I dedicate this entry to a dear friend who we lost yesterday, Brendan Jackson. Twelve years ago this month I was introduced to Brendan, as my coach. He coached me through my first marathon and through so many other races. Not only was he my first endurance coach, he became a wonderful friend. Brendan touched so many people's lives and he shared his love of running and triathlons with so many. He helped build such a strong endurance sport community in Central New York. He was always there with an encouraging word and even when you didn't believe in yourself, he believed in you. Although I am filled with such sadness now, your memory, will always bring a smile to my face. I will learn from you and share my love for these sports as you did with me.
Be The Change You Wish to See in the World --Gandhi
This past Sunday I completed my 12th half
marathon, The Flower City Half in Rochester, NY. My first half marathon was in
2005 and twelve years later I completed my 12th. Some years I did
multiple races and other years I did none. This was also my third half marathon
since my bariatric weight loss surgery 9 months ago; there is no time for
sitting on the couch now!
This was my third time running this race and it
holds a special place in my heart. It is a beautiful course that goes through
many neighborhoods throughout Rochester. It is a well supported and well
organized event too.
The first time I ran the race was April 25, 2010. It
was almost two years after I had ankle surgery and I needed motivation to get
off the couch. This particular surgery not only had me sidelined from running
but as a result of not running I put on weight, became a bit depressed and become
comfortable not moving. I was cleared to start running a year before this race
but I couldn’t get back in the swing of things. In January of 2010 a group of
friends made the suggestion that we should all sign up for this race and do it
together. I saw this as my motivation to get back in the swing of things.
Slowly I started to train, excited to be doing it
again and looking forward to race day. However, as race day approached many
members of this group backed out of the race for one reason or another. I could
have backed out too but decided that this race was my ticket off the couch.
The time limit for this race was 3 hours and 30 minutes.
You have 210 minutes to complete the 13.1 miles or you would be directed off
the course. This wasn’t my first half marathon, so I knew I could cover the
miles, but it was my first in some time and I was nervous. The gun went off and
I was running. Very quickly the pack got away from me and I was running by
myself. I remember at one point during the race, before the third mile marker when
you can look down one side street and see the start line, I thought I could
take a right, head back to my car and no one would know. I didn’t let that
happen because I would know.
Very slowly the miles passed by as we made our way
through Rochester. As I crossed the last bridge of the race, I had one mile to
go and a police escort joined me. I was the last person on the course and
little time to officially finish the race. One of the police officers put on
his lights and siren on to encourage me to finish. They were not annoyed that I
was last; they encouraged me because I hadn’t given up. The police officers
were cheering me on! As the finish line approached the seconds ticked away but I
crossed that finish line with 3 minutes and 33 seconds to spare! I was
official! That race brought me back; I was a runner once again with a time of
3:26:27.
Two years later I did the race again, a bit faster
and stronger as a runner. I wanted to go back and show that course that I was
better and stronger. On April 29, 2012 I crossed the finish line in 2:55:32. In
2012 that finish line had a different feeling. I wasn’t the fastest person on
the course but I wasn’t last either and the race continued to have a special
place in my heart.
I often talk this race up to people. When
individuals are thinking about doing the race I encourage them to make it
happen. However, for five years I took a little hiatus from the course in order
to pursue other races or I let life get in my way. I wasn’t going to let that
happen this year. I marked it on the calendar before the end of 2016 and I was
going back to Rochester.
Just coming off my PR half marathon last month at
the Syracuse Half Marathon, I didn’t know what to expect. My coach had asked me
if I was ready. I told her that I had
mixed feelings about the race. I was a bit nervous because I didn’t want to get
my hopes up after having such a great run in Syracuse. I was hoping to repeat
or even do better but I didn’t want to hit the wall. I told her that I was
ready training wise but emotionally, my mind was playing tricks on me.
As I checked the weather during the week, things
were not looking that great for race day. But of course like most weather
reports in upstate NY and the Northeast, things could change every day, even
every minute. On race day the temperature was going to be in the lower 50s, not
too bad, and the rain was supposed to hold off until at least 9 am…and no
chance of thunderstorms. Well…
I walked to the start line with a friend of mine and
was thrilled that we were able to run together for at least 6 miles (before she
took off on meJ
and I was ok with that). My plan was to try and stay with the 2:30 pace group
for the 13.1 miles. What kind of runner had I become that I was even having
these thoughts? Years ago, even a month ago I wouldn’t have even thought about staying
with a pace group but something had come over me.
Before we hit mile 3 the rain started. It wasn’t a
pounding rain but with the wind it made it cold (I was still with the 2:30 pace
group). By mile 6, which was a one mile uphill climb to seven started, the rain
had stopped (I was still with the 2:30 pace group). As I approached mile 9
there was thunder and lightning but we continued (I lost the 2:30 pace group). By
mile 12 nothing was dry, the rain pelted you and your sneakers felt 10 pounds
heavier but I continued. One mile to go, how would this story end…my time at
the Syracuse Half Marathon, a PR, was 2:34:26. Having lost the pace group by
this point I didn’t know if I was on track to PR or not. I just kept running toward
the finish line. In and out of puddles I continued until I crossed and the
clock read 2:35:30 (gun time). What did this mean for me…
Official Time
2:33:26
Pace 11:43
I PR'd by
59 seconds
The Flower
City Half Marathon in Rochester, NY is one of my favorites! I encourage
everyone to run this one!
Keep
Running!
No comments:
Post a Comment