After returning from Greece I decided that all my training would enable me to run my second marathon right after my first and I could possibly shave a considerable about of time off my first one. Did I give it my all? I’m not sure I ever give it my all. I use energy but I never know if I’m going to use it all and have nothing left and possibly not finish but I get increasingly more willing to gamble with my edge.
I went with Pam. Pam is a member of one of the running clubs I belong to. She has run over 156 marathons and is recovering from a broken foot. Not a stress fracture, a break that required screws to fix. She is tough. We arrive in Vegas and meet at the rental car counter. We got this tiny little smart car that evidently was too smart for us. The drive up to mesquite was very windy and I did not realize that this was a preview of the race conditions. We get checked in and met another runner from the group named Becky. We got prepared and planed where we would meet. Very early we get on a but that takes us to what seems like the middle of nowhere in Utah near St George and drops us off. I met several people that said it was their first marathon. This race starts in Utah moves though Arizona, the edge of the Mohave Desert and ends in Nevada.
It starts out cool and it felt like it might be a good day. Soon the race starts. I’m not sure but I think the guy just said, “Go!” Then it immediate started to lightly rain. Not a problem, it felt good but shortly after that the wind started blowing very hard. It felt like it was knocking the wind out of me. I kept gasping for air but my energy level was high. Instead of marking how far you have ran the mile markers said how far you had left. I liked this compared to Greece because it was in miles and not kilometers. I started to doubt myself because this was race I was hoping to get a good time on to prove that the last one was because I stopped but it quickly turned into being just about finishing. The wind continued to blow towards me the entire race. Pam kept telling me to go ahead but I was going as fast as I could. I have come to realize that I have to work very hard just to be average or possibly below average. I try very hard not to give these thoughts much power but I’m clearly torturing myself with this thinking. Pam would stop to use the facilities and every time she would catch back up to me. It was amazing. We were close to the back. I was using my run/walk/run and it was working well for me but my form was off because the wind was blowing towards my face but also slightly to the left so I was leaning to the right. The wind was blowing so hard that the aid stations did not put cups out because even the full ones were blowing away. Later we found out the wind was actually 30-45 MPH. At one point I started to feel even more determined the harder the wind blew. I shouted to Pam “ It could start snowing right now and I would not stop!” I was about 6 miles out and I experienced what I can only descried as an altered state. I started to feel very large. Not large in the awkward sense but a feeling like the road was small and I was large. I was mastering the moment! This is something that even some of my running friends find strange. We got closer to the finish and we saw Becky’s husband. I did not recognize him I thought he was just a friendly guy. He carefully put his medal away because Pam doesn’t like to see the medal before she finishes a race. I finished this race 15 minutes quicker than my first. I was hoping for a much larger improvement. I’m learning a lot about myself from each race. I care more about my time then I would like to or will ever admit. I earn every bit of improvement that I make. I rob myself of celebrating that improvement buy minimizing it. This struggle for speed is the very thing that will become a tool for me later. I just know it!!!!
I went with Pam. Pam is a member of one of the running clubs I belong to. She has run over 156 marathons and is recovering from a broken foot. Not a stress fracture, a break that required screws to fix. She is tough. We arrive in Vegas and meet at the rental car counter. We got this tiny little smart car that evidently was too smart for us. The drive up to mesquite was very windy and I did not realize that this was a preview of the race conditions. We get checked in and met another runner from the group named Becky. We got prepared and planed where we would meet. Very early we get on a but that takes us to what seems like the middle of nowhere in Utah near St George and drops us off. I met several people that said it was their first marathon. This race starts in Utah moves though Arizona, the edge of the Mohave Desert and ends in Nevada.
It starts out cool and it felt like it might be a good day. Soon the race starts. I’m not sure but I think the guy just said, “Go!” Then it immediate started to lightly rain. Not a problem, it felt good but shortly after that the wind started blowing very hard. It felt like it was knocking the wind out of me. I kept gasping for air but my energy level was high. Instead of marking how far you have ran the mile markers said how far you had left. I liked this compared to Greece because it was in miles and not kilometers. I started to doubt myself because this was race I was hoping to get a good time on to prove that the last one was because I stopped but it quickly turned into being just about finishing. The wind continued to blow towards me the entire race. Pam kept telling me to go ahead but I was going as fast as I could. I have come to realize that I have to work very hard just to be average or possibly below average. I try very hard not to give these thoughts much power but I’m clearly torturing myself with this thinking. Pam would stop to use the facilities and every time she would catch back up to me. It was amazing. We were close to the back. I was using my run/walk/run and it was working well for me but my form was off because the wind was blowing towards my face but also slightly to the left so I was leaning to the right. The wind was blowing so hard that the aid stations did not put cups out because even the full ones were blowing away. Later we found out the wind was actually 30-45 MPH. At one point I started to feel even more determined the harder the wind blew. I shouted to Pam “ It could start snowing right now and I would not stop!” I was about 6 miles out and I experienced what I can only descried as an altered state. I started to feel very large. Not large in the awkward sense but a feeling like the road was small and I was large. I was mastering the moment! This is something that even some of my running friends find strange. We got closer to the finish and we saw Becky’s husband. I did not recognize him I thought he was just a friendly guy. He carefully put his medal away because Pam doesn’t like to see the medal before she finishes a race. I finished this race 15 minutes quicker than my first. I was hoping for a much larger improvement. I’m learning a lot about myself from each race. I care more about my time then I would like to or will ever admit. I earn every bit of improvement that I make. I rob myself of celebrating that improvement buy minimizing it. This struggle for speed is the very thing that will become a tool for me later. I just know it!!!!
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