Other
— mas•och•ist
Pleasure in being abused or dominated: a taste for suffering
I went looking in Webster’s Dictionary (online of course- who picks up a real dictionary these days?) for a possible explanation of why someone would abuse their body for 26.2 miles and smile about it (in the end). The closest definition – aside from stupid- I could come up with was the above. No, seriously, I had the most amazing experience on Sunday. I think I’m hooked. It will be different next time though. I went in Sunday almost with a marathon sized chip on my shoulder when it came to the 26.2 miles I had before me. After my disaster in Boston I needed, I craved redemption. (wow this is dramatic sounding isn’t it?)
There is no feeling like lining the streets of Chicago with Thirty some thousand of my closest running friends as well as an estimated 1.5 MILLION spectators who’d come out to cheer us on. Not even the way too warm forecast could dampen my excitement for this day. Starting time for me was 8 AM. However, despite being there way early, I took my sweet time getting in line (picture herding cattle). Getting ready to run for hours is much like getting prepared to go on a vacation. You go through the checklist of do I have everything I need? The inevitable answer is NO but I have to go anyhow…my dear hubby was for once telling me “you better get going now”. So we headed the couple blocks past the seas of people so I could line up with the group of people who were planning to run the pace I was looking to achieve.
After doing the starting line shuffle (it took 15 minutes to cross the start line which is nothing compared to those way behind me) we were off! This is my 4th long distance race (1/2 marathon or more) I have started and the excitement is incredible. However, this was my chance to join the ranks of only 1% of the world- Marathon Finisher! I determined from the start I would finish no matter if I had to crawl. Shoot, I even wore the sweatband on my head to remind me- it said “Run-Walk-Crawl- FINISH!”.
Two, four, miles down. My trusty (so I thought) Garmin GPS watch that I run with that keeps me running at a doable pace for me was not working right due to the tunnels we had to go through as well as its inability to connect with satellites because of the skyscrapers. So, I wasn’t able to judge my pace real well. This is very important because while you feel great in the first half of the marathon and feel as though you could conquer the world and run like lightening, much like life, if you wear yourself out going too fast at first, you will pay for it big time later! So….as luck would have it, I ran upon a group of runners who were running my type of pace and decided to stick with them. This was a great idea at first. However, they decided to change their pace up later. Bad decision. Even worse, I went along with them.
I called Roger periodically to tell him where I was at (YES I was talking on my cell phone while running- now does that REALLY surprise you?). When I told him what I was doing he told me how good I was doing but to stick with my plan (pace etc- the way I’d trained). Number one rule- Run the way you trained! – note to self….listen to that! Lesson #1 unless you know FOR SURE you need to change your plans, don’t allow yourself to conform to others’ plans!
The first half of the race went by quick- meaning it didn’t hurt . I had noticed from early on I had some blisters that felt like they were forming on a few of my toes, but no big deal right? I’m tough after all! Haha.
By mile 17ish I was noticing that what was already predicted to be a less than ideal running weather wise day was getting hotter by the minute! No shade, no clouds. Beautiful for sure, but HOT HOT HOT! The heat was brutal and was quickly taking casualties. I was passing people that were very capable of leaving me in the dust- and their pacing time on their back proved it. People that should’ve finished 2 hours before me were now reduced to walking or worse. The closer to the end we got, the more people I saw sitting on the curb. I saw someone laying on the side of the road with medics attending to her. Sirens were going off all over. In the end over 70 people had to be taken to the hospital!
Lesson #2 No matter your training, ability level or determination there are things you can’t control- ie weather and how your body will react to it.
My heart ached for those who had to call it a day. I know the heartache of knowing you could do something but to have it yanked from you is excruciating. Please understand that when preparing for a marathon you train ATLEAST 18 weeks hardcore. We’re talking hundreds of miles, hours and hours out there pounding the pavement for one event.
I had heard that the crowd support in Chicago was incredible. That is so true! It is so incredible to hear people shouting “Go Becky”- “You can do it Becky”- people who have never seen me in their life are cheering for me. In a world that is pretty dog eat dog and we don’t care who we have to step on to get ahead it is great to experience this. Why can’t we cheer each other on in every day life?
As one who has trained alone, I have had more than my share of hours spent battling the voices in my head (wow that sounds bad) that say “this is dumb” “why don’t you just quit- you don’t have to do this you know” or whatever else is thrown at me. While those voices were still there a bit on Sunday when the pain set in, they were much quieter because I was surrounded with others dealing with the same thing.
As great as it was to hear the masses cheer, even better was the few times I called my Roger to tell him where I was or whatever. I could hear it in his voice that he was proud of me. He was rooting for me. He was telling me to keep going and I could do it! What a booster shot of energy that was! If truth be told, I think I would keep doing marathons just to hear the pride in his voice.
Lesson #3 you have no idea what obstacles you can help someone get through by your encouragement!
There are so many miles I don’t remember because they all seemed to melt together. I remember looking at my watch towards the end and seriously feeling as though I had been running like 24 hours! Despite this (and if you want any more proof that I am a sick individual)- I was thinking of which marathon I would do next and how soon I could do another one WHILE I was running!
The last mile was incredible. I was going to be an official marathoner! I have this in the bag! But wait! What do I see to add insult to injury? A hill! The only thing between me and those 2 words I thought I would never see (FINISH LINE!) was an over pass that on any other day would be nothing, but after running for over 5 hours and 26.2 miles that might as well have been Mt. Everest.
Lesson #4- too often in life before reaching our “promised land” we have one last thing to conquer!
I made it across that beautiful finish line it took me a whopping 5hours 24 minutes and 3 seconds but I finished! I came in 23,975 out of over 31,000 finishers- not exactly a world class finish, but I celebrate it nonetheless. Hearing them say my name over the intercom as a finisher was incredible to say the least! The only thing I can compare it to is childbirth. But in all honesty this was more difficult! My pictures are cute because I have my hands in the air pumping my fists. I was smiling and I felt incredible- relatively speaking of course.
I have: 4 blistered toes
3 chaffed parts of my body
2 sore areas (my back and left knee)
And a partridge in a pear tree sorry I couldn’t resist
It was beautiful to make my way through the sea of people to see my proud husband. After all we’ve been through- he is my biggest cheerleader which is especially significant because in every day life he hasn’t always been the most expressive person. Perhaps the experience somehow is a metaphor for our life? My friend Harmony also braved the crazy crowds to congratulate me- she even wanted a sweaty hug! Eww! Poor thing! There are many more lessons to learn from running and until I have learned all there is for me to know I will probably keep on.
Oh and hey- if you want to see my medal its pretty cool I’ll even let you wear it.
Until the next 26.2 ……………..
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