At the beginning of training, Jeremy and I ran a lot together, but mostly, I trained alone. To have so many people running together, all so positive, so encouraging, this was amazing! (Except towards the end ... there were a few guys talking about death and torture - this didn't work well for me.) Throughout the race I had so much help (encouragement) that at times I was overwhelmed, vklempt, without words, and ready to burst forth in tears and laughter from shear exhaustion mixed with the excitement of so many people. There was Drew Fralick who got me through the Wall the first time, a Mexican man who shall remain nameless (don't know his name), then along came Peter the Dane from the ING Team - he must've run and walked with me for 10k, Mr. South African and Okey Army gal stationed in South Korea, and last was Lars Hoffman - he helped me get all the way to the finish line!
From the beginning of the race I started to feel a strange sensation in my lower left achilles, my knees were sore, my buttox was too tight, and I felt imenent doom. This is not a good way to start a marathon, especially the most difficult one this world has to offer.
With a little under 2k to go the legs cramped fiercely ... Lars Hoffman to the rescue! He was such a great encouragement, very nice guy (great kids, Hailey and Noel, and wife, Jill) ... and he wouldn't let me quit (not that I wanted to, but my body did). Then at 100m from the finish I was dry heaving so loud and so strong my stomach muscles cramped. I think I finished in 7:30.
Upon finishing, I received my Great Wall Marathon Medal and went directly for the First Aid. I got a saline IV along with some meds to make me relax. I was twiching, hyperventilating, and basically a complete wreck. I think it took me 20 to 30 minutes to come back to Earth. The rest of the day was spent hydrating, in fact I haven't really stopped. I still feel very crispy at times.
I am extremely thankful to Him for keeping my body healthy enough to finish and to not require immediate surgery... maybe one day I'll need orthoscopy on my knees, but it isn't today!
I learned a lot from my first marathon (and the toughest one I'll ever do). The list?
- Wear shoes I have thoroughly broken-in
- Even if I feel like throwing up, drink the nasty electrolytes and eat the energy gels
- The Dr. (who ran a 2:20 marathon) said I need to do 3 - 30k training runs so my body knows what to do at the end of the race
- Don't over train
- Get the "magic" salt pills
- Small goals for each section
- Finishing is great! (Finishing faster is greater still!)
I might just ask my brother John to come over and run The Great Wall Marathon with me in 2008 (James in 2009)! I will train smarter and then who knows... maybe I'll pass the goats.
No comments:
Post a Comment