2009 OC Marathon was my first and began like so many seemingly impossible endeavors: a friend said I’ll do it if you do. I followed the Higdon novice plan and aimed to run sub-4.
I started the race with my running buddy @madisond77 and I was good thru 13.1. Things began to unravel at mile 14, I could feel the leg cramp forming. @madisond77 had salt tabs with her, so as she ran past me on a u-turn I begged her for a couple. She put them on the ground next to a cone and I picked them up as I ran past a few min later. The look on others’ faces!
At mile 16, both legs cramped hip to heel and I toppled over on a patch of grass. Of course there was a photographer to capture my moment of "glory." I stretched like mad and managed to get in motion once more, dreams of sub-4 clearly shot. I would “run” to the precipice of leg seizure, then walk, repeat. For 10.2 miles.
Around mile 24, I found a sustainable rhythm and set a new goal: break 4:30. In the final straight away, I saw my wife and 7-yo son, and got some high-5s that powered me over the line! Was lucky to have the local paper on hand to capture the surge of emotion as I finished!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.