I am an athlete.
For the past three years, I've imagined being able to write this blog post and say those words out loud. Finally, after all that hard work, I think it's safe to say I am officially an athlete. Yesterday, I crossed the finish line in 4:16:41 and completed a marathon.
There's so much to reflect on now that it's done. Part of me doesn't even believe that I did it (although at 37K, believe me, I realized I actually WAS doing it!). But I've got the pictures and the medal to prove it – in three years, I have gone from decidedly un-athletic to a full-out marathon runner.
When Mike and the kids met up with me after I crossed the finish line, Mike asked me how it went. I replied, "It was hard. Really, really hard." And it was – much harder than any run I'd ever done before, and perhaps the hardest physical thing I've ever done in my life other than giving birth. (As an interesting aside, I was in labour with Chris for four hours and 20 minutes – four minutes more than it took me to run the marathon1)
The day itself was gorgeous. You could not have asked for better weather. Beautiful, sunny, no wind and not too hot. I did get a bit of a sunburn (didn't think to put on sunscreen!), but I had a hat and sunglasses on the whole time, so my face and head were fine.
The race started at 7:30 in the morning, just outside of Square One shopping centre. We ran west down Burnamthorpe, both the half marathoners and the full marathoners. It was extremely crowded. I couldn't wait for the 15K mark, when it would start to thin out a bit.
Most of the run was through the most beautiful neighbourhoods you can imagine. And the path down along the lake? Stunning, especially with that sunshine. I'll never forget turning down the path and seeing the lake sparkling in the sunlight. Then, the path curves and there was an incredible view of the Toronto skyline. I wish I'd had a camera to take a picture, although I was a bit busy at the time!
But everyone told me that running the 42K (26 miles) was harder than any training run or any other race. They were right. I felt myself struggling even around the 25K mark or so… I didn't know how I'd make it to 42. I kept refueling and I drank a ton of water, and really just tried to break the race down into smaller chunks. I'd tell myself things like, "Well, at 27K you can have more food. Just make it to 27K and you'll feel better," or, "At 38K there's another water station and you can walk while you drink your water. Just make it to there and you'll feel better."
At least when I hit 40K there were enough spectators cheering that it powered me through until the end. The funny part about the Mississauga race is that your first name is on your bib, so complete strangers kept shouting things like, "Go Alison! You can do it Alison! You look great Alison!"
After the race was done, I felt like my legs were going to fall off. I managed to get halfway to the car before I threw in the towel and told Mike he'd just have to go get the car and bring it to me. I spent most of the afternoon in bed or on the couch (after a soak in Epsom salts!), and honestly, I actually feel a bit better than I thought today. Going up and down stairs is tough (why do I live in a split level???), but I even managed to walk Andrew to the bus stop this morning.
While you try to train and prepare for everything, there are always some race-day mistakes you make. For me, one mistake was definitely neglecting my armpits – the skin is completely chafing and hurts more than my legs! I should have used Body Glide or Vaseline. That has never happened to me before in a run, and I ran in that tank top all the time – but usually with a shirt over top. Yesterday it was too hot for the shirt (I took it off at the 3K mark), so that probably explains it. They started hurting around the 15-16K mark, which didn't bode well for the rest of the race.
Another mistake was how much I slowed down. I'm not sure WHY that happened (well, I mean, I know WHY – I was pooped! – but why my training didn't power me through that). I don't know if I went out too fast or if I simply hadn't done enough long runs, but that is an area I would really like to work on. Not that I had a bad result – not at all! – but I could have done a lot better if I hadn't slowed down so much. I felt like a turtle… and probably looked like one too!
But while it only took me 4:16 to run the race, the truth is it took every minute of those three years of training. Every 5K race, every 10K race, every half marathon, Around the Bay, and every second of my training runs, Tread Powerfully classes, Intense Strength classes, Power Pilates classes… all of those things led to this moment.
I also learned that with outer strength comes a great deal of inner strength. Three years ago, I was really a different person. I was more reactive. I got angry when I did something wrong. I had no patience. Running and exercise gave me all those things. It gave me patience. It showed me how, by taking time for myself, I could give more of myself to others. It has started me on the road to becoming a better person – a better mother, a better wife, a better friend, a better member of the community. I have many more things I want to achieve, both personally and in the world. I have career goals, goals for my family and I want to help others. I truly believe this journey has given me the inner strength to do that.
Of course, my running journey isn't over either – far from it. Mike asked me yesterday if I would do a marathon again. I know I will. It may not be this fall (today, running the Scotiabank Toronto marathon seems like a BAD idea!), but I will do it again. I want to run the New York marathon and the Chicago marathon one day. I'm even harbouring a dream of running Boston, although I'd have to shave ½ an hour of my time to qualify! I don't know where the future will take me, but I know my feet will take me there.
So stay tuned… this blog isn't done and neither am I. For now, I'm going to take a few days rest and spend a bit of time decided on the next step of my journey. See you then!
Happy trails…
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
The final countdown
I started this blog almost three years ago with one goal in mind: run the Mississauga Marathon in May of 2010. I find it hard to believe that May of 2010 is upon us, and in six days, I am actually going to (attempt to) meet that goal by running the marathon on Sunday. Talk about stick-to-it-iveness! (Yeah, that's not a word…)
I can't say I've been the most successful blogger in all of this, as I seem to have had a bit of trouble updating regularly. Whoops! It's definitely a peril of being a professional writer… by the time my work writing is done, I have no more time for personal writing. Luckily, with my new job, I have a weekly editor's blog I update regularly (at www.primacy.ca), so there have been a few running-related posts over there.
What I can say, though, is that as far as reaching the actual marathon goal goes, I have been far more successful. While there are no guarantees I will actually finish the race, I'm choosing to think positively and that I will finish, even if it takes me six hours.
But I think what I'm really still amazed at is that I actually followed through with this whole thing. It took almost three years and three 5K races, three 10Ks, a 10-miler, three half marathons and one 30K race, but I managed to go from barely being able to run to running for 3+ hours straight. Yeah, that seems crazy, even to me.
Since the "actual" marathon training began in January, I have not missed a single run on my training plan either. There were a few I had to postpone, but I somehow fit in every single run. Not bad for a mother of two with two jobs, a house and a husband! There were a lot of 5:30 a.m. runs and a lot of juggling, but I managed to fit it all in, along with three strength training/pilates classes a week. So you see, there really IS time to exercise… I even found time for those big, long 2+ hour runs. It wasn't always easy, but it was doable.
So how am I going to do on Sunday? Honestly, I have no idea. Realistically, I think 4:30 is a good time for me for my first marathon. While I don't have a time goal per se (my goal is really just to finish), I think that I would be a teensy bit disappointed if I didn't make it in 4:30. I managed to do the 30K Around the Bay in 2:46, so that gives me a lot of time to slow down and bit and make sure I make it another 12 kilometres. If I had to choose a "dream" time, I'd say around 4:15. (Remember that to qualify for Boston in my age category, I'd have to do it in 3:45… so taking into account that 3:45 is kind of the high water mark for us "average" runners, I think these times are pretty realistic.)
But all this thinking about time has got me thinking about a bunch of other numbers that come into play. Here's what I've learned about running a marathon, by the numbers:
Number of:
Pairs of running shoes: 9
Races entered: 10
Water belts: 3
Water bottles: 11
Pounds of weight lifted 3x a week: 20 (10 per dumbbell)
Kms run since January, 2010: 945.5 (with only 14.5 left to go until race day!)
Times I've puked: 3
Times I've cried: 2 (only twice! Once after my first half, once after Around the Bay)
Times I've imagined myself crossing the finish line: infinity
Yes, it's been a long, hard journey, but ultimately, it's one I'm glad I've done. I learned more about myself during this training than I think I have in my whole life. I think it's made me a calmer person – more relaxed, happier and a better mother and wife than I was before I started this journey.
What's next? I've actually decided NOT to decide on anything just yet. I want to wait and see how Sunday goes before making my next move. It could be anything… I might decide to do a half marathon this fall, I might try power walking a race again, I might take a break from running and get back into spinning, Tread Powerfully and try out some yoga… or I might even decide to try another marathon this fall. But whatever I choose, I won't make a decision until after the marathon.
Six more days to go…
Happy trails…
I can't say I've been the most successful blogger in all of this, as I seem to have had a bit of trouble updating regularly. Whoops! It's definitely a peril of being a professional writer… by the time my work writing is done, I have no more time for personal writing. Luckily, with my new job, I have a weekly editor's blog I update regularly (at www.primacy.ca), so there have been a few running-related posts over there.
What I can say, though, is that as far as reaching the actual marathon goal goes, I have been far more successful. While there are no guarantees I will actually finish the race, I'm choosing to think positively and that I will finish, even if it takes me six hours.
But I think what I'm really still amazed at is that I actually followed through with this whole thing. It took almost three years and three 5K races, three 10Ks, a 10-miler, three half marathons and one 30K race, but I managed to go from barely being able to run to running for 3+ hours straight. Yeah, that seems crazy, even to me.
Since the "actual" marathon training began in January, I have not missed a single run on my training plan either. There were a few I had to postpone, but I somehow fit in every single run. Not bad for a mother of two with two jobs, a house and a husband! There were a lot of 5:30 a.m. runs and a lot of juggling, but I managed to fit it all in, along with three strength training/pilates classes a week. So you see, there really IS time to exercise… I even found time for those big, long 2+ hour runs. It wasn't always easy, but it was doable.
So how am I going to do on Sunday? Honestly, I have no idea. Realistically, I think 4:30 is a good time for me for my first marathon. While I don't have a time goal per se (my goal is really just to finish), I think that I would be a teensy bit disappointed if I didn't make it in 4:30. I managed to do the 30K Around the Bay in 2:46, so that gives me a lot of time to slow down and bit and make sure I make it another 12 kilometres. If I had to choose a "dream" time, I'd say around 4:15. (Remember that to qualify for Boston in my age category, I'd have to do it in 3:45… so taking into account that 3:45 is kind of the high water mark for us "average" runners, I think these times are pretty realistic.)
But all this thinking about time has got me thinking about a bunch of other numbers that come into play. Here's what I've learned about running a marathon, by the numbers:
Number of:
Pairs of running shoes: 9
Races entered: 10
Water belts: 3
Water bottles: 11
Pounds of weight lifted 3x a week: 20 (10 per dumbbell)
Kms run since January, 2010: 945.5 (with only 14.5 left to go until race day!)
Times I've puked: 3
Times I've cried: 2 (only twice! Once after my first half, once after Around the Bay)
Times I've imagined myself crossing the finish line: infinity
Yes, it's been a long, hard journey, but ultimately, it's one I'm glad I've done. I learned more about myself during this training than I think I have in my whole life. I think it's made me a calmer person – more relaxed, happier and a better mother and wife than I was before I started this journey.
What's next? I've actually decided NOT to decide on anything just yet. I want to wait and see how Sunday goes before making my next move. It could be anything… I might decide to do a half marathon this fall, I might try power walking a race again, I might take a break from running and get back into spinning, Tread Powerfully and try out some yoga… or I might even decide to try another marathon this fall. But whatever I choose, I won't make a decision until after the marathon.
Six more days to go…
Happy trails…
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