For the second half of the marathon, I ran for two minutes each time I got to a milepost, then I would walk the rest of the mile. I kept trying to keep track of the time I started each mile, using the big digital clock that they have at each milepost. When I got to the next mile, I would calculate my time for the previous mile, but as I got more and more tired it was difficult to do. Let’s see, did I hit that last milepost at 4:14:27, or was it 4:13:27? Or maybe it was 4:12:17. So I either just did an 11:40 mile, a 12:40 mile, or maybe about 13:55. I was even having trouble calculating the difference, assuming I knew the actual time to start from, so I finally just gave up. It was what it was.
At about mile 19.5, I was shocked to suddenly catch up with three Virginia teammates. They were all runners, and faster than me. In fact, I was the slowest person on the team, plus I am sure the oldest. It turns out that Sandy had developed huge blisters on both feet and had slowed to a walk, gamely going on. Her husband Mike had stopped running to walk with her. The third was JoanE, a great gal from our Richmond team. She was willing ill and worn out, and had changed to a walk. Believe it or not, if you are used to running, walking long distances is difficult because your muscles are just trained differently. But all three were not giving up despite the pain and misery, and they all finished. I snapped this photo:
I slowed to walk with them for a bit. Mike and Sandy went on ahead, and JoanE and I walked together until mile 20. I asked her if she was OK to be on her own, which she was, so I gave her a sweaty hug and picked up my pace, passing Mike and Sandy again. I met my coach, Sarah, near mile 24 and we walked together for a half mile or so, crossing the bridge into Tempe. People actually called this a “hill” because the rest of the course was so flat. Sarah turned back to meet the remaining three Virginians, but it sure was great to see her. A couple miles flowed by, and now I was at the campus of Arizona State University, heading towards Sun Devil Stadium, when a most welcome sight appeared:
The time on the clock, which is the gun time, was 6 hours and 22 seconds. Since I had crossed the start about 8 minutes after the gun, I knew I would break six hours, and the feeling was great. I went into my final run, every part of my body hurting, every step an effort, for 352 more yards. I crossed the finish line and threw my hands up in the air, then as quickly brought them to my eyes to brush back tears. Five years in cancer remission, and my third marathon to celebrate it. How fortunate I am! I slowed to a very slow walk as my brain told my legs that they no longer needed to move as quickly. I got my shoe tag removed and received my medal, putting it around my neck. As I walked to find the check-in tent, I saw Chuck, Suzanne, and Warren waiting for me, and for the remaining three Virginia teammates. I was so appreciative of them being there. They had to be so tired, and could have been relaxing back at the hotel, but they waited for us slowpokes. Chuck had run a great race, but had missed qualifying for Boston by a few minutes. He was still a marathoner, though. And Suzanne, walking most of the race, now was a half-marathoner and had broken three hours by several minutes. Warren snapped this picture of the three of us with our medals:
I used Suzanne's cell phone to call Mary and tell her I was back. She was monitoring the race on the internet and told me that I had come in under six hours. It turned out my time was 5:56:44, a great time for me, especially after all the missed training. The four of us hung around until Coach Sarah, Mike, Sandy, and JoanE came in, then we headed back to the hotel, ice water baths, and the evenings victory party. Another great Team in Training event was over, but the memories are for the rest of my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment