2008 Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon

Sunday, January 20th 2008

Just got home from the Carlsbad Half Marathon and I wanted to drop down my initial feelings.
The morning was very, very cold for San Diego (38 degrees at race start). I was FOOLISH and stretched for all of about 5 minutes, not really worrying about warming up or getting loose. I think this was in large part to my nerves taking over. BELIEVE ME…it will not happen again. I started into the run and settled in right away. The crowd did not bother me nearly as bad as I thought it would, it is just a matter of finding my groove. It should also be noted that most of those “skinny runner types” were using me as a lead blocker. LOL To each his own. About 3 minutes into the run, Cordell and I gave High-Fives and he went on ahead at his own pace. We do this regularly. I knew that the next time I saw him would be at the finish line – at least that is what I was hoping. I was really hoping he would be ok.
Anyway – at about 1.5 miles out, there was a bridge leading uphill which shocked the hell out of me considering this was supposed to be a very flat run along the beach. I cranked up it, did just fine and kept going. Something funny began to happen at about the 4-mile marker ~ my left knee/IT band became re-aggravated. It wasn’t sore, just started getting tight. I had my knee braces on though, and kept pushing.
The scenic route was nice; it took me right down the beach along the sand. Running with all those people cheering for you is an absolutely amazing experience that everyone should experience once in their life. People who live on the beach coming out with their cups of coffee going “all right!! Give it everything you’ve got!!” That was very cool.
So I continued down the beach, getting water at the stations to stay hydrated….and trying to enjoy myself. As the race got further and further along, my mental focus was TOTALLY derailed from enjoying the race, and I became totally 100% enthralled with my knee issue. By mile marker 8, the pain was so unreal I had to do what I swore I wouldn’t. I stopped and walked knowing full well that I was probably going to sacrifice my goal time, but I had to remind myself that the goal was not the half-marathon, it was the FULL marathon. I walked from mile 8 to mile 9, then started up a pathetic shuffle again in total agony. Every water stop ended up being an excuse to mug someone for the water they were offering. Just past the water station at mile 10, there was a 40-45 year old man standing by himself holding a sign. In the upper corners of the sign it read “go megan” and “go Jessica”….but in the center, in huge bold letters, it said “STAY FOCUSED”. I jogged over to him, tapped the sign three times and said, “yes, yes, yes!!” The guy got all excited and said “yeah! Go for it man! Go for it!” So I started running again a really nice pace. A strong pace. I got to the top of the hill at about the 11.5 mile marker and had to shut down again and walk. After a while though, I saw the 12 mile marker on the horizon and this feeling of anger, pride, resentment and emotion all came over the top of me at once and I thought to myself. “Everyone that I love is waiting at that finish line. Tylene, my daughters, my parents, Cordell and his wife….if I don’t come across that finish line running, I am useless. I REFUSE to walk any more.”

So with that I started the most pathetic, pain-driven, weak legged one mile run of my life. I couldn’t feel my legs – but I pressed on. People were passing me – but I pressed on. My knee was KILLING me – but I pressed on. Then, out of knowhere….at about the 12.4 mile marker and going down the bridge that I forgot was there, I pulled my right hamstring because I was overcompensating for my bad left knee.

So there I was. Bad left knee, pulled right hamstring, dehydrated and in the most intense pain I have ever felt. I felt the only thing I know do to – keep going. There is a quote that a lot of runners use nowadays. It is a famous quote by Winston Churchill: “If you are going through hell, keep going. This has never been truer than in this case. I kept going, and eventually looked up ahead of me and saw a sharp left hand turn with people 4 rows deep on either side screaming at the top of their lungs. I summoned up everything I had and (limping badly on both legs) hobbled across the finish line in 2 hours 42 minutes and 20 seconds. As I cam down the finish line chute, I looked to my right and saw Cordell standing there with his wife and new daughter. They had HUGE smiles on their faces and were cheering for me. I looked to my left and saw Tylene and the girls. I was very proud to be showing my family what I was made of. Then I took a second look to my left and saw my mom and dad right at the finish line….my dad started pumping his fist yelling “go buddy!” and I read my mom’s lips as she said, “oh my God”. I started to tear up and really had to compose myself for the last 20 yards. As I crossed the finish line the only thing I could think of was “my God – what have I done?” 12 minutes slower than I had wanted….walking a mile and a half, I was done.

I came home and got in the shower and mentally beat myself up for all the mistakes I made in the race. But in the end I got about 10 phone calls that night from people congratulating me, telling me they honestly did not think I could do it and that because I did do this….they would be sure to be at the finish line of the full marathon in June. (this horrified me).

Afterwards I learned a lot about the mistakes I made. (increasing my training mileage too much, too soon….not enough stretching, etc.) But I was grateful for completing the run. It taught me a lot about what my training is versus what it needs to be for the full marathon. I was so proud of Cordell. Not only did he run HIS race in less than 2 hours (1:59:24). But he ran negative splits. That means he ran the second half of his race faster than the first half. He performed brilliantly.
That’s it for now. Taking 2 weeks off to stretch and let my legs heal before cranking up my 17 week training program for the full marathon.

Tomorrow Is BIG DAY #1 (Sortof)

Saturday, January 19th 2008.

Well, tomorrow is the half marathon and I am feeling pretty good about myself. I ran 11 miles last Saturday and could have EASILY done more. All should go really well and I believe that I should come (fairly) close to my goal of 2:30:00. Weather is supposed to be REALLY cold, but I’m not too concerned with that. I just want to maintain my pace and get into a good rhythm. 10 weeks of training has led to this and I am very excited. Not too nervous…just wound up – like before a big game. I am really trying to temper my feelings because I know that this run is just a measuring stick for my training for the Rock N Roll Marathon on June 1, 2008. Because of the cold weather I got myself some Under Armor “Cold Gear”. I tried it on my 11 mile run and it worked great, so I will be using it the day of the race.
Side Note: I am really, really, really worried about my running buddy. I watched him struggle like I have never seen before during a 9 mile run last week and because he has been at home taking care of his daughter who has been sick, most of his training has tapered off badly.