|
The Marathon blog |
|
Photos:
Finish line at the 2006 Delaware Marathon
Halfway point of the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon
December 2007:
Races for the year: The half-marathon portion of the Philadelphia Marathon on a cold and rainy day LCS Run for Hunger 5K (27:00) on a rainy day B+ Run for Andrew 5K And the Bells Supply 10 miler portion of the Delaware Marathon, running as an aide to TNT runners.
For 2008: Another 10 miler in support of Team in Training, plus at least another half.
December 2006:
Last race: Philadelphia Distance Run in September. It was a hot day and any thought of a PR was done in by the 75 degree temperatures. By the end we were all encouraging each other and pouring water over our heads at the aid stations. Still, it was a much better medal than the Caesar Rodney gave. So for the year, personal bests: Half-marathon: 1:59 Full marathon: 4:31
And more importantly: Mentored/ran with/assisted/sponsored Cris, Kyle, Kyle, David, and others. Keep running like a person with a mission.
May 2006:
Epilogue –
I wanted to give the supporters a better finish than last year’s equipment malfunction-marred MCM, so I targeted the May 2006 Delaware Marathon for a second run at 26.2. This time I supported TnT as a mentor to other runners, assisted with some training and helped them reach their fundraising targets. Thanks again for your support of the LLS and its work.
April 2006:
I am preparing for a second marathon – the Delaware Marathon on May 21. I will be running this as a mentor and contributing to the other runners. If you would like to make an online donation, my donation page is still active. As an alternative, you can send a check made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to my attention and I will send it on to the central donation processing center.
Last race: Caesar Rodney ½ marathon, sub-2:00 in a race that started with a downpour.
November 4, 2005:
Thank you for your support during my marathon effort. This letter provides more background on the event weekend, the marathon, and the aftermath.
The Team in Training group was headquartered at the Marriott, so you could not walk through the lobby without seeing a TnT insignia somewhere. The chapters decorated our doors, provided pre-race coaching, and helped get everyone to the starting line. One of the runners from my area couldn’t run due to a muscle tear earlier in the month but came anyway, and stood for hours at the mile 11 marker cheering on everyone who ran by.
The pre-race pasta dinner featured a talk from a member of the DC area Team in Training group. He is the father of a 3-year-old son who was diagnosed with leukemia in March. He gave a 30 minute talk that was intimate, detailed, and inspirational regarding their son’s diagnosis, care, and treatment. The form of leukemia his son has is successfully treated 85% of the time; 10 years ago the success rate was far lower than that, and the advances are due in large part to support and research funded via the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Thank you for your support of this vital work.
Team in Training brought 721 participants to the marathon, collectively raising around $2.5 million for the LLS’s mission. Some of them had run multiple marathons, some were rookies like me. Some of the coaches were planning to run significant distances during the race – they would run with one group up to a set point (say mile 20) then run backwards on the course for a couple of miles to see if anyone else needed help, and then continue running that section of the course over and over until all of the team members were done. In all, they’d run between 35 and 40 miles during the marathon.
For me, the first half was more congested and hilly than I expected. Thousands of runners started in my wave of the race, and they were not organized by times so I spent several miles working around slower runners. The wheelchair participants started just ahead of this wave, and the hills caused them to get caught up in my wave, being passed on the uphills and then trying to get past us on the downhills. More than once I ended up running on the curb or the grass to get out of the way of the pack.
I hit the halfway point a little slower than I had expected (2:13) due to the very slow first two or three miles, but that was fine – I felt I had plenty of energy left to finish and everything felt okay. The race was much more exposed and windy than the streets I was used to running. The spectators were great – I gave high-fives to every kid who put his or her hand out, and many cheered for us by name (mine was on my shirt). Team in Training had supporters every mile, and they cheered us on as did the family members, local residents, and others out to support the racers.
The second half of the race started when the first blister on my left foot started, around mile 14. It went from bad to worse in about a mile. I spent the rest of the race trying not to put pressure on that foot’s toes, resulting in stride changes and a general slowdown. At this point the race became all about perseverance.
At mile 20, after 6 miles of running with one good foot, I passed a spectator holding a sign that said: “Thank you Team in Training! From a Survivor.” That’s inspiration. I gave her a high-five as I hobbled past. I thought back to the opening speaker and decided he would trade his problems for my foot troubles any day. Pushed on. From that point, the course was another 6.2 miles across a bridge, through Crystal City and then back up to the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington.
By the climb up the final hill my foot was on fire, the finish line kept moving back, and if someone had offered me crutches I would have taken them. I did a final charge and crossed in 4:51, right around the 50% mark for all of the day’s runners. I leaned against a wire fence there – and it gave way. A Marine helped point me to the finishing chute where another Marine knelt down, untied my shoe, took off the timing chip, and re-tied the shoe for me. I had made it; I had refused to stop. It was probably the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done, and that was under very good conditions. All marathoners, especially those who have to run on hot days, earned a new measure of respect from me.
The Marines and their support staffs were great. I was passed by multiple EMT vehicles carrying people on the mile 20 bridge. Luckily it was not a very hot day and most of the problems were due to falls, muscle problems (lots of big guys with quadriceps cramps), and foot/knee issues along the way. All of my TnT teammates finished.
Throughout the training effort, the Team in Training folks were supportive and helpful. I ran solo through much of the course but never felt I was alone and never went more than a mile without seeing another TnT participant or supporter.
And throughout this process, I’ve been blessed by the personal support of my family and friends. Thank you for being a part of this effort, and thank you for supporting the LLS.
2 Tim 4:7.
November 2:
DONE.
Marathon – actual:
Pre-race: Milling about in the Pentagon parking lot with other Team in Training members. Looking for the advertised bagels and bananas that were never found. The day is cool, with a starting temperature in the low 40s. Unfortunately, it will be getting into the mid 60s so the people who dressed for cold weather are going to be in trouble later. I start off wearing a sleeveless singlet, shorts, hat, and gloves.
When the first wave started at 8:15 we could see the Leap Frogs parachuting down. 27 minutes later the wheelchair racers started, then our group started.
10K: 1:04 Three minutes off the planned pace already due to huge uncontrolled crowds. Typically, large races have “corrals” for people to be sorted by their racing pace. In this race, the first 12,000 people were in corrals. The next 18,000 of us were then brought to start area, with no corrals, and then they started us. This was a huge logistics problem with the race – people did not start where they should have, causing huge backups. By the 2-mile mark I was 4 minutes over my planned pace. By the 10K mark all of my time goals were off the table. 4:30 was the fastest I could reasonably hope to hit.
Still, I felt good at the 10K point. I was surprised that the course was as hilly as it was; I thought it would be flatter in this section. Dodging and dipping around people I managed to pick up some time but we were still running at least 8 people across the whole time.
13.1: 2:13 Fighting nausea but at this point I was running a very consistent pace, around 9:45, making up some of the lost time earlier so that I was just over a 10:00 mile cumulatively at this point. The crowd in front of me was like a rolling road block. The spectators were great (except when they came into the road, since we were fighting for space as it is). I was slapping high-fives with every kid who put a hand out. Somebody dressed like Scooby offered “Scooby Snack” cookies.
Team in Training was giving a lot of support at every mile mark. At mile 11 I saw Tim G, who had trained for this race but couldn’t participate because he tore a muscle in a fall. He took my gloves at that mile mark so I wouldn’t have to deal with them for another 15 miles.
After the Mall we headed out to Haines Pt, which had very few spectators. At this point we were all just slogging through. Around mile 14 my left foot started giving me problems, but I was determined to push through the next 12 miles.
20: 3:32 Twenty minutes slower than I wanted to get here, but I’d been fighting bad blisters for 6 miles now. I refused to stop even to stretch, since restarting would be too hard. I altered my stride to try to alleviate the pain in my left foot, resulting in problems with my hip. We went across a bridge that seemed to only go up. There were spectators here who were camped out and were handing out Tylenol, snacks, etc. Blisters are getting worse.
23: 4:09 Maintained a 12 minute pace under these conditions, considered running barefoot knowing that if I took off my left shoe I would not be able to get it back on. Spectators in Crystal City were offering beer. Somebody yelled, “You’re almost there!”. No, I’m not. I’m a long way from there. Still, I can do mental math okay, my legs are working as well as can be expected, and I am focused on finishing. I’ll hop if I have to. I figure that at least one toenail is toast.
26.2: 4:51 Running mostly on one foot, I did the final 10K at a 12:30 pace. I probably could have gone faster on crutches, as everything else was working okay. Splits: 2:13, 2:38.
Team in Training provided great support throughout; I came across multiple coaches who had doubled back down the course after helping others. From their opening dinner on Friday that featured a father (and MCM participant) whose son is fighting leukemia through the end when they helped the later runners finish (I know one fellow Delaware competitor finished in over 7 hrs) they were supportive and helpful and focused. The runners’ families and the chapter support staffs were out in force, cheering on all runners.
I put my name on the front of my shirt and I can’t tell you how many people called out to encourage me by name. Sitting around for hours in the sun waiting for your relative to come by in a sea of 30,000 runners is no fun, and I’m grateful that so many people cheered for all of us.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible, and thank you to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for the work you do.
Marathon prep:
October 28
To Holly, Patti, Tom, Pete, Heather, Andy, Pam, Bill, Lisa, Scott, Beth, Paul, Greg, Peggy, John, Rich, Joe, Brad, Joel, Mike, Alicia, Ed, Joyce, Jan, Alex, Debbie, David, Ann Marie, Mike, Nicole, Chris, Susanm Eleanor, Mike, Roger, Ruth, Carl, Nancy, Ralph, Lee, Walt, Ruth, Rob, Kelly, Frank, David, Tom, Karen, Tom, Tom, Michael, and Barb -
To Sue, Emily, Rachel, and Jane -
And Dina, Dave, Cindi, Dawn, Brooke, Lindsey, and the others at LLS and TnT. And to Mike at the Delaware Running Company - You’ve all made this possible, to the benefit of the LLS’s mission: to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
Thank you. |
|
kevinloney.com |
|
Put the pieces together. |
