Vacation Bible School is at church all week! I am sorry I haven't posted about the marathon. It was not my best and was a painful 26.2 miles. It was almost harder for me mentally though--to see my dream just completely vanishing in front of my eyes. What an experience! Isn't that the beauty of marathons---some are lifelong dreams, while others are crushing disappointments? Doesn't that echo life so beautifully?
I have no doubt that, without the injury, I could have met my goal. I have the fight in me still. But for now I am not even running again yet. Not only is my right calf still tender when I run, but I also stubbed my left pinkie toe on a suitcase at the hotel after the race. It is purple and swollen. Yes, I plan to get it checked out! I am proud to say that I still gritted my teeth and hobbled into VBS to serve bright and early Tuesday morning! I did not want to let the trip interfere with any more of VBS (we missed Monday since we were driving back that day). It needs to get my attention and focus for the rest of the week.
Below is a short update. It's what I sent my running group the day I returned from my trip since many were asking how I'd done.
Hi All,
Back late last night from our marathon trip. The trip went really well, and we enjoyed seeing my sister and cousin and also the sights in both Madison, WI and Minneapolis, MN.
The marathon was rough for me. I had a tight/sore calf going into it. I took 3 days of rest before the marathon, hoping that would help. It did not. Shortly after the start of the race, I knew my mind would not be enough to carry me to the finish I wanted. I dropped pace and just tried to hang on and keep from walking as long as possible. If all marathons were this hard, I would never run another one!! Around Mile 22, I finally gave in to walking and enjoyed sending a few texts to family and friends for encouragement. I talked myself into running again and did not stop until the end. I fought hard for a 3:51. My calf is painful right now, and I have no doubt that I should not have even attempted this race after feeling this pain and seeing the outcome of the race. That is the hard part about running a marathon in every state--sometimes you have to run and finish the run even if you don't want to!! Not sure when I will be running again. :( For some good news, Rick did great--3:25! And the kids had fun with "the best babysitters ever"--my sister and cousin!!
Thanks for the well wishes. I feel bad that I did not live up to expectations of me and others in this race. The challenge of the marathon is to get all of the factors to come together, and for me, this injury was too much to overcome. I'll get it next time!!!
Katie
You stopped to text and still finished with a 3:51?!! Sorry you were struggling with an injury. Next time will be better I'm sure! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your injury and your disappointment at your race. I am discovering as I run more races about the ups and downs, and the downs really stink especially after all the training you do to achieve a certain goal. But I'm with Tia, next time will be better! How is your leg feeling now?
ReplyDeleteFor some reason this blog entry didn't show up in my feed and I didn't get that e-mail so I have been wondering and wondering how it went and what went wrong! I didn't know you had a sore calf and I certainly hope it is on the mend now! I think running and especially marathoning has a season for all of us and we (Lord willing) get many wonderful seasons, but each one doesn't always last as long as we might like. I think you ought to be THRILLED with your season and certainly try not to look at it as a "dream vanishing" but as the end to a GREAT season and the beginning of a time to refresh, regroup, rest and then retrain!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support, ladies!
ReplyDeleteTia, the texting mile was 15 minutes! A very slow mile for sure!
Tracey, my leg is doing okay (almost 2 weeks post-race). It was an overtraining thing--too much mileage too soon. It wasn't ready for the marathon, but I was stubborn and did it anyway.
Jane, this marathon really was built up a lot in my mind--a last chance of sorts. If I have another baby, it will take awhile for me to get back into this shape again. Even if I don't, training at this level took a lot out of me. I was ready to PR and be done with it. I was pretty down about it because I am one of those people who realize that we may not have tomorrow, especially as it relates to running. We always think we can get back to these times, but we can't forever, can we? I know that I am coming off of a good streak for me. I just wanted to have one more race in it. It wasn't meant to be. I am happy for the finish---my ultimate goal in every marathon ever since my DNF in St. Louis!! And I am proud of how I did given my circumstances.