Callaway Gardens Marathon

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 29^th 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 2^nd 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 29^th, 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!

Yetti Spaghetti Marathon

It’s 7am on New Year’s Eve…. Everyone has big plans for the evening celebrations, but not me…. Might as well start the party early and run 26.2 miles, right? 

Sean has some friends who hosted a fun, informal, trail run…. There was one loop that was about 6.5 miles. I planned to do four loops and complete a full marathon.  Well, see…… what had happened was…  Ok A of all, I was three weeks out of the Jacksonville race and still full from Christmas cookies, wine, and tons of good food.  I only ran once between the two events so my training was lacking to say the least.  B of all, I was a newbie to the whole trail running thing.  It’s a whole different world than road running.  On the road you learn to find you comfort zone and just coast from one mile to the next.  There’s no relaxing and no coasting on a trail.  The second your mind relaxes you stub your toes on a rock or trip over a root.  Neither  of which are conducive to running. 

Of course I came to the race with Sean, which means we’re nearly 10 minutes late.  We missed the instructions and course directions.  He doesn’t care. Why would he?  He’ll be with the lead pack of runners that he knows and they’ll show him the right course.  Not me…. I fall in to the back of the pack.  I have to stay with the group that’s running a little slower so I have people to give me directions. 

It was a great trail course that started in the back of a neighborhood and connected with part of Sweet Water Park.  I enjoyed the trail and scenes but needed to be more careful with the terrain.  Once I left the back of the pack, I got out on my own, had my iPod playing and let my guard down a bit.  Bam!  Slipped on some wet leaves or a rock.  I think I hyper extended my knee in effort to keep from falling and tumbling all the way to the ground.

I walked for a few minutes to gather my composure and refocus on the trail.  I started running again and finished the first loop.  There weren’t any runners at the water station so I refilled my water bottle, ate a few jelly beans and continued along the way.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was a bad idea.  My knee was really hurting.  I blamed it on my running shoes.  I couldn’t expect to wear road shoes on a trail.  It wasn’t comfortable.  So I continued to run/walk, sometimes I wanted to crawl, through the second loop.  I didn’t know how I was going to continue 13 more miles of this. 

As I approached the water station the second time, I noticed there were a lot of people gathered around.  They were all standing there drinking beer.  That was it.  I was done…. I was hurting, and how can I turn down a cold beer.  Well, all and all I can say I still ran the Yetti Spaghetti Half Marathon J

Next Up…. Callaway Gardens Marathon.

Where has time gone????

Sooo….. wow where has the time gone? 

It’s been a few months since my last post.  I have not had one single free minute since I don’t know when…. Well, I guess it was the day before Thanksgiving.   My entire life has been quite the world wind adventure since then… work is INSANE, boot camp life in instructorville has been awesome, and unfortunately running has died down quite a bit.

The Atlanta Thanksgiving half marathon was awesome!  I broke my PR by about 30 minutes!!!!  It was the best half marathons that I’ve ever run. I loved this race because of the hometown feel.  It’s awesome to run the streets that your drive everyday.  You get to slow down and take it all in.  There are so many places that I never took the time to notice.  It was great to run through downtown Atlanta and actually see all those great restaurants that I’ve heard so many people talk about.

It was a little weird to go to my first race by myself.  I usually have friends running with me or family there to cheer for me along the way.  But, if I intend to keep up with this many runs, I’ll have to get used to doing it alone.  Luckily, it was Thanksgiving and I could go home and all my family and friends there followed by an amazing feast and award winning nap!

That’s why I run…. To eat and sleep better J

My next race after the Thanksgiving Half Marathon was a full marathon in Jacksonville, FL.  The race was on a Sunday so I was able to sleep in a get plenty of rest Friday night.  So, about that going to races alone… yeah definitely not my thing.  Six hour drive from Atlanta to Jacksonville was horribly boring.  Luckily I have friends who live in Fernandina Beach, which is pretty close, so I didn’t have to spend money on a hotel. But unfortunately they were out of town this weekend and I was staying at their condo alone.  I love the opportunity to travel, but spending that many hours alone in silence was nearly painful!  Thankfully I had their dogs Callie and Roxy to talk to and entertain myself.

I knew Sunday was going to be a long day so I had to get dinner and get to bed early.  Fernandina Beach has a great little downtown area so I drove there and found Kelly’s, a little courtyard restaurant, to have dinner.  So here I am at 7pm, eating dinner and having a glass of wine alone, not like table for one, but like no one else in the restaurant alone.  Sure my dinner was good, but I was too embarrassed to really take the time to enjoy it.  I scarfed that plate down as fast as I could and got out of there in a flash! 

I got in bed early but had the hardest time falling asleep.  I guess it was being in a new place, pre-race jitters, and the expectations of 4:30am alarm.  Luckily I had the cozy company of Callie and Roxy….

Up bright and early, well not so bright because the sun wasn’t rising for another few hours but definitely early….  I quickly got dressed, walked and fed the pups and hit the road.  Ready to rock another race. 

As I approached the starting area I noticed people were already parking on the streets and walking, so I decided to do the same thing.  I parked in a little side neighborhood and joined all the other runners gathering in the school gym and around the starting line.  I really enjoy watching how runners prepare for their races.  Some zone out with music or appear to be meditating alone…. Others get rowdy and goof off with all their friends… Others look sickened by fear.  Me?  I just take it all in.  I don’t really have any prerace superstitions…. Just gotta make sure to ear and drink a little bit of water.

This event included a 5k, half marathon, and full marathon.  It was pretty small so there were no starting corrals.  Just a starting line and a man with a bullhorn.  The most important thing for me to keep in mind was to run my own race.  I couldn’t look around me and see people flying by because I didn’t know how far they were running.  Who cares if they pass me now?  They’re only running 3 or 13 miles.  I knew I was in it for the long haul and had at least 13 or 23 more miles to run than they did.  Well that whole philosophy lasted about 5 minutes…. Pretty soon I realized I was running an 8-minute pace…. I tried to slow down a little bit but I was feeling good, keeping with a good pack of runners and decided to ride it out. 

Truthfully, this course was pretty boring.  It started with a stretch down a main city road and then turned off into some neighborhoods.  There weren’t many fans on the roads and there weren’t any great sites to be seen.  Just me, some pavement, and my running shoes.  What really ticked me off was the fact that they didn’t close the roads.  Some of the major roads blocked off one lane for runners but many of the roads were open for cars to come and go and get in the way of runners.  As if running 26.2 wasn’t hard enough, now imagine doing it with impatient drivers zigging and zagging all around you. 

It was a flat course and could possibly be a very fast run if you’re fully prepared.  Due to the time change and a little complacency, I wasn’t able to continue my daily training runs after work.  It was getting dark before I left the office and I relied on morning boot camp work outs to help me maintain my endurance.  Probably not the best training method for marathons. 

The best part of this race was the family that set up a table for runners at mile 25.  The young girls were handing out lemonade for some runners, and the parents were offering mimosas for other crazy runners who needed a little boast to get through the last mile.  I opted for the mimosas.  After stopping to chat with the nice family, I thanked them and continued along my way to finish the race.

I made it to the finish line and accepted my medal.  I grabbed some water, Powerade and a banana and crashed on the football field.  I laid down and tried to take inventory on the damage I had just done to my body.  I was hurting.  My legs were aching and my knees were hurting.  I didn’t have a lot of time to recover.  After a few minutes of recouperating, I hobbled back another half mile to my car.  Drove back to my friends’ house for a shower and quick lunch, then I was back on the road…. About six hours til I got back home to Atlanta.

Two down, 28 to go.