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FLRC Newsletter - Nov 2003 |
| Leaving My Running Partner Behind and Learning To Have Fun Wineglass 2003 | |
The day started out kind of dreary, but I knew that the cool temperature and lack of humidity would make it optimal for me to run in. I didnt run a Boston qualifying time. Hell, I didn't even run a PR. But I did do something that I have never done before. I ran my first marathon (actually, my first race ever) without my running partner.
I am certainly not a fast marathoner. I have never actually used my watch to alter my performance. I mainly use it to tell me when it is time to eat my gel, but really all it has ever done for me is to make me feel stressed. If I look at my time and see that I am not where I think I should be at any point in the race, I get mad at myself. As I removed my watch 5 minutes before the start of the Wineglass Marathon, I left my old running partner with Joe and took away all the pressures of the race. Today would be just a fun run of 26.2 miles; running only by what my legs and my brain wanted me to do.
I almost didn't run this years Wineglass but at the last minute decided that I couldn't pass up a marathon where I would be able to see lots of my friends throughout the race and at the finish and get to sleep in my own bed the night before. And I was not disappointed. I ran and chatted for a couple of miles with Andre Goncarovs before he sped up and we separated. I got a boost when Pam Carlucci, running very smoothly, passed me around 7.5 miles. I saw Frank and Sally Rusby just before the first relay exchange and I thought for a moment I was lost. Frank and Sally are usually up near mile 25. I got a nice pat on the back from Nancy Kleinrock, as she smoked past me at mile 10. Now completely lost in time, I decided that at the half I still didn't want to know what my time was. I was enjoying myself and feeling good, for once. I was cheered on by some friends at the half, which boosted my spirits. At that point my stomach was giving me some problems. Thank goodness for the cornfields just after mile 16! Around mile 17 Diane Sherrer passed me, where we exchanged some motivating words. Only minutes later I heard look at that girl work that hill and there was Harland Bigelow just behind me. I feared the next relay exchange area because this is where I usually have my mental (and physical) breakdown. But this time I felt good! I felt like I was holding a good pace; still I had no idea just how long I had been out there. After exiting the woods (again!) just after mile 21, I was greeted with some heavy rain, which quickly changed to sleet. Now my face was stinging and frozen, my legs were frozen and my feet were wet and cold. My right ankle was hurting quite a bit, which caused me to have to walk several times. On two occasions I was offered you can run with me as I was picked up by runners who I didnt even know. Around mile 23 I caught back up with Andre, who was having severe knee problems. I could feel his pain, as my ankle was killing me. Now I wondered where I was in time had I been out on the course for 5 hours yet? It wasn't until I rounded mile 25 when I heard a man yell to his wife that the time was 3 hours, 45 minutes. Wow! I wasn't too far off my usual time. I finished in 3:57:34 and finished with a big hug from my husband at the finish. And came in first place in the women's Clydesdale division. Not bad for only doing long runs of about 10 miles (and infrequently at that).
This was so much more fun than I thought it would be. Time didn't matter. I felt good, I think I ran well, and I could walk up and down stairs without any problem afterward! My old running partner might just stay home from now on; I have more fun without it.
Chris lost in time and loving it Beach
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