Week Fifteen & Sixteen - Proven

Mileage (miles per workout)

Week 15: 3 - 5 - 3 - 8

Week 16: 3 - Walk 3 - 26.2

I was reading the last chapter of my training book and I realized the title of the book no longer applied to me.  The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer.  The marathon part was true but the non-runner’s part was suddenly dishonest.  I finished my first marathon.  I ran a marathon.  Okay, so I mostly ran and walked my first marathon.  My brain still has trouble wrapping around the thought.  I finished a marathon.  Are you kidding me?  I RAN A MARATHON!  Maybe if I say it enough times I can convince myself its true.  It still seems surreal.  Let me tell you how it went.

The week leading up to the marathon and my last week of training was supposed to be easy.  Two quick three mile runs and a three mile walk to stay loose.  If only what was supposed to happen actually did.  What if I hadn’t had an encounter on my long run of Week 15 with an apparently friendly dog and an unobservant owner?  I tried to avoid the paws and kiss from the dog by veering off the curb only to land and feel my knee twist.  That left me in pain.  Not unbearable pain mind you but not pain I wanted to have seven days away from my goal.

I was gimpy on Monday.  By Tuesday I gave running a try.  I think it must have taken me an hour to run three miles.  I diagnosed myself.  The prescription was more ice, elevation and rest.  Wednesday was the best day of the week and I walked my three miles.  For more than fourteen weeks, I would look at my training schedule and see that day and think to myself what a treat it would be to only have to walk.  Nothing was going to take that walk away from me.  I earned it.  That was the best walk I’ve ever had!

Marathon day:  Up before the sun, eating lightly and drinking plenty of water.  I was anxious to get started.  I chatted with some of the runners around me about anything to keep my mind off the weather.  The start was cold without any sleeves.

Miles 1-7: Pretty smooth.  I was feeling relaxed.  I had to consciously think about keeping my pace consistent.  Once I got into the rhythm, I never looked back. It wasn’t until the course split for the first time that I really felt as if I was running a marathon.  The entire field ran straight ahead and I turned right.  I was alone but I wasn’t alone.  My mom was running right there beside me giving encouragement. I remembered my father’s words of accomplishment.  The quote given to me by my brother adequately fit the moment ran as the words ran through my head.  As I rounded the corner of the aid station I saw my friends transformed into Team Liz sitting on the corner waiting to bean me and drinking the coffee I had been wanting all week but never drank.  They had walked all the way from the starting line in Crown Center to the Plaza.

Miles 10-15ish:  Mine.  All mine.  I coasted through them.  Just then a woman turned around and offered me her extra GU packet as I came up around a corner.  “Nice day for a quick run don't cha think?”  With that line, I met Lisa from Wichita running her first marathon.  We talked about the race itself, our training schedules, our longest runs and the weather.  I kept going as Lisa slowed to walk and then waved as I crossed paths with her as the course doubled back on itself.

Miles 16-20 ½: I met and talked with Danielle.  She was another first time marathoner who trained with The Runner’s Edge.  We talked of the customary things it seemed: the differences in our training, my running alone while she ran with others, the weather, if she would run another marathon in the future, etc.

Mile 20 ½ - 21: I walked.  After running a personal best length and having to go further yet.

Miles 21-22 ¼: Back to running.  After Team Liz (known in the real world as Jody and Sarahbeth) asked if I needed to be beaned, I met Susie.  This was not Susie’s first marathon.  She had previously run a handful on the East Coast.  We both agreed the weather was killer.  It was a pleasant day but it could have been worse.  I certainly came out of it better than I envisioned.

Mile 22 ¼ - 23:  Susie and I walked up the last hill.  This on my part was planned because I wanted to finish the race strong.  By looking at the elevation charts, I had known this was the last measurable hill.

Mile 23-24 ½ish:  Running downhill was great!

Mile 24 ½ - 25:  I walked and posed for the camera.  I wanted to look as if I was having fun.  On the inside I was having a blast.  When am I ever going to get the chance to run down the middle of busy streets and live to tell about it?

Mile 25:  If I was going to do this marathon, I was going to run the last 1.2 miles.  The next time I stopped was going to be after I crossed the finish line.  I ate some beans and kept going.  Surprisingly I had energy left.  I didn’t feel nearly as fatigued as I thought I should have been.  Knowing the end was near was the hardest part.  Seeing the final turn made it real.  I was finishing this marathon.  Don’t try to stop me.

That last turn was cruel.  I thought I had to turn and the finish would be right in front of me but I had to run another block before I could see the words FINISH.  Much of it was a blur.  The adrenaline rush was off the charts.  I heard voices I knew cheering me on but I couldn’t quite place them.  I never saw the large digital clock displaying the time.  I remember saying water and not trying to fall over as someone removed the timing chip from my shoe.  My legs felt like I could keep going.  There were hugs and high-fives and the finisher food.  And a medal and finisher tee I would get later.  My stomach felt as if all it could tolerate was water.  And my legs and back ached as I did the necessary stretching.

Four months of training.  Two months of pretraining.  All of it was finally over.  It only took five hours and 33 minutes.  That’s what the chip told me.  This adventure was over.  I had run the marathon.  I had put in the effort.  I used my inspiration, showed my dedication and showed my determination.  When asked why, I answered why not?

Throughout this ordeal, I hope I gave you a glimpse into my running world.  I tried to explain things I had thought, learned and experienced while exploring my limits and working towards what now seems easy.

As I set the book on my shelf next to all the others, I looked at my accomplishment.  I joke when I say I started this journey because I wanted to buy new shoes.  That was only part of it.  This journey was a way for me to connect with me, to do something only for the sake of bettering myself, to be selfish.

To succeed at proving I had only myself to beat.

 

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