I ran on the weekend. I couldn't let you down! Also thanks for the post-run showers, the hot tub and the massages. I never touched the treadmill except to clean it, but I did spend plenty of time on the ellipticals and in the weight room -- and I cleaned all those machines too. :0)
And thanks to anyone who has stayed awake to read this entire post. I went on for awhile, didn't I??
So if you have ever completed a marathon or given birth, you know how I feel right now -- the two are actually very similar in duration and effort. I am sore, but full of joy. And I have swollen ankles and feet. And in a few days, I will have completely forgotten about the pain and will be ready to do it again. Almost 6 years ago, I took a beautiful baby girl for my effort. Yesterday I took home a medal and some free food. OK, so childbirth was the bigger accomplishment. But I am showing my daughter that she can do anything she sets her mind to -- finishing this marathon as made me a better person and a better mother -- you gotta like that!
I wanted to let all the Cathletes know I finished my 2nd marathon yesterday. I copied my post from Facebook and posted it here for y'all! Love ya! :0)
****
So I did it folks! The first marathon wasn't just a fluke! I can do it more than once! Yesterday was such a magical day, full of little serendipities that really made me think someone was watching over me... God? Dad? Who knows... but I knew as soon as I woke up Saturday morning that I was going to do well.
I rode a school bus shuttle to the start line. I rode in the back seat. I haven't been in the back seat of a school bus since high school band trips. I forgot how bouncy it is on the freeway. What a way to shake out the anxiety! As I got off the bus, I saw a man's shirt in front of me -- Pain is temporary - eventually it will subside and success will take its place. If I quit, it's the regret that lasts forever. I've heard that saying before, but it really sunk in at that moment.
Then I dropped off my gear. There was a line of UPS trucks waiting to collect our gear bags. I found the truck I was supposed to go to -- it was truck #26... as in 26.2 miles in a marathon. Coincidence? Maybe...
So the race begins and I run. Bands play as we pass by and that's cool. Cheer squads do their cute little cheers and that's even better. But I am reading more and more shirts and signs and that's what inspires me. One lady's shirt says "4U Daddy". Another shirt says "Finish Strong". Then here are all the Team in Training" runners who are running because someone they know is battling or has died from cancer and I read so many signs that say "In Memory of..." There was a motorcycle club that lined the route and held up American flags as we passed. There was a soldier who ran the whole race holding an American flag himself. There were all the kids holding signs that said "Go Mommy".
There were more light-hearted things that kept me going too -- tanned, toned, sweaty shirtless guys running in front of me kept me on pace. There was someone dressed as a polar bear running the race. He was running from extinction. There was more than one person dressed as Elvis. And almost all the cheerleaders were dressed in colored tights and tulle skirts -- right out of an 80's pop video.
My goal in the marathon was to break 4 hours... 3:59:59 would have been good enough for me. As the race began, I knew I started out fast and I had to keep telling myself to slow down. But I felt strong. I felt energized. I was hydrated, carbo-loaded and rested and ready to take it on. The hills were nothing. Hills? What hills? Really, they gentle at best. At a point on the course where we double back, I pass the pace-runner for the 4 hour race. I figure I am about a mile or so ahead of him. Again, I tell myself to dial it back, but I feel like I am wasting energy going too slow -- the half way mark comes and then I just count down the miles -- 13 left, 12 left, 10 left. Pretty soon, I'm equating it to runs I have already done -- "just 3 loops around Padden" or "to the park and back". The last 4 miles took us right in front of Qwest field where we are supposed to finish -- but we keep going for about a mile and a half, then turn around to finish. That was the hardest part -- to know you are so close... to see the party at the finish line, but I had to pass it. Finally, I enter the finishing area -- I have enough energy to give it a kick! I pass the pace runner for 3:45 time. Really? I cross the finish and all I see is 3 hours - something - something. That's all I cared about. I cheered to myself and started to cry a little. I walk around awhile, drink some water, inhale a bagel and pick up my stuff from good ol truck #26. I give the folks manning the truck high fives and told them how the truck number made this the perfect day. My phone was in the bag with a message from mom. She was following the race online and she had my chip time: 3:41:25. No way! That time would qualify me for Boston! Not only did I break my 4 hour time, but I qualified for the Boston Marathon too? That was just a "someday" goal -- no way did I think it would happen today.
Here's the thing... the last marathon I ran in 2008 followed a season of running 4x a week with a grand total of 300+ miles. My training journal was full of entries like "I'm so tired" "I don't have it in me", etc. This time around, I never ran more than twice a week (with some other cross training activities in there too) and my total mileage was just over 200. My journal didn't have as many of the "I'm tired" entries, because if I was too tired, guess what? I didn't run! You can bet that I was anxious about doing well after the so-called lack of training I had gone through this spring. But I guess that goes to show that we can train smarter and not harder and get good results.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to set a goal and reach it. I thank God for guiding me along the way and giving me the ability to run and the path to run on. I am so thankful that I have the physical capacity to run and to move, when there are so many people who may never get this chance. They may have a disease that prevents them from walking or standing; they may have lost a limb in Iraq, or chomo took away their energy... maybe they are just overweight and sedentary and their brain can't steer them past the couch.
Thanks to my dad in heaven. For some reason, he has been my inspiration to run since he passed from lung cancer. He was never a runner. But he was always someone who followed through on what he set out to do. Even during chemo, he would finish restoring a motorcycle, even if it meant he did it in the middle of the living room instead of in the cold garage. As a teenager, I would get up on summer mornings and go run to the end of the road and back. My dad once told me that he admired me for doing that. It showed I was dedicated to something. Most kids were still asleep as I was pounding the pavement. That stuck with me. So when dad passed, I just found that spark to get me out on the roads and trails again. It feels good. Sometimes I imagine Dad is running with me. But for some reason he's wearing a '70's style sweatband and the Snoopy swim trunks he's had for 30+ years.
Thanks to everyone who watched Megan while I went out for a run. That would be my mom, my sister and even the ex. Thanks for not making me feel guilty for dumping my child on them while I did something selfish like go running. What kind of mother am I anyway? Thanks to my little girl Megan who always tells me "You run fast" "You're gonna wil the race!" Bless you baby!
Thanks to my sister for making those awesome homemade granola bars. That was my pre-race fuel. Market and sell them! Especially the chocolate ones!
Thanks to everyone at the Northshore YMCA -- you kept me honest about my training because I knew you would all ask how I ran on the weekend. I couldn't let you down! Also thanks for the post-run showers, the hot tub and the massages. I never touched the treadmill except to clean it, but I did spend plenty of time on the ellipticals and in the weight room -- and I cleaned all those machines too. :0)
And thanks to anyone who has stayed awake to read this entire post. I went on for awhile, didn't I??
So if you have ever completed a marathon or given birth, you know how I feel right now -- the two are actually very similar in duration and effort. I am sore, but full of joy. And I have swollen ankles and feet. And in a few days, I will have completely forgotten about the pain and will be ready to do it again. Almost 6 years ago, I took a beautiful baby girl for my effort. Yesterday I took home a medal and some free food. OK, so childbirth was the bigger accomplishment. But I am showing my daughter that she can do anything she sets her mind to -- finishing this marathon as made me a better person and a better mother -- you gotta like that!
...I haven't had kids but I have run quite a few marathons so I do for sure know the feeling! Thank you so much for sharing this great story....and....when is your next marathon?...(I mean besides Boston!)...
