Okay... I had planned to write a post Wednesday that was my "pre-race weekend" thoughts... however, i ran out of time... sad face
so now i'm going to squish it all into a post-race commentary... yay for "change of plans"
WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday began a very long span of four days culminating in a beautifully long sunday afternoon nap!
I worked til 2:30pm then went to the park for a "jog" to remind my legs what I wanted them to do for me... but it was 81 degrees... so brisk walking was my compromise... then there was dinner at Little Italy (love me some carbs) and a thirty degree temperature drop during a hurricane of a thunderstorm... packing, "cooking", paying bills, balancing checkbooks, laundry, and spending time with the pets before my long trip.... wednesday ended at 1am thursday...
THURSDAY:
Thursday was one of the longest drives ever... started with working from 11-2, then drove 5.5hours from mt airy, nc to Arlington, VA... but it was a good time to think and mentally prepare myself for the feat i was going to undertake two days later... although let's just say i was doing too much TWD and the ride back will be seriously less distracting (which is a great thing in the entire scheme of things).... Left NC at 3pm, arrived @ Jen's house around 8:40pm... good times... we went out for a late dinner and chatted .. returning home to find the lights out until 2am... good times...
FRIDAY:
Friday was expo day... but first, DUNKIN DONUTS! Ah-maize-ING.... it's so much better when they make if for you (sorry DD express at the Hess)... met up with the UD running girls at Union Station, enjoyed some sustenance, drove to the armory for some bounty!
Got my race bib and t-shirt then some other free stuff (bandaids, chapstick, ice pack, backpack - united way, energy supplements, pain relief gel, coupons, etc.). I entered to win an all expenses paid trip to the Kilimanjaro Marathon... although since I haven't heard from them I doubt I won, sad face. Friday night = carb load at Potenza (with the rudest waiter ever) but delicious bread and pasta....
SATURDAY:
Saturday morning the alarm went off at 5am. That was evil. but we got ourselves together and headed downstairs to catch the shuttle we thought was free... turns out it wasn't, so we attempted to hail a cab at 6am... then walked two blocks to another hotel to get a cab there... no one was answering at the cab service, walked two blocks back, then one block up to the metro entrance, metro arrived at 6:29am... race started at 7am... but the metro was packed so no worries on the lateness... checked our bags, stretched, sang a little "FIREWORK" by Katy Perry, used scary porta-potties... joined the wave of people walking toward the starting line, gave each other last minute encouragement, started the ipods... picked up the feet... and started running!
Needless to say, my lack of hardcore training made each mile feel like it took FOREVER to complete... and the lack of mile markers on the course did not help my mental ability to pace myself... but i kept the tunes up loud and just trucked along.... up and down hills... heinous hills... checking out the sights along the way...
we ran through areas of town I knew well and other areas I'd never been to (even though I lived there for three years), it was great to see all the early morning risers who came out to support friends, family, loved ones, and those random runners who didn't have their own personal supporters (SIGN: WAY TO GO, [your name]).
Around Howard University (I honestly can't remember if it was before I got there or while I was running through it) I felt the worst pain in my ankle... and I knew it wasn't just a muscle I needed to stretch... so I pushed through... hoping to keep running and the pain would subside... it got worse... so I attempted to figure out where we were based on signs people held up for the marathoners (btw, it is difficult to figure out percentages while in pain, thirsty, and running up hill... but thank you to whoever it was who hung the bright pink sign announcing the marathon was 30% over at that point). Either my math was off or theirs was, but either way, somehow I convinced myself to continue running through the pain... that it was just a bit further and I would be okay... 2.5ish miles later I saw a sign for mile 10... and I pulled out my cell phone and called my father... the conversation went something like this
Dad: Hello?
Me: Hi.... dad....
Dad: Good morning, sweetie, how are you?
Me: Uh.... not... good... I... neeed... you... to pray... I'm at ... mile.... ten.... and my ankle... hurts so bad... i don't know what's wrong.... but i can't do this on my own...
Dad: Oh oh oh ok I will pray, r u ok, you can do it, i'm gonna pray
Me: Thanks... i gotta go now... i'm running... love you
Dad: love you too, honey...bye
I prayed for God to take away the pain, or at least give me the strength to run through it... the pain never went away but I made up my mind to get to that finish line running and just run myself into the big white medical tent...
Finally, I saw the sign for the half/full split... and then the big red "FINISH" banner.... and I turned up the speed... I passed 13 people in a very short space.... and almost ran passed the girl handing out the medals as I focused on that "MEDICAL" sign... I went right in, sat down, a fantastic athletic trainer got ice bags and a gauze bandage and set me up with my foot elevated, making a quick diagnosis of "sprained ankle"... i texted the girls to let them know my location... eventually we all met up at the armory... and my friends (God bless em) became my human crutches and piggy back rides... I love those girls more than they'll ever know...
Post-race lunch was delicious (pancakes and eggs)... then metro back to the hotel, quick shower, jen drove me to my car that had stayed at her place in arlington, and I headed to NJ for an Arbonne workshop....
Oh, and yes... I ran faster than my Philly time... almost reaching my goal of 2.5hours.... I offically clocked in at 2hours 32 minutes 55 seconds :) PRAISE THE LORD :)
No comments:
Post a Comment