26 Or Bust!

Sorry that this is a few days late, but I survived to tell the tale of my first marathon. I warn you now that it’s VERY long and a fair bit sappy. You’ve been warned.

Despite two foot injuries that prevented me from finishing training, I finished the entire marathon. In 5:16:46 I covered all 26.2 miles of the Nashville Country Music Marathon with a smile on my face.

Here it is, a link to see my official race time. My bib number was 15097.

The morning was off to a rough and early start at 3:15 a.m. when I awoke to lightning storms. The rain slowly faded to a drizzle and was pretty much done by 6:30 a.m. By then I was walking to my corral, number 15, to get in some last stretches before the wave start at 7:00 a.m. At 7:29, my race began and I was nearly giddy with excitement. It blew my mind to see the crowd before me, running down West End Avenue toward the heart of the city and to know I was part of the pack.

As the coaches drilled into us for the days preceding the race, I held back. I aimed for an 11 minute mile and for the first half of the race, I was almost exactly on target and felt great. It left me plenty of energy to simply enjoy the experience. I ran until mile 14, officially making it the longest single run of my life. From there I walked every other mile. During those walks, I chatted with others who were taking a break and we laughed and helped each other along.

Friday night, I had given into my mentor’s suggestion to decorate my singlet with my name in iron on letters. It was the best advice yet. To run down those streets and hear people calling out my name…MY name…was incredible. When my feet were sore and my knees ached and my hips were stiff, to hear parents, children, and cheering squads shout out “Sarah, you can do it, you’re almost there!” was all I needed to keep on going and keep on smiling.

We ran through the city, through residential areas where people stood on their front lawns with their coffee in one hand and waving us along with the other. We ran through an industrial park beside a river where the breeze kept us cool as the sun came out. We ran through quiet parks where the view of trees and lakes were soothing as the race wore on. We ran, ran, and ran some more.

At mile 6 my left foot was sore, by mile 8 the ache subsided. At mile 9 I could, unfortunately, begin to smell myself. By mile 14 the soles of my feet burned. After that, most everything hurt at some point, but the pain came and went and I kept on going.

Nearly every step of the way there were people lining the course wishing us well, encouraging us, and supporting us. I saw one woman whose aunt ran out on to the course half-way through and was still running with her at mile 23, helping her make it to the end. I saw tiny children holding giant signs for their dads and moms. One man held up a Team in Training sign that simply said, “My wife is running for me.” Cheering squads of teenage girls went wild for a high five from the runners as they screamed and shouted us on. Even the cops that guarded intersections offered words of encouragement as we went by.

I was taken aback by the presence Team in Training (TNT) had along the course. There were 830 runners representing TNT and what felt like tens of thousands of spectators supporting the cause. From friends and families of runners to coaches from every team, TNT’s official color purple took over the course. People waved signs and cheered on everyone who wore purple and moved. Spectators shouted louder for us and thanked us. The coaches went wild when we passed them and many jumped into the crowd and ran along with us. At mile 19, our Brooklyn coach Jasmine did just that as I jogged past. She couldn’t believe I was there, going the whole distance and was possibly more giddy than I was. We laughed and chatted as I approached mile 20 and she sent me along with shouts and cheers that kept my adrenaline pumping even as the hours stretched on.

Around 25.5 miles the Manhattan coach, Ramon, joined me and ran with me to mile 26, pointing out the sign I’d been searching for since 7:30 a.m. … “Finish”.

As Ramon came out to run with me, from the sidelines David came running. Yelling and pumping his arms he cheered me on and it was by far the best moment of the race.

I can’t begin to put into words what I felt. From the moment I woke up I was determined to have a fantastic time no matter what happened. Not once did I waiver, but kept on smiling, nearly laughing at times with delight. Even when I slowed at mile 14 and had to walk, my spirits stayed high. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. When I let myself really think about what I was doing, I nearly cried. I took on a challenge that seemed impossible to me only a few months ago and despite setbacks, I stuck with it and saw it through to the end. There I was with over 4,300 people (over 21,000 ran the half) running a marathon. It boggled my mind. In a few hours, I would cross the finish line and officially be a marathoner!

I couldn’t have done it though without your support and I really mean that. Everyone has been so great these last few months from friends and family with encouraging words to an understanding boss as I left early every Tuesday. It seemed crazy in December when I uttered the words “I’m training for a marathon” and the looks of surprise that greeted me told me you thought I was a bit crazy, too. Yet, everyone offered nothing but support. Thank you to everyone that sent me emails, commented on my blog and listened to my endless (and usually unnecessarily detailed) stories about training. I’m sure you’re ready to hear me talk about something else! Thank you for everything.

Most importantly, thank you for your donations. You money has gone to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and will help find a cure for cancer. The research they do for blood cancer, will help patients of every type of cancer. You’re helping us cross the ultimate finish line of finding a cure.

Thank you to my parents and sister who supported me through this. I know you probably thought I lost my mind after being a certified couch potato my whole life. Still, you asked how things were going, offered advice and helped me make it through this.

I’d be fired if I didn’t thank David. He suffered through this more than anyone (possibly even more than me!). The early Saturday mornings when my alarm woke him, too. The Friday nights I had to go to bed early. The days I got home from training in tears because my other foot hurt. Everything I went through, he went through, too, but magnified by my rants, tears and long, long, long stories. Somehow he managed to keep on offering hugs, understanding and an endless stream of encouraging words. What more could I have asked for? The one thing he delivered, a hug at the end of the race when I was sweaty, salty and totally gross. I wouldn’t have hugged me, but he did. Thank you.

Thanks to the coaches. I don’t know if any of you will find this blog and read this, but you made this possible. You taught each of us how to run—uphill, downhill, fast, slow, and any other way it’s possible to run. I hope to keep in touch with you and maybe see you on another TNT team!

This pretty much wraps it up. When the official race photos are in, I’ll post those on Flckr. Until then, thank you for everything.

Sarah

The runner’s high, the fabled feeling of euphoria reported by endurance athletes. Many who run claim to have experienced it, while others just want to puke after a tough workout. Now science has stepped in to find out if this natural high really exists. Check out this article from The New York Times and read all about it.

It’s been longer than usual between posts this time. I’ve been using the time to find a bit of perspective after a new problem arose on Saturday.

Around mile 10 or 11 as we crossed over the Williamsburg bridge into Manhattan I felt a twinge in my left foot. The discomfort quickly worsened and I slowed to a walk. My hopes that walking a few minutes was all I needed were quickly gone as even a slow jog brought sharp pain.

There I was, walking through the Lower East Side in full running gear, complete with spandex pants and an oh-so-fashionable fuel belt, a bit fragrant from the 10 miles I’d already run and on the verge of tears. All I could think was how unfair it was that my other foot was now holding me back. I’d rested and iced as directed, cross-trained like mad, tried to stick to a slow pace and build the mileage back up slowly. Despite all that, I was back where I started in February—injured. Only this time, I was out of time. Just over four weeks from race day, I didn’t have time to go through all that again. I knew I wouldn’t have time to rest, to build up the mileage slowly, peak and taper before the marathon. I’d never be prepared to run 26.2 miles.

I had been so proud of myself for taking on, what was for me, a huge challenge. I committed myself to the program and tackled the training with vigor. I wasn’t deterred by the large fund-raising goal. I started this blog, writing posts regularly. I was getting stronger, faster and starting to calculate my marathon time goal. Now that was gone and I knew race day would find me walking a portion of the marathon.

I was furious, sad, disappointed, completely and utterly broken. 26 or bust I thought? Busted, it seemed.

I got to my apartment and before I even could unlock the door, the dam broke and I was sobbing. Hysterically sobbing.

After a good cry, lots of hugs and kisses and encouraging words from my patient and understanding boyfriend, I realized the biggest mistake I made. The whole way back everything in my mind started with me. I realized what a selfish jerk I was.

This isn’t about me, it has nothing to do with me. I felt like Scrooge at the moment he realizes the true meaning of the day before him. This race is about raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. An organization which helps people battle cancer—from the researchers in labs to the patients undergoing treatments. The purpose of this entire undertaking was to do something for others, to be a part of something larger than myself and hopefully make a difference.

Somehow, somewhere along the way I’d lost sight of everything and thought only of myself. Now, I’m glad, in a way, that I’ve had the extra challenge of these injuries. They’ve forced me out of myself, to remember why I’m doing all of this. The pain I feel is nothing in comparison to what the people I’m trying to help must undergo. This extra difficulty has helped me regain the perspective I lost. The training is harder now, but it means so much more than ever. When I cross the finish line, it will be so much more important. I won’t care what time the clock says, simply that I made it and that with luck, the money I’ve raised will help someone else make it through, too.

Saturday’s run was cut short to only 10 miles instead of the prescribed 14. There was no sharp pain in my foot, but it did become a little sore as the run progressed. My gut reaction was to end the session with the rest of the team at 10 miles in hopes of not aggravating the tendonitis too much.

The most frustrating part was that other than my foot being sore, I was having a really good run. One of my teammates that I haven’t really met yet was also recovering from an injury and we found a pace that was perfect for both of us. We chatted our way around the park and the time went by quickly. I didn’t even mind the thought of running another five miles alone

Sunday found me at the gym on the bike for an hour and in the weight room for about 20 minutes. The upside was watching a pretty good Chris Cooper/Ryan Phillippe movie. The downside was, of course, that I wasn’t running.

Today, my foot has been a little sore making me leery of running much this week before Saturday’s group training session. I plan to hit the gym Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, but plan on challenging bike workouts with minimal running. The time off my foot will, hopefully, help bring down any inflammation and have me in good shape to add on a few miles this weekend.

Feeling this injury start to resurface is certainly not what I hoped for and is disappointing. It very well may mean never catching up to the team in mileage and being unprepared for the marathon. My main goal now is to keep the tendonitis in check so that I can run most of the marathon and walk the rest without pain. I set out to complete this marathon and I still plan to, no matter how long it takes.

Saturday’s run was hard and a little disheartening. Before my injury, 11 miles was easy. Saturday, 14 made me feel like a truck ran over me. It was discouraging. Last night’s training however brought some hope that I will be able to get myself back in shape and running well again in time for the marathon.

Pacing was the focus of the night as we covered a four mile course. The goal was to keep each mile pace within a 10 – 15 second window. I ran with a girl I met on Saturday’s run who turned out to be a bit faster than me, but at a pace I could keep up with. We didn’t quite hit the goal of the run, but instead managed a negative split, which is the second half of your run being faster than the first. I was a little shocked when I looked at our split times of 9:19, 9:24, 8:50, and 8:39. The impressive part was that the last mile of the course was the hardest with a fairly long, steep hill. I didn’t feel like I was going faster that last leg of the run, but instead contributed my higher effort and heavier breathing to the hill.

To finish the workout and find I ran it better than I expected was a huge boost to my morale. I felt again as I had earlier in the season, that I was undertaking a challenge I could manage. On Saturday, I wasn’t so sure about myself or my decision to run this marathon. Today, the enthusiasm is back and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s long run. At least mentally, I’ll be ready for it.

Last Saturday was the first run that made me sincerely wonder what in the world I got myself into when I signed up to run a marathon.

You can safely add 10% to your mileage each week. Having covered 11 the week before, I should have added 1.1 miles to Saturday’s run. However, knowing I’m well behind the team in mileage and being a stubborn person, I made up my mind to add more. From the first steps I took, I was ready to stop, yet I went on to run just two blocks shy of 14 miles. That’s right. I didn’t just add two miles to my run, but instead nearly three. I can honestly say that I felt every single step I took and that I’m still sore, paying the price of my stupidity.

We ran from Union Street near Sixth Avenue in Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn bridge, across Manhattan to the West Side Highway and up to 34th Street and then turned, following the same route back to our starting point. Most people ran farther on to 54th Street or 72nd Street, doing 16 or more miles.

The view from the bridge was incredible, though the crowds on the way back were a bit frustrating. Along the West Side Highway it was windy keeping us cool. Other than the bridge the course was flat. The makings of a good run. Unfortunately, I was too tired to enjoy it and it took all my willpower to keep from stopping dead in my tracks. Honestly, had I not been signed on to Team in Training and had I not already raised over $3,000, I would never have kept going.

I reached 4th Avenue with two and a half blocks left to go, but I looked ahead and it was all uphill. I stopped cold. I had already run almost a mile further than I planned and knew I was past my limit for the day. Just walking those last two blocks was shear torture. On the phone with David afterwards, as I marched to get myself the most guilt-free bagel sandwich of my life, all I could do was laugh at the pain. I was actually giddy with exhaustion.

Sunday found me running errands and cooking instead of running as I needed a day to recover. Last night however, I hit the road after work and squeezed in 4.8 miles. Today I feel better than I did yesterday. My foot is a little tender, but not sore and I’ll be sure to ice it after practice tonight.

I plan to get one or two more runs/gym workouts in this week. Hopefully, it helps me be stronger and more prepared for this Saturday’s long run. With any luck, it’ll be easier than last week and I won’t spend the whole time wondering if I really did lose my mind committing to this.

This past Saturday was my first long run since my injury (peroneal tendonitis) at the beginning of February. What a comeback it was with a steady rain and a little lightning thrown in at the end. Despite the less than favorable weather, it felt great to be running again. Even as I tired near the end, I felt a runner’s high simply from knowing I was training again.

Although I’m behind in mileage, I took it easy with 11 miles to match my long distances of a month ago. The goal each week will be to add on two miles instead of only one. Hopefully, like this week, my foot will be fine and I’ll be able to quickly catch up to the team. It’s a slower start than I’d like, but I know I need to pace myself as there are six weeks until the race. That should be plenty of time to finish training, but only if I’m careful and avoid aggravating the tendonitis.

Slow progress or not, it’s good to be back.

After exactly a month of rest, relaxation, riding the stationery bike more than I’ve ever wanted and tearing up when I saw others able to run, I’m finally back to training. Last night was my triumphant return to the team, though I didn’t time it well as it was the night of Test #2, our second timed mile tests. The first test was in mid-January and my mile times were faster than I expected at 8:01 and 8:10. Since then, Tuesday trainings were dedicated to hill workouts to make us stronger, smarter about pacing and therefore faster. In theory Test #2 times should be faster than the first go round, though for me they were understandably not.

As my first run since getting my new orthotics last week, my coach advised I just run the course at a slow leisurely pace and definitely not push it. With no interest in aggravating the tendonitis, I took heed and ran the 3 mile course nice and slow. I’m happy to report all went well and I’m looking forward to another short run tomorrow morning. Saturday will be my first long run and I plan to take that slow as well. Listening to my body, my foot especially, will be key and let me know when it’s time to call it quits that day. Hopefully, I can run 11 miles, as that’s where I was in training when injury intervened.

If all goes well, I’ll try to add about two miles each week to catch up to the group. In the event of pain, I’ll take it easy, even walk if need be. At the end of the day, I’m not running this marathon to win (I’m at least 5 minutes per mile too slow to even be a contender). All I’ve ever wanted out of this is to say I crossed the finish line and support a good cause along the way. Should that mean walking part of the way and taking 6 hours, so be it. On April 26th, come hell or high water, I’m going 26.2 miles…or bust.

To date $159,387.45 has been raise by everyone training for the Nashville marathon through Team in Training in New York City! My personal total is already up to $2480. Thank you so much to everyone that has supported the cause through donations online, by mail, at the happy hour or simply by stopping by my desk. You are the reason our team has been so successful and already raised so much for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

With two months remaining until our April 26th race day, there’s plenty of time left to donate and help support blood cancer research and patients. If we’ve raised this much already, I can’t imagine how much we’ll be able to raise by then.

Thank you again to everyone that has helped us reach this point.

Thank you so much to everyone that came out for last night’s Cocktails for a Cause! We raised over $450 dollars and are already planning the next happy hour event. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as the date is set and the bar is booked.

It was a fantastic night and I look forward to another night out with everyone, raising a glass for cancer research.

Thanks again for your support!