I really, truly participated in and finished a relay in the Akron Marathon. And amazingly, I didn't slip, trip, twist an ankle, pee my pants (entirely possible - thanks for nothing, worn out bladder!) or make a fool of myself in front of 20,000 people.
The training was rough and I didn't have the time, energy or enough sports bras to last me a week... I had to stay up way too late some nights doing dishes and laundry after the kids were bathed, 'homeworked' and put to sleep... so I could take time out to run before dark 3 times a week. It was sweaty and gross and chafing... but the months of grueling training paid off big time. I never thought I could do it. It was a short leg, so had the distance down for sometime, but only started incorporating any sort of elevation into my runs until July. I was panicked about the hills. Let me tell you, it really sucked in that 90 weather. I never thought I'd be using Desitin at 36 years-old!
The map that the Marathon has on their website makes the 2.8 leg look deadly. Any runner I spoke to who found out I had this leg would say, 'Ohhhh, you have the hill!' but I kept thinking, I've got this, I've been running the steepest hill in the neighborhood for two months. Then I spoke to one of our attorneys who designed the Akron Marathon course and of course, he knows every leaf, spec of dirt, crack in the blacktop of each and every leg of the race. So I checked in with him about a week out. He had been asking me how I was doing with the training all summer and giving me little tips, advice and encouragement. This guy has run over 100 marathons. He knows his stuff. He proceeded to tell me what I could expect during every step of the 2.8 leg through Sand Run. Previously fairly confident, I was petrified.
When I got off the shuttle at Sand Run, there were hundreds of people and just a long road surrounded by trees... you didn't really know what to expect. I think the element of the unknown was good thing! It was a continuous uphill terrain with no huge inclines. I kept a decent pace and just ran. Before I knew it, I saw the finish/pass-off and was so thrilled that I had done it... it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I had worked myself into a delirious tizzy for nothing! My first relay in a Marathon. Pretty damn cool. I completed my leg and met my personal goal of finishing under a 1/2 hour - 29.29 to be exact.
L to R: Tom, Me, Diane, Isabelle - waiting for Steve (click Steve for photo) to finish the last leg.
My team was a fantastic group of co-workers who really brought it on Saturday! Diane was solid. She had the first leg, did an amazing job and just started running for the first time EVER, like me, back in the early summer. Tom ran BAREFOOT in a kilt along the Towpath Trail - yes, barefoot and was the talk of the runners after the race... 'Dude, tell me about the bare feet!' Isabelle, our fierce friend from France was super quick on her leg and Steve brought us home with the longest bit, the 7.9 mile leg. What a trooper this guy is. He was coerced by me to join our team, that had been completely dismantled due to three injuries, in late July. As a soccer player, he's in terrific shape, but ran this relay, then had a game Saturday night and Sunday morning! We earned those bronze medals, let me tell ya.
Previously, I would have made fun of people who sound like me - I mean, what kind of masochistic weirdo loves to run??? It is seriously a part of my life now and I'm so glad that I made the time, let the dishes go once or twice and just did it.
