What could be a better Christmas present than a race entry? I was lucky enough to receive TWO this year. My brother and sister-in-law got me one for the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10k in Charleston. Steve and I have run this together for 4 out of the past 5 years I think. This year I’ll be there again sporting my new CRBR performance tee and a huge smile on my face. The second race entry I got was for the Callaway Gardens Marathon. I had always intended to register for this race but as time ticked away it kept slipping my mind. Thankfully Sean did this for me.
The morning of January 29th Sean and I left Atlanta at 0 dark:30 to get to Callaway Gardens before the gun went off, which I think started at 8am. We must have miscalculated the trip time, or Sean fibbed to me about the time because we were seriously cutting it close.
I drove to the race so that he could sleep. We made a deal that he would drive home so that I could sleep and recover. I’m no “Driving Miss Daisy” behind the wheel so I know I was making good time on the way there, but we were still way late. At least in my book. I like to get to the event, check in, pick up my number, take my time making last minute preps, and be at the start with a few minutes to spare. Not Sean. “Run Bum don’t give a shit”
I was scared about this race. Scared because my knee had been causing debilitating pain just two or three weeks earlier. I bought new shoes and things were feeling great at boot camp, but I wasn’t sure how it would feel during a race…. 26.2 miles feels a little bit different than a 3 mile jog. We were supposed to be at the race start by 7:30am to pick up our numbers. As I’m driving, I see that the GPS give an estimated arrival time of 7:50am. I began to cry. I was overwhelmed. I was scared. I knew I was about to encounter a terrible pain. I didn’t want to let anyone down by just doing the half marathon. I put so much pressure on myself to do a full marathon. I’m very type A so I have a lot of things that I need do before crossing the starting line. I need to lube my feet and other sensitive areas, fill my water and Gatorade bottles, use the restroom (which usually includes waiting in line), take Advil, warm up, stretch, pray…. Plan an escape route, etc…. I knew I didn’t have time for this that day so what did I do? I cried. I slowly drove down two line country roads and cried. I was scared. I was stressed. And I didn’t know what else to do. Talk about the quickest way to make a guy feel uncomfortable. They hate to see girls cry and don’t know what to do. There really is no way to fix it. Just let us cry it out…. Poor Sean, he didn’t know what happened. One minute we’re at a red light, the next minute I’m crying like I just lost my puppy.
We finally get to Callaway Gardens and Sean runs to the check in. I get my feet and socks ready, fill my bottles, and head to the farthest away bathroom in hopes of short lines. Despite all expectations, we beat the gun and make it to the starting line as the National Anthem is being sung. He heads off to the front of the line and I file in to the back.
Because I was just coming off some knee issues I knew I had to take it easy today. I settled into my slow and steady pace. If I thought I was going too slow, I slowed down even more.
As luck would have it, my iPod went ka-put before the first mile was complete. I mean, seriously, I heard one and a half songs before it died. Not the actual iPod, but just the ear phones…. AGAIN. Seriously, I need to find new ear phones.
This was a blessing is disguise. I actually had one of the most pleasant races ever because I was able to take in my beautiful surrounds, meet new friends, talk to volunteers, and think about me for the next 4 and a half hours.
This race was two 13.1 mile loops. We were side by side with half marathoners the entire first half of the race. This was good to keep spirits up and momentum going. The race was 85-90% flat with one minor hill and one major hill. All and all not bad, dare I say, an easy course? I could see myself coming back to this one to set a PR.
This race was a lot different than my first two because it was so much smaller. It was through a park, not a city, so there were no spectators sitting on their front porches, no fans with signs on street corners. Just runners and volunteers. But I liked this for a change.
This race for me was seriously like a walk in the park. A beautiful park that hadn’t removed its Christmas lights yet J And I was still using my Christmas song play list so no need to bring me back to reality.
Talk about shock, surprise, and awe… I never felt any pain in my knee at all. Not one step of the entire 26.2 miles hurt. Was it because I changed my pace, lost my music, changed my outlook and attitude? YES. I think it was all of the above. I made this run about me and focused on me. I could feel what my body needed and what I was capable of that day.
I coasted through the next 13 miles and enjoyed every minute of it. I knew I wasn’t setting a PR today. I knew my goal was to cross the finish line and I did just that. I had fun, the best race to date. I felt great and really loved myself and what I was doing that day.
I crossed the finish line somewhere around 4:30 and took 2nd place in my age division. I collected my medal and plaque but the real award came a few minutes later.
In the tent where all finishers gathered for water, bananas, and bagels, I met a young girl who just finished her first marathon. She was only 19 years old. My friends and I were talking to her and congratulating her on her accomplishment. Then she said to me, “At mile 22 I wanted to quit. I wanted to stop and go home, but then I saw you pass me with a solid stride and smile on your face. I saw you doing it, and knew I could do it. You inspired me to finish.”
That made my day. No, it made my year. Yeah, on January 29th, I knew I had reached the highlight of my 2012.
Just a few hours ago I was brought to tears by my own fear and at this point I was brought to tears by my unknown, unexpected strength in inspiring others.
Three down, 27 to go!