Joe completed his first ever marathon on Sunday, November 2nd….the C&D Marathon in St. George’s Delaware……....so you say what’s with the grumble face picture??.... well the day didn’t go as exactly as planned..
…see Joe had a goal of running a strong 4 hour marathon……and I to break 4 hours and/or try and qualify for Boston ( which would mean a 3.50 marathon)… so to get right to the point… we did not obtain these goals….and I dang near ran my worse marathon time ever….ha…ugh… sigh…
Some days you think you got it….. then some days you don’t.... ..Sunday was definitely one of those don’t days….
Joe and I were up early and on our way to his first ever marathon and my 7th…Heather, our daughter, was also competing at the event but in the 5K….Joe was handling the nervous energy well.. unlike the night before where he accused me of taking his beloved socks and hiding them, destroying them, or wearing them..or something like that …I couldn’t really make out what he was ranting about… hmm.. you think you are nervous there bud or what…??!!.... like I would ever… so I thought he was handling the morning stresses quite well…..
We were to meet up with some friends from work at the race… Denise, Mark, and Gary… Heather was there with her friend Amber.... the energies were high….we high fived each other and kissed Heather good luck with the 5K… and off we went… the morning was a bit nippy and my poor Heather was dressed like everyone else.. like a bundled up Eskimo..... I couldn’t see why everyone had so much clothing on… geez it was going to get into the 50’s.. and holy heck they would internally combust with all those clothes on!!... I convinced Joe to take off that freaking long sleeve shirt….. ..ok so YES I WAS FREAKING COLD at the start with just shorts, sports bra and gloves... but once I started running I fired up like a ball of flame and I would have most certainly burned my clothes right off my body if I was dressed like those folks.…..
The race started with a furry……life definitely was good….. running with my friends on a beautiful fall morning….. along the C&D Canal…it most certainly does not get any better than this.. AHHH… . my legs were light … every stride was a glide across the pavement…. no problem with my goal of holding a Boston qualifying time pace of 8.46 per mile… CAKE… this pace suited me well for the first 7 miles.. then things started to feel a bit “OFF”……the feeling of euphoria changed….. to something darker…much much darker…....I was perceiving that I was running the same pace… but the legs were saying otherwise.. I tried to pump my arms faster…but my legs wanted no part of that action.. so not only was I left in the dust by m
y legs, my friend and this other girl…. I was starting to get passed by hordes of other runners… the faster I tried to move the feet the slower I went… I was soo unused to this happening soo soon in a marathon.. perhaps around mile 16 or mile 20 but NOT AT MILE 7!!!!!I smiled at those passing me.. keeping the spirits up .. wishing them well..good job… looking good.. nice going.. good morning.. F- you… oops.. I mean have a great day.. and so on… I was in a whole lotta hurt… discouraged yes… thoughts of jumping in the canal and swimming .... most definitely.. but to give up .. never……unbeknownst to me in my own little drama world.. Joe who was ahead of me was having similar problems… but his didn’t start until mile 13..
Marathons are funny that way..although I most certainly am no expert… I do have a little experience with the unpredictability that can happen at them… and the most important thing is to keep up a strong mental frame of mind… because when the body fails the only way you are getting to the finish line is by sheer will power.. I am SO PROUD of Joe.. this was a HUGE feat for him to accomplish… he sometimes forgets how big this truly is.. to complete a marathon.. that is 26.2 miles… !!!...the many many months of long training runs… utterly amazing… some day it will come to him .. when he sits back and realizes what that truly means.
For those who don’t remember.. Joe just started running in January after quitting smoking.... He was never a runner in high school some 20+ years ago (except of course mandatory drills for gym class or football) but never in his life was he a runner…
... so Joe, when you do your reflecting on this.. think about how many people finish a marathon after only running for 10 months…or think of how many people finish a marathon at all.. your family is soo unbelievably proud of you …and I am soo unbelievably proud of you.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
PS: Joe placed third in his age group and I placed second.. (sure there were not many people in our age groups.. but it’s who shows up! )
PSS: Heather won second overall female in the 5K!!
PSSS: Joe wants to do another marathon.
PSSSS: I need to rest.
Marathon Race Results
5K Race Results
