Latest News from FiftyTwo4Mom

The day of the marathon started off well.  It was a cool, but nice morning.  I felt hydrated and had a good week of training.  I had a slight soreness in my hamstring from all the driving, but it had seemed to subside by the day of the run and I got it taped at the expo just for precautionary purposes.  If you have never run in a marathon, it’s an amazing experience to be there with all the people and the excitement.  I found the 3:40 pace group and was ready and set to go.  They say run a little slower than your “goal” pace, and since I was training at an 8 minute mile, I figured an 8:20 pace would be a good pace to start at. 

The race starts, and it takes about a minute just to reach the start line.  The funny thing about that is I’m actually in “Corral 2” of like 15, so I can’t imagine how long it took the people in the back to get to the start.  As I cross the line and begin to run we are off a bit slow as it is hard to run any pace in a pack of thousands of people.  We cross the first mile in 9 minutes, so the pacer picks up the pace to bring us back on target by mile 2.  I meet a man in the next few miles who listened to my internet interview with Dirt Dawg, which was a pleasant surprise and gives me some motivation.  The first 8 miles are going great, the pace feels very comfortable and I feel I can stay at this all day.  Slightly after mile 8 I get a slight cramp in my side, so I decide to slow my pace just a tad in the hopes it will go away. 

As the next few miles go on, the cramp gets worse and some doubts start to get into my head.  I keep running, but have slowed considerably to try to work out the cramp and it seems to get better around mile 11.  I pick it up a little, over the next mile and cross the half way point just over 2 hours.  If I can get back on a 9 minute pace I feel like I can get back and still finish under 4 hours.  Then comes mile 14, and all of the sudden both of my hamstrings begin to lock up and spasm.  Now to this point I have followed all the rules given to me and drank at every water station.  I took water at one, then cytomax at the other to make sure to stay hydrated throughout the race.  It appears as if the stress from all the driving I have done over the last 3 weeks has taken more of a toll on my body than expected.  I have no choice now but to walk to try to get some of the spasms to stop.  I still have 12 miles left to run, and at this point there are even thoughts of stopping the race here.  I am not running for me though.  This is not something I’m doing just for fun.  I feel I need to finish this for all of those people that I am running for.  This is my motivation. 

Mile after mile I struggle on.  Walking, running, walking, running, the cycle continues.  I am not the only one struggling at this point either.  For the last 8-10 miles of the run I notice that there are about a dozen of us stuck in the same place.  There is the girl who appears to be running with her boyfriend.  She is struggling, getting sick at times, and he stays with her to keep her going.  The older gentleman with his wife, who encourages him time and again not to quit.  The kid, who barely looks out of high school, who at times looks like he is going to collapse, but just as it looks like the end for him, he runs again.  And there are others as well.  We all are passing each other at various points.  I want to know why they keep going?  I want to tell them they are crazy and should stop.  But I do not know their motivation, as they don’t know mine.  But as I continue on I do get a lot of people noticing my shirt and asking me about it.  “What is FiftyTwo4Mom?”  And as I explain to people what I am doing and why I am running, it motivates me to continue and to push my body beyond anything I have ever felt.  I shouldn’t feel like this.  I trained, and I did everything I was supposed to, but as one of my friends told me, “Your body will do what its going to do on the day of the marathon.”  He is right.  Nothing can train you for your body failing you.  

Finally I get into the last few miles and as I hit mile 23 my right calf completely locks up.  At this point though there is nothing going to keep me from crossing that finish line.  So I continue on.  Mile 24 comes a hill over a bridge.  Who puts a hill in the last 2 miles of a marathon?  But it’s just one more obstacle.  I think of all the obstacles that my mom has had to put up with losing her sight.  How Nicole has pushed on after losing her sight in one eye, and all the other people who push though obstacles.  I finally pass mile 25 and it’s on from here.  I know from here on I will not walk and I will finish strong.  I finally round the last corner and see the finish line.  The clock is past the 4 hour mark that I wanted, but after the day I have had, I am happy with the 4:55 time I cross in.  Officially, the time is 4:54 because how long it took to cross the start line. 

I was able to reach a lot of people in Phoenix.  And I learned a lot about myself on this run.  I learned that if your mind stays focused, you can accomplish anything.  I have also learned that because of all the driving I have been doing that it caused my body to break down more than it should and I need to rethink how I’m doing this so that I don’t cause harm to myself.  I will continue to run a race in every state, just not every week.  I will do 1-2 races per month to make sure I stay healthy.  It will take a little longer, but it will allow me to keep the cause going for years to come.  For now, it is off to home to rest and recover for my next few races.  I will make sure to update the map as I revamp the schedule.

Just left Camden, Arkansas after the Chilly Cheeks 10k.  In true chilly cheeks fashion the race was VERY cold.  I believe race temperature was around 20 degrees at the start of the run.  The race began at the Camden Regional Airport and ran over a long bridge to the downtown area and eventually finished in the River Front Park.  The race began relatively flat for the first 4 miles, which I did very well keeping my marathon pace.  Then at mile 5 the hills took over.  Or should I say hill.  But it was one LONG, and steep hill.  This killed my pace, and even though the last mile was mainly downhill, there were a few more uphill hikes.  I was able to finish in 50:50, good for 8th overall and 2nd in my age division.  I met a lot of great runners, and would like to thank Craig and his friends for taking me out to lunch after the run.  It was nice to get a good meal before my 22 hour drive to Phoenix.   Between my time spent in Camden and Little Rock, I made a lot of money this week and would like to thank all of my new friends in Arkansas for their help and generosity.  I would also like to thank all of the race staff and the Camden News for doing a nice article on me.  Time to get on the road; it’s going to be a LONG drive to Phoenix.  My first Marathon is next.

Here is a link to this weeks race photos on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43824&id=172123116132894

So today was the first run of the year.  The New Year’s Day 5 Mile run in Dallas, Texas.  The day started off pretty cold, and I even found some ice in the parking lot.  Because of flooding in Flag Pole Hill, the race was moved to Norbuck Park, which delayed the start of the run a little bit.  The race announcer Tina was amazing in helping me get word out to the other runners about why I was running in this race.  On multiple occasions she allowed me to announce to the runners about FiftyTwo4Mom.  I raised over $100 today, but more importantly got the word out about what I’m doing.  The run itself was pretty good.  The course was very nice, going along a lake and through the park.  I forgot that in my marathon training I have omitted doing speed drills, so it was not the best idea to do a 6:50 first mile.  I really wanted to stay around my marathon pace, which I plan to be around 8 minute miles.  I finished in 40:23, which was good enough to place me 4^th in my division.  The time wasn’t as important as the run and getting out and sharing my cause with others.  The Dallas and Irving Police and Fire departments are sharing info with all of their officers and in the next few weeks I should have a better idea of how successful this trip was.  For now it’s on to Arkansas.