"Things don't always
go as planned.
go as planned.
When things change, make
them a part of the plan."
~ Unknown
My last race review here on RWM was for Boston back in April. Oh man, as far a running goes, so much has happened between now and then. None of it planned. And most of it hot garbage. Let me see if I can sum it up and get us to this past weekend in a somewhat brief manner. Starting with the original plan, which was for my teammates Lauren, Amy and me to run the Cape Cod marathon as a Masters (40+) team with the goal being to go for the win. Ok, cool. That sounded fun and somewhat stress free. No time goal, just run hard and place as high as I can. Then in June I got mono. For the entire month I could not do any training and took more naps than a two year old. I slowly started to come back to life in July and jumped into a local five mile race the last weekend of the month. I wanted to get a sense of where my fitness was as I got ready to ramp back up for the marathon. After that race, literally, like the second it was over, my left foot started hurting under my second metatarsal. Naturally, I kept running because I could and because...I could. I later learned it was tendonitis and started going to PT weekly for Shockwave therapy, the goal being to just make it through the last two months of training and get to the line so I could run for the team and then shut things down. I know, kind of dumb. Whatever. Two weeks before the marathon all three of us raced a 10K. That actually was part of the plan. And it went pretty well for me all things considered. The next week, however, all three of us got sick. Ranging from a bad cold to Covid, we all had something. Sore throat, body aches, exhaustion and so on. Not part of the plan. But we had over a week to get healthy so we were all still assuming we'd be running the marathon. Then suddenly Lauren's foot started hurting to the point where she could no longer run. Obviously a stress fracture. Lauren was now officially out. Down to two of us. But, no. Amy started to have random dizzy spells, almost passing out in the middle of a crosswalk as she was crossing the street. Yea, no. Not happening. It was now down to me. Maybe?
The three of us met up for coffee to discuss. I was feeling better and had been able to get a few runs in since I'd gotten sick but I was nowhere near full strength. We no longer had a Masters team at this point. But, we wouldn't even have an open team if I dropped out. And that sucked. So we weighed out the pros and cons and then decided I would go to the Cape a make a game day decision.
Friday night I laid all my race gear out as usual. Just kidding, I threw that shit in a pile and stuffed it in my duffle. I didn't give a crap about organization at this point. I just needed to get to the freaking start. Note, this mindset would bite me in the ass the next day but I'll get to that in a bit.
Saturday I woke up and headed down to Falmouth to meet up with Amy who was coming to be my wingman and to cheer on the rest of the team. We went to the expo and grabbed our bibs. Yes, Amy grabbed hers, too. Because, if we're being honest, there was a very small part of her that was still wondering if she might be able to pull it off. And since we're being honest now, let's just go ahead and admit to ourselves that we all would have likely felt the exact same way. There wasn't much to the expo so we left shortly afterwords and drove over to Rite-Aid to get some supplies. Really important things like water, Advil, Gatorade and these giant Squishmallows.
What?? We needed them. Okay, we didn't. But the whole process made us both laugh so hard and given how the week had gone and the state I was in it was exactly what I needed at moment. We went back to the hotel and took naps (using the pillows, obvs) and then got ready to meet up with our team manager, Dave, for dinner. We sat down around 6:30 and this is just about when I started to develop a new, dry cough that I couldn't shake through the whole meal. Dave was concerned. I was trying not to be. After about an hour we left to go back to the hotel and chill out for the rest of the evening. The cough was not going away so I called Dave who was out getting water and asked him to pick me up some cough drops. At this point he was telling me that this race was not worth putting my health at risk and that maybe I should consider calling it. I told him I'd see how the night went and decide in the morning. And then I went to bed with my fingers and toes crossed. Not that I believe in that stuff but I needed all the help I could get. I woke up at 5:45 and drove to Starbucks for coffee. The cough had subsided so I let Dave know that I was going to give it a shot. We made a final plan to check in at mile 10, which is where our hotel was, and if I was okay, I'd continue on. But if not, I would shut it down. I was good with that. It was now 7:15am. The race started at 8:00. I was gathering all my gear and realized I did not have headphones. I looked everywhere. Bags, pockets, car. No dice. This was not Boston where I could get lost in the roar of the crowds. This was a small race where we'd all be very spread out. And on top of that I wasn't feeling great so my energy level was sub par. I honestly didn't think I could do it without music. I tried not to panic. Amy and I drove to Walgreens to see if they had anything. They were closed. Amy texted her husband. Yes, he had them but he wouldn't get to the start on time to give them to me. Shiiiiiiiiit. On a whim, I sent a message to Leslie Poitras. Her son, Tim, runs on the team and she is our team photographer. Yes, she told me, she had earbuds and yes, I could borrow them. SWEET LORD ABOVE. Amy and I beelined it to the library parking lot and grabbed the headphones from her husband on the fly and then continued on to the race which was starting in about fifteen minutes. Remember how I told you I should have been a little bit more on my mental game the night before as I packed. This is why. This has never happened to me. It will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
THE RACE:
I have run 31 marathons. I have had a lot go right. And a lot more go wrong. The situation I was in for this one was something totally different. I was truly just trying to finish. And if that was going to happen. I could not go all out. And that is a pretty weird feeling. I can't lie and tell you I wasn't seriously doubting my decision right up until the gun went off. I was. But I also know myself and I knew I would have always wondered if I could have eeked it out if I didn't give it a go. And that side of me tends to win these types of debates. It was a beautiful morning. I felt no pressure. I embraced the moment for what it was. And with that I was off. I eased in at 7:15 per mile which is about 30 seconds slower than my typical marathon pace. But it felt comfortable and if I was going to get this done, it's how it had to be. From that point on I decided to run by feel and not use my watch at all. The miles ticked by...7:25, 7:16, 7:13, 7:02. I was okay.
I saw Amy and Dave at mile 10. I was calm and in total control. I grabbed a gel from Amy and water from Dave. "Are you okay?" Dave yelled at me. I nodded, yes. And kept going. I started to feel good and picked it up a little. I saw Leslie at mile 12 and smiled at her. I pointed at her headphones and gave her a thumbs up. I have never been more grateful for a person than I was at the moment. I was in a pretty solid groove now. I knew at this point that I was going to be able to finish. The miles continued to tick by smoothly....7:08, 6:58, 6:58, 7:07, 7:05. The course was a clover so I was starting to see my teammates coming toward me on the other side of the street. I cheered for every single one of them. I high-fived with Charlie. I needed all the positive energy I could drum up and this was helping a lot. I was even having a little fun. Yay running.
And then I wasn't. At mile 22 the wind picked up. My pace went from 7:05 to 7:44 despite my effort staying the same. The wind was relentless. And it was coming from all directions. The next five miles were absolutely brutal. I felt like I was running against a wall. Thankfully, I hadn't blown all my steam by going out too hard and I was sure that I could slog to the finish. But this final stretch totally sucked. And I could not WAIT to be done.
Finally, I could see the banners and the crowd lined up and I kicked it in to finish just under three hours and twelve minutes. Not that I cared. Holy hell, I was so relieved. Amy found me right away and gave me my clothes. We walked back to the hotel and I grabbed a quick shower. I threw all my crap together, got in my car and drove straight to Starbucks for a hot coffee. And that, my friends, is all she wrote. It was the weirdest training cycle I've ever had. As I said at the beginning, nothing went well or as planned for me or my teammates. Literally. Nothing. And had I not been running for the team, there is no chance in hell I would have gotten on that line. But we do crazy shit, especially when people are counting on us. And in the end, our team came in second. So, EFF YES. We did it. Huge thanks to Amy for being my emotional support animal. Thanks to Dave for being so understanding and keeping me in check. And thanks to Leslie for making up for my stupidity. It takes a village. And I am beyond grateful. Up next? For the first time in a while, I truly have no idea. And I am totally okay with that.
