I completed my second marathon today. My training wasn't where it needed to be, so I called on the help of friends to get me through.
My Coach laid out a great training plan, but I didn't follow it as I should have. Heather and I completed some of our long runs together, but my long runs were never as long as they should have been, so I was worried. I called up Tracy and Angie and asked them to run with me and they didn't hesitate for one second. I got through the first 16 miles alone, but with lots of doubt about going the full distance. It wasn't until I saw Ieesha and she told me, "You're going to finish" that I knew that I would not bow out at the half. It was mental, as nothing really hurt besides my Achilles in the first mile. I was just tired and not up for the challenge, since I didn't get conditioned as well as I should have. This was an emotional race for me. I cried when I saw Ieesha, I cried when I saw Gladys and I cried a couple of other times. I realized that quitting was not an option and that I need to have mind control over Deebo (the devil that sits on my shoulder sometimes). I thought about my upcoming Ironman Chattanooga triathlon and asked myself, "How are you going to become an Ironman if you start quitting now?".
I pushed past the those crazy thoughts and started to count down the miles before I saw Tracy. I hesitated at the point where I could go left to the 1/2 marathon finish or right to stay on the marathon course. Tracy was exactly where she said she would be at mile 16 and we got to stepping. I started to fade in mile 18 because I needed salt, so she bummed some pretzels from a spectator. Francy was out there and gave me a hug. Angie was right before the 20 mile mark, as promised, so Tracy handed me off to her. I had no pain, but was just getting tired. Angie decided that we would start running 3:1 intervals, but we quickly had to change it to 2:1 intervals. She was
relentless with sticking to the intervals, even on the hills of that
wicked Minnesota Avenue. Before long, we saw Gladys and she had my Coke and Peanut M&M's as promised. Angie made me some salt water and we brought it in to the finish line.
This was truly a group effort. I know that the last 10 miles would have been even more of a challenge without those ladies. I will eternally be grateful to them and vow to follow my training plan moving forward. My Coach and Heather were waiting for me at the finish line. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
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| Expo |
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| Me and Heather |
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| Shayla: Chance meeting at the start line! |
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| Running Angels: Tracy and Angie! |
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| Me and Gladys: The Coke and M&M's got me to the finish line!! |
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| Mission Complete! |
