One Week Ago Today...

We were in Chicago, participating in an event that we had all trained for and looked forward to for 9 long months. It’s 10:57 right now and at this time last week, the marathon had not yet been cancelled. It was, however, definitely chaotic by this time last week. Water and Gatorade were in short supply but high demand. Thank you Julie and Trina for spotting me at mile 11 and giving me a full water bottle to run with. That definitely saved me!

At that point, my knee pain had already kicked in so between that and my dehydration, I was no longer “excited” about being a part of the marathon. I was on the verge of tears. But I kept going, walking quite a bit and running when my knee felt o.k. I remember coming up to Halstead and seeing the mass of runners ahead of me turning right. But, by the time I got there the barricades were up and the officials weren’t allowing us to go that way. A more hydrated, level-headed Cincha probably would’ve broken through the barricade (as other people did) but I didn’t and took the course that I was told to take. I think I was one of the first groups of people to be redirected because when I reached the “Finish Area” and started running towards the finish line (from the opposite direction) I had race officials screaming that we were going the wrong way!! “What are you people doing?” they asked. They had no idea why we were trying the cross the Finish Line from that side. But, I crossed the line after completing 19 miles (according to my Garmin) and walked back towards the Finish Area. Got my medal, got my Finisher’s picture taken (woo-hoo) and headed towards to the fountain to meet up with my friends.

At this point, I was having trouble walking. My knee was very stiff. I finally made it to the fountain only to stand there for several minutes without seeing my friends. I had no idea where they were. I didn’t know where Pam was in the race. How long would it be before we all found each other? I’ve never run with my cell phone, so I didn’t have any way to contact anyone. I felt very alone among all those hundreds and hundreds of people. I found a bench to sit down. A dear, sweet elderly lady sat down beside me. She was so upset for all of us. She was obviously there to cheer on her own friend/relative, but she was genuinely upset for me. I finally asked if she had a cell phone I could borrow. She did and when I asked if she had nationwide calling she said, “It doesn’t matter. Just use it.” I almost broke down right then and there. But, I called my friend Julie to let her know where I was. She was pretty close at that point to the fountain. When we finally found each other, I did lose it. I laid my head on her shoulder and cried. And cried some more. I couldn’t hold it in.

And it took me a few days before I could think about it without tearing up. And that’s why it’s taken me so long to blog about it. I just couldn’t. But, now I’m better. I’ve been focusing on trying to heal—emotionally and physically. There are so many people in this world who may never even have the opportunity to run in a marathon. People like Kayra’s niece and my friend Julie’s dad who is battling colon and liver cancer. How lucky am I that I have been blessed with good health and the ability to walk and run?? So, I thank God every day for that health and I keep going. I keep my eye on the prize.

Yesterday was like a day of mourning for me almost. It was the first time in weeks that I didn’t get up at 3 or 4 a.m. and go run. It was also the first time in weeks that I didn’t get to see all of you!! That was really sad. I hope everyone is doing o.k. and that you’ve dealt with the pain and disappointment of last Sunday. I, personally, am NOT going to let what happened turn me away from my dream. I will complete a marathon by the time I’m 45.

I am a runner. I am a marathoner. I am a Finisher.

Why Do I Run?

- Because at times, it’s as if I have learned to fly
- To feel my feet skim over the ground
- To feel my heart swell in my chest
- To feel invincible
- To be free
- To avoid pain
- To feel pain
- Out of love and hate and anger and joy
- Because I crave it
- To be as healthy and strong as possible
- To prove to myself that I CAN
- To get to know my body better
- For the people who love me

We all have our reasons for running, for training for this marathon. Some of us probably didn’t even realize our reasons until we were halfway finished. Maybe some are just now realizing why we are doing it, less than 2 weeks from the marathon. No matter what your story or reason, I think we can all agree that we’ve become better people. Healthier people. Stronger people—mentally and physically.

We’ve met some really cool people and made great new friends who do things like send text messages during the week just to see how my knee is doing. Or meet for lunch so we can get to know each other better. These friendships will remain long after the marathon ends. And that is very cool.

Mark, Robin, Matt, and Scotty. You guys are the best. Thank you so much! And thanks to many of my fellow MM’ers who kept me going on Saturday mornings when all I really wanted to do was go back home and go to bed. Just seeing everyone out there week after week was so inspiring. I am very proud to be a part of this amazing group.

Of course, I have to thank Wayne “The Man” Jimenez. He is awesome! Between my shin splints and now my knee, he’s seen quite a bit of me. But, he is always willing to do whatever it takes to keep me running—and is genuinely glad to do it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I, like a lot of you, came into this “marathon training thing” with some baggage. I’ve had periods in my life when I’ve allowed other people to make me feel worthless, insignificant, and even unworthy of love. So, even though I’ve gotten past those feelings, I guess a part of me wanted to do this marathon to show “them” that I AM special and significant. But, even if they don’t recognize it, I DO. And really, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Knee Update

Saw Wayne this afternoon. He really thinks my problem is due to tight hamstrings. Of course, there's no time for me to get my "hammies" stretched sufficiently before the marathon. But, he thinks I can get more aggressive with my stretching and see an improvement.

He also wants me to take it easy this week--no running today, do my XT on Wednesday and a 30 minute jog on Thursday. Then, I'm to run with the group on Saturday and see how the knee feels. If it's still hurting after that, then we'll probably set me up to see the doctor. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. :-)

19 : 14 : 20 : 52 (The countdown clock at the time of this posting.) :-)

Hugh Is My Hero!

22 miles. Wow. 22 miles. And I owe finishing to Hugh. My knee starting hurting somewhere around mile 6 or 7. Not as badly as last weekend, but enough to make me grimace several times. Hugh fell in behind me at the beginning of the run and within a few minutes we were talking and getting to know each other a little better. I explained to him that I was NOT planning to do the Spillway side--too many hills and I thought my knee just didn't need that. Pam mentioned to me that she didn't want to do Spillway either, so she had decided to do the boat launch a couple of extra times.

I think several people decided the same thing. Hugh and I decided to do Fox Bay twice and the boat launch 3 times total. And thanks to my Garmin, we were able to calculate all of this mileage to ensure that we got in our 22. So, after the 3rd boat launch trip, the Garmin said we'd been 20+ miles. So, we knew we were good to head "home." And when we hit 22 we both let out a scream! It felt great!

But, I can tell you that I don't know if I would have made it without Hugh. Just having someone beside me to talk to and keep me going was great. We did 3:1 intervals which was just what I needed for my knee. I know I slowed Hugh down (between my bathroom breaks and my stretching at every water stop) but he was such a good sport. I think my company may have helped him, too. :-)

I came home and got in a tub of ice water. But, even that didn't help much this time. I could barely walk. I took about a 45 minute nap, which helped me tremendously. I didn't feel quite as stiff when I woke up from my nap but by bedtime, I was hurting again. I didn't sleep well either.

I'm much better today, but still very stiff. I decided the best thing to do was go for a walk. So, I walked in my neighborhood for about 30 minutes. The first 10 minutes were VERY slow but I finally got my muscles loosened up some and was able to walk at a normal pace. I sent an email to Wayne for advice. The marathon is 20 days away!!! I really DON'T want this knee pain during the marathon. Because I may not be as lucky as I was yesterday. It may be so bad that I can't finish. That would be devastating. You all know what I'm talking about!!

Anyway, I guess I'll wait to see what Wayne says. And, in the meantime I'll continue stretching, icing and swallowing Ibuprofen. I'll keep you guys posted. Hope everyone has a good week. We are so close!

Knee Problem

Saturday's run was really tough for me. (I knew I'd jinx myself with that last blog of mine. :-) ) I did pretty good through the first 5 or 6 miles. I stayed with the group, I call "Carey's Cuties", until the water stop at the Baptist prior to heading to the lake. From that point on, I just couldn't do much. My knee was really hurting. I had to walk more than I ran and when I did run, it was pretty painful. So, I only did one loop around the lake and headed back. I talked to a couple of people afterwards and they thought I may be having IT band problems. (I immediately thought of Kim B. during the 20 miler.)

So, I went home and emailed Wayne. Spent the rest of the weekend icing and eating ibuprofen. Saw Wayne Monday and the good news is that he thinks its "runners knee." Of course, then I started thinking of Wanda, who had to have a cortizone shot for hers. Yuck. But, Wayne thinks that if I'll stretch more (I have really tight "hammies") I should be able to get through this.

I ran yesterday afternoon and did 3:1 intervals. The knee felt pretty good. Felt a little bit of a twinge, but nothing serious. Ran this afternoon on the treadmill (since I had a hair appointment to get to) and the knee felt really good. But, that's to be expected, right?

So, I'm looking forward to Saturday in some ways and I'm nervous about it in other ways. I really hope my knee acts right. It's supposed to be cooler Saturday morning so maybe that will help us all have a really good run.

And, finally I received my marathon confirmation yesterday (as I know a lot of you have, too). It was very exciting! October 7 will be here in the blink of an eye. Yay!

See everyone on Saturday! Blog on, marathoners.