Monday, February 3, 2014
The sign
In preparation for the Marathon, Gabi made a sign for Jamie and one for me. Anybody who doesn't know her might think: "Sure, that is nice that she made a sign, but it won't be the first or the last time somebody does". The thing is ... for Gabi to make a sign it is actually a BIG DEAL. Growing up she never liked to draw, and she is not somebody who voluntarily picks up a marker, let alone a bunch of them. That is how much she loves me, and how supportive she was of me.
Good bye
To closeout our stay in Miami, we had a lovely dinner, with a wonderful view. After all the effort of the day, it was nice to sit there and take it all in.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
26.2
After much anticipation, today I finally ran the Miami Marathon. I am loosely using the word "running" though, as I was only able to run half of it and had to walk the rest.
Since it was already 76 degrees by the time we started running, I decided to run slower than my regular pace. I think that really helped, as I was asking my body to run in a much higher temperature than I ever faced in my entire training. The slower pace allowed me to keep running without issues until pretty much the 13th mile, but after that my leg started to hurt and cramp. I initially alternated between running and walking, but eventually settled for walking the rest of the way. It was either walking or having to quit. By mile 16 I was definitely in pain and had to sit for a while, trying to stretch, until the pain mostly went away. When I was sitting there I seriously thought "This is it, there is no way I am going to make it, somebody is going to have to come pick me up". But somehow I managed to keep going, and I even picked up the pace because I was so afraid they would take down the finish line before I could make my way there.
The funny thing is that my struggle had nothing to do with the weather, with feeling exhausted, or with being light headed, which I understand impacted many people on the race. My issue was purely with my legs. As I was about to cross the finish line I figured I could try to run the last few feet, but that just caused me to cramp once again, and barely cross the finish line. That sucked, but it also made me glad I didn't push it earlier by trying to run again.
The worst part of the entire Marathon was probably mile 16, and the best part was two-fold: 1) Seeing Gabi and my mom cheering me on, and 2) Hearing from Gabi that I was already in Mile 24 when I thought I still had 3 miles ahead of me. Even though I initially didn't believe her, that was definitely priceless!
Since it was already 76 degrees by the time we started running, I decided to run slower than my regular pace. I think that really helped, as I was asking my body to run in a much higher temperature than I ever faced in my entire training. The slower pace allowed me to keep running without issues until pretty much the 13th mile, but after that my leg started to hurt and cramp. I initially alternated between running and walking, but eventually settled for walking the rest of the way. It was either walking or having to quit. By mile 16 I was definitely in pain and had to sit for a while, trying to stretch, until the pain mostly went away. When I was sitting there I seriously thought "This is it, there is no way I am going to make it, somebody is going to have to come pick me up". But somehow I managed to keep going, and I even picked up the pace because I was so afraid they would take down the finish line before I could make my way there.
The funny thing is that my struggle had nothing to do with the weather, with feeling exhausted, or with being light headed, which I understand impacted many people on the race. My issue was purely with my legs. As I was about to cross the finish line I figured I could try to run the last few feet, but that just caused me to cramp once again, and barely cross the finish line. That sucked, but it also made me glad I didn't push it earlier by trying to run again.
The worst part of the entire Marathon was probably mile 16, and the best part was two-fold: 1) Seeing Gabi and my mom cheering me on, and 2) Hearing from Gabi that I was already in Mile 24 when I thought I still had 3 miles ahead of me. Even though I initially didn't believe her, that was definitely priceless!
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| Ready to go! |
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| View from Mile 10 |
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| Family reunion at Mile 12 |
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| Mile 12 |
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| View from the second half |
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| Mile 24 |
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| Almost there! |
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| And there is the finish line! |
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| Family reunion after crossing the finish line |
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| And there is the medal |
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| The weather by the time I finished the race |
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| View a block from the hotel |
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Don't stop!
Earlier today I saw this in the back of the tape I used on my left leg. I had to wholeheartedly agree.
This is it!
After months of very disciplined training on my part, tomorrow I am finally running the Miami Marathon. Unfortunately I can tell my left leg is still not at 100%, so things can go either way for me. But as I sit here, ready to go to bed and worrying about how I will do, there is one thing I know with 100% certainty: I never cut corners during my training. I have done all the right things. I have given it my all. And tomorrow, regardless of how it goes, it will be a unique experience for me.
Initials
My girls couldn't come to Miami to see me run, so to feel like they are actually close to me - in one way or another - I decided to wear their necklaces, with their initials, right next to mine.
Polar opposites
Last week I was at home, in incredibly freezing weather. Today I woke up in Miami, completely giddy about the fact that I was standing outside, without multiple layers, without freezing my butt off, and with sunshine warming me up!
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