I still remember the shear excitement that I felt that November day when our friend Tom called me up to let me know that he was able to finagle an official number for me. Still to this day I am not quite sure how he did it since when I first questioned him on it his response was "don't ask". At that moment I was filled with excitement and fear. I wasn't afraid of the race itself at that point, but more afraid that I would let Tom and Lyn down. "What if I get hurt?", "What if I can't do it?", "What if the number goes to waste?" ... these were my fears when I first got the number. In fact, I was actually so afraid that I would let Tom & Lyn down that I actually didn't send in the application until mid-January to make sure that my training well enough where I had a shot to do it.
For those of you who have been following this blog from the beginning (which may be 2 people total) you'll know that I was a long way from marathon shape when I started. My long run was actually three miles. Through hard work, support of our friends, support from our family and fear from letting Tom & Lyn down I was able to hit my first short term goal of being ready to run 10 miles by the first L Street Run in early January.
Early January is when I felt great, the runs were coming along, the distance was going up and I was pain free. Late in January is when I hit the only real obstacle that I have had to deal with in all of my training. It was then that I started to get the symptoms of IT Band Syndrome. Really, this was a turning point for me. How do you train for a marathon if you can't run? It was a question that I asked myself a lot when the injury first came up. Honestly, I had my own doubts at that point. Thankfully, I had the support of Renee there to help pull me through. Honestly, I had some pretty down moments when I really didn't think that this marathon was going to be a possibility. Renee got me through them all ... sometimes with just words of encouragement and support ... other times with tough love by telling me just to suck it up. Regardless, I can say without a doubt, if it wasn't for Renee I most likely wouldn't be ready to line up on the starting line tomorrow.
When the calendar turned to February is when my training moved indoors. Unfortunately, this wasn't by choice. While most people may think that moving the workouts indoors would be a blessing (especially with this years winter), it honestly made training 100x more difficult. It was right around this point in time where I had really developed a love of running. I know it sounds weird, but I literally would look forward to going out for a run ... sun, wind, rain, snow, sleet ... it didn't matter, there was something about running that I had never known previously, but became apparent during this training. Instead, I was stuck on the elliptical. Like a prisoner sentenced to jail, all of my workouts had to take place in a small room at the Wang YMCA. I joke about the fact that I always worked out on "my elliptical" ... literally I never saw anyone else use the machine in 4 months probably due to the fact that the workouts are so mind numbingly boring. Workout after workout I plugged through. Again, there were times that I was unsure of what I was doing (this actually happened pretty often) since I wasn't (and still aren't) sure whether or not elliptical conditioning will translate into running conditioning.
As February turned into March, the real frustrations hit. The injury hadn't improved at all despite "laying off it" for weeks. It was here that I decided to pursue physical therapy. At Renee's recommendation, I went to Declan since she had said he had helped her a lot when she was injured. Now, in addition to all of the cardio workouts, I had to incorporate 2-3 physical therapy sessions as well. When I started physical therapy, both Declan and I had high hopes that I would be back to running pain free by marathon time ... I mean it was 8 weeks away at that point. Unfortunately, the progress didn't really go as fast as either of us would have liked. I was able to muster some short runs and a long 15 miler. Unfortunately, when the "do or die" 20 miler rolled up ... I bombed it miserably. Honestly, in all the highs and lows of training for this marathon ... that was the Mariana's Trench. Seriously, that was the lowest of the lows. Its hard to describe the disappointment that I felt at that point. It was here that I did some real soul searching ... doubt overwhelmed me ... "how could I run a marathon if I couldn't even run more than 10 miles?" ... "I was screwed" ... "all that work for nothing" ... these were the thoughts that I had after that run. It was here that I had my epiphany ... It was here that I decided that it really didn't matter how I finished the marathon. I went back to the original goal I set for myself which was to "finish the Boston Marathon". Really, it was here that I realized it doesn't matter how I get to the finish line ... spring, run, jog, trot, stroll, walk, limp, hobble, crawl, roll ... if I get to the finish line I will have completed the Boston Marathon, which is something that 99% of runners will never have the opportunity to do.
With my new outlook on the race, April seemed to fly by. I used my last Ace in the Hole in early April when I went to he orthopedic surgeon. Hopefully, the cortisone shot will help and give me the boost I need tomorrow. The remainder of April was filled with excitement and things to look forward to. Then end of training, Dinner's with Tom & Lyn, The Marathon Kickoff Party, The Marathon Expo, The Naked Tour ... these are all the festivities that come with Marathon Weekend.
Now, the night before the marathon, I am filled with excitement and nervousness. I would be a huge liar if I told you that I wasn't totally scared about tomorrow. I think I did everything I could have done to prepare for this race given the injury I was dealing. In the words of Randy Pausch (whom I referred to in one of my motivation entries), I can't control the cards I was dealt, only how I play the hand. Hopefully things go well ... if they don't ... well ... I will just have more time to take in the crowd!
I guess the most important part of reflecting on an experience is to figure out what you have learned from it. Honestly, regardless of how this race goes tomorrow, this will have been one of the best experiences I have ever had. I found out that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought I could have done. If you asked me even a year or two ago if I thought I would ever compete in a marathon I would have told you that you were crazy. In addition, Tom and Lyn have helped introduce me to a group of people, that like them, love to run / compete in races / be active and through them I have learned to cultivate this in myself. Lastly, I found out how supportive Renee is and how much I needed that to get me through the tough times in this training.
Like I have said before, it may not be pretty but I'll get to Boylston eventually.
 |
| This is a picture from Renee in last year's Boston Marathon. Honestly, without Renee's support to help me through the hard times in my training, I probably wouldn't be lining up tomorrow. |
 |
| Mom and Dad. A special thanks for helping me get where I am today. |
 |
| Tom & Lyn. Two of the nicest, most genuine people we have ever met. Without them, I never would have found the joy in running and participating in events like the marathon. In addition, I never ever would have had the opportunity to run this race, attend events like the kick off party or meet half of the incredible people that we have met through the marathon. Truly grateful for all that they have done for Renee and I. |
No comments:
Post a Comment