Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Race Report

“To describe the agony of a marathon to somone who’s never run it is like trying to describe color to someone who was born blind.”

-jerome drayton - canadian marathon, won boston 1977

This was a very different experience for me in many, many ways. It was the first time for many things:
first time i ran a marathon in the city in which i live; first time i had a co-hort with me...planning, sharing excitement, going to the expo, going to the starting line together(SL ran the HALF); first time i forgot my timing chip; first time i ever walked during a race; first time i ever wanted to just STOP and not finish....

On prior race days, especially prior marathon days, when i awake, i can pretty much tell instinctively if i will have a “good” day. sunday, 3/25, was not one of those times. I was anxious, nervous, and very, very tight on my body and i never loosened up during the whole race. From the start, i could feel my legs, for whatever reason, just did not have it on this day. So. I kept on.

It was a beautiful morning in Atlanta...starting time with just a sliver of morning darkness remaining and 66 degree temps...much, much too warm, but that is just the way it goes.

It was an overly congested start with people WALKING smackin the middle of the road....um...hello??
This is one of the biggest things that irritate me! if you are going to walk, great, but go to the far right or start in the back. here i am, trying to manuever my way through the congestion and pick up a little pace and then, SMACK, HALT..walkers!! Not good race etiquette!!

Finally, we get to some wider roads and i can breathe and soon enough the half-marathoners split before mile 4 and the rest of us go on to a much more demanding course!


This was the ING inagural race for Atlanta and with every first timer, it had it’s problems...no water stops between miles 4-8. YIKES! We were all suffering with the hills in between and the rising temps. WOW! My hips and thighs were tight and hurting, but i was still moving at a good clip...on pace to finish in 4:15-4:20, which were my previous marathon times. I felt like i could sustain the pace. Until.

Coming out of the Emory University area to a short little downhill, we then entered my next door neighborhood of Druid Hills. I know these hills well. However, the planners threw in 2 I had not seen on the map and WHOA!! These were mile 16-17 and man, they got me. Also, let me mention, there had been only 1 Powerade stop along the way so far! And these were not the only hills so far, these were just the toughest, the steepest. Coming around to mile 18, was my corner....the corner that was just steps away from where i live and i thought, “i could just stop...” and then i saw my friend C. smiling, waving, cheering me on like crazy. I kept going. Slower. Much slower. The last 4 miles had taken a lot out of me and my perhaps 9:50 pace quickly turned into more like 11:00. YIKES. You know you are hurting when the DOWNHILLS hurt and that is what i encoumtered next. Soon enough, i am walking, stretching, trying to get my body do DO SOMETHING. GET BETTER. QUICK. I looked around and so more folks like me. We were all suffering. So many runners were taking walk breaks, streching their calfs, the quads. It was probably mid 70’s by this time. I had ingested 4 different gels by this time, but it was not nearly enough replenishment. I was famished. Physically battling this demanding course, i was also battling mentally. i had to “let go” of my desire to finish in 4:15-4:20. forget it. no way. And the pain was so deep...i thought, “i could just stop. not finish. go home. my house is sooo close.” Then, i looked around at “my fellow teammates” who were struggling too. How could i bail? “Angie, you will finish ths race. you WILL finish this race.”



And that was that. The last 6 miles were excruciating and then at some point, my body was just numb. My legs felt like they were just shuffling along. A far cry from my last marathon where i was sooo strong the entire way, especially the last 5 miles...and that was in san francisco!! The last 3 miles were gradually uphill on Peachtree Street, in the climbing temperaturesup to 80 degrees with lots of folks cheering us on. All our bib numbers had our names on them so people were cheering, “go Angie..you are almost there.”
And i was...i could see the finish banner and wanted to kick and sprint. but this was another first: i had not finishing kick. none whatsoever. my legs heavy like bricks...i was just satisfied to cross the damn finish line.

Time was the SLOWEST of all my other marathons.

4:53

What i know is that i DID IT. For the 5th time, I did it. It takes so much just to get there...the starting line. And i found that i can go much further even when in much pain.

This was the most challenging, most demanding, most humbling race i have ever done.

“if you want to win something, run 100 meters. if you want to experience something, run a marathon.”
-Emil Zatopek

Thursday, March 22, 2007

the who and what of me.

i am and always have been a very athletic person. i can throw perfect spiral footballs many many yards, repeatedly; i can swim, skate, tumble, throw and catch baseballs with speed and accuracy; i can jump, shoot hoops, crush a volleyball and play pool; i can do a long jump, triple jump, and throw a shotput, i can play tennis, raquetball, and badminton. i can play ultimate frisbee, soccer and ping pong. I can cycle and lift weights and climb walls. And i can RUN

and you know what

i am not a swimmer,
a skater
a gymnast
i am not a baseball, football or basketball player
i am not a volleyball player or a pool player
i don’t do track events
i am not a tennis, raquetball or badminton player
i am not a skier, or a climber
i’m not a soccer player nor a frisbee player


I am...

a Runner.

26.2 miles, next.

Monday, March 19, 2007

6 Days and counting




Over the weekend, I noticed the ING banners throughout my neighborhood, along some of the streets that are part of the marathon route. When I saw them, I got all excited. "That's my race", I thought. That is what I have been training for...another marathon...but this time, in the city in which i live. It IS exciting.

Weekend workouts were as follows: SAT: 11.3 miles - some of which was on the actual course -- a longer run than i needed, but i wanted to get the extra miles in. SUN: 3 short miles followed by weights & the gym. Sunday's quick jaunt was run from my gym and into Piedmont Park...which on a sunny, crisp, early sunday morning, was very UNpopulated. I had not run there in some time and it was like an old friend who welcomed me back. Trees are starting to bloom, the air was clean and crisp and the faint touch of wind was so welcome on my skin. I felt light and free having no water bottle or iPod with me. I love running through the park in such moments...when i can see the full wide empty fields, where it all looks untouched and precious. There were only a few fellow runners out and the walkers with their pups. There is a serenity in the early a.m. A time unlike any other. And then, i could sense an excitement in my belly for what will be in just one more week.

Another challenge

Another opportunity

Another chance....to be my own Hero

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

midweek

got a massage tonight. yippee. ouch. really needed it. calves have been killing me.

2 short runs so far this week and very laborious.

not quite over this sinus thing completely. what the hell?

Sunday, March 11, 2007

weekend runs

Yesterday ran another chunk of the actual race route. did about 10 as left my house, throughVirginia-Highlands, along side Piedmont Park, into midtown, alongpeachtree & into downtown & back ....with jaunts through Ansley and back into Virginia-Highlands. I did not feel particularly great out there...it wasn’t my legs, but the rest of my body which just felt so damned fatigued. I was also sniffing and spitting much along the way. I guess that sinus thing is still lurking. When I was done, it felt like it took so much out of me.

Did not hit the streets til noon today. Wonderful weather here in the ATL. Sunny, warm, low 70’s. Perfect. I headed out for a little one. At 3.3 miles, I felt a terrific cramp on my right calf muscle that was so painful i stopped dead in my tracks. I sat down on the curb and massaged it and was able to finish the route. 4.6 miles. This cramp creeped up on my yesterday too, but not nearly as painful. I worked on it last night with some massge tools,but obviously, no where near enough. I will be working on it again this evening. But, really, i gotta wonder...where the heck did this thing come from. I feel like a golfball is stuck in my calf and yanking and tearing away inside. Wow....must be from all that hill work i have been doing. :)

i have to tell myself some kind of good comes from this.

2 more weeks!! YIPPEE

Thursday, March 8, 2007

a stutter step

i've been "suffering" this week from some kind of sinus thing. it's in my throat, ears, nose. It was a very uncomfortable sore throat on monday, but has since gotten better. now, i'm just stuffed up and just don't feel all quite right.

so, tues went for a short run and then yesterday, i was not sure i was gonna get out there....thinking maybe i should just rest. but the weather here was so gorgeous, i was almost yanked out the door by it's pulling.

about 2 minutes into it, i feel so heavy and tired and just not right and in my head is this debate..."i could just stop and walk...i could just stop and go back home....i could keep going...."

my steps sloooowed to almost a walk.....and then i picked it up went on......

did just a but over 4 miles and felt great! i'm so glad i didn't stop.

you never know...you never know...

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

-Steve Prefontaine

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Saturday

Endure: verb
1. to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo:
2. to continue to exist; last

Today, I endured 18.6 miles through what felt like the whole freakin' city of Atlanta. A few takeaways to share...
I thought I had definitely run 19, so to fall even a little short was mildly disappointing.

On the positive side, I felt strong the entire way! This is the longest I've run so far during this particular training segment and i felt much stronger today than i did 2 weeks ago when I only ran a bit over 14. The questions begs to be asked, "why?"
"why did i feel so much stronger today?" and such explains one of the reasons why running and i have had such a long love affair: because it ALWAYS allows for self-reflection. Just like many professionals have coaches and film tape to review their performance, the middle of the pack runner like myself can only use onself to see and review what occurred. I look to my nutritional intake during the run; 3 GELS. These definitely helped! I look to the past week when i received a wonderful, yet painful massage from a woman who really knew what she was doing. I clenched my teeth and ached while she massaged my beaten up body, only to feel the benefits days later! Thanks, G. I also look to my decision to completely rest from running the past 2 days and eat enough. So, all these things together helped me out there today and then of course, there were other things too: the very mild weather, for one. Lastly, I have to give myself credit because I endured. I lasted. and i even enjoyed it. That's the thing about running. YOU CAN ALWAYS STOP. During one's training, there is never a finish line. There is never a tape to break or someone to blow a horn and you can stop. It's all up to you. Today, i just thought, well...the longer I go, the better for me. I ran for 3 hours, 13 minutes. Very slow, but i am not too concerned about that. I feel fairly certain I will finish the marathon in the same vicinity of my others...in the 4:20 area, plus or minus. That would be good considering this will be the hillest course I have yet faced! My dream of finishing under 4:15 is over. And that's ok...there is always another one to shoot for.

Cheers!