Learning Awaits

Learning Awaits

Go ahead and eat it, even if it’s past the 5-second rule.
Skip the anti-bacterial soap and let your immune system do the fighting.
Skip the antibiotics…chances are it’s a virus.
Let your child work with knives. The learning will astonish you both.
Take that job offer, even if, especially if, you think you’re under-qualified.
Take that trip to an undiscovered part of your world.
Yes, your son can walk to the store by himself.
And, your daughter should learn to build a good fire.
And even if you think you haven’t trained enough, do that race anyway.
Live dangerously…learning awaits.
- T9 Catalog

Following the Green Bay non-marathon in May, as well as throughout most of the summer, I went back and forth between "committing" to run the Twin Cities marathon, which I had registered for earlier in the spring.  

I once read "If you're heart isn't in it, take yourself out of it."  I couldn't decide if my heart was up for Twin Cities or not.  I had run this race before - it was the first marathon I ran and I loved it.  Every single step of it.  But that was years ago, following incredibly regimented training.  Even if my heart was in it on race day, would I be able to finish 26 miles?  I don't think anyone would call my "training" for this race marathon quality.  

And then, sometime late summer, a Title Nine catalog showed up at my door and I decided Game On.  Inside the front cover was the "Learning Awaits" inscription.  It's a series of simple sentiments - all of which I whole-heartedly agree with.  I mean really, when you lump running a race un-trained in with breaking the 5-second rule, skipping soap, and letting kids work with knives, it dumbs it down tremendously. Why not?  I already do many of these "dangerous" things.  I put a stake in the ground.  I'd be dangerous on October 7th.  I'd run Twin Cities.  

And still my training didn't pick up.  For the few months leading up to the marathon I was averaging about 1.5 runs/week (instead of the "recommended" 3-5/week).  As race day approached I knew I'd need something other than hundreds of un-run training miles to get me through this one.  

The week before the race I took the "it takes a village" approach and reached out to my Facebook community to help me get into the right mindset.  The broader group provided support as well as ensured I had accountability to someone other than myself to finish.  

The night before (or even a couple nights before) the race I started to get nervous.  I get nervous for plenty of things, but running isn't usually one of them.  I had no idea how the race would go for me.  Would the awesome support and encouragement from friends and family make up for the many miles I didn't run in preparation?  Did I stock pile enough hours worth of positive thoughts into my mind to last me 26.2 miles?  

Wait!  It was 8pm the night before the marathon and I hadn't created a running mix in well over a year.  I opened up my Notes app on my phone where I'd been typing in songs I'd been meaning to download.  I jumped onto itunes and started purchasing "power songs" as fast as I could find them. Surely the dozen songs, newly downloaded, could help me tomorrow.

On race morning Joe and I jumped in a cab and headed downtown Minneapolis for the start line.  However, we got separated while in the Metrodome for one last pit stop before the start of the race.  For a good 15 minutes we tried to connect via text/phone and never found each other.  Phones now handed over in our gear bags I waited just outside our starting corral hoping to meet up with him.  Seconds before the gun went off I ran into the corral knowing I needed to start the race with or without him.  As I darted down the "chute" into the corral I saw him.  We literally hugged and kissed as the race was starting.  I wished him well - we were not running this race together because he's some kind of fast that I'll never know - and off he went ahead of me.  

This year the first half of the marathon was the most challenging for me.  Due to some previously fast marathons that I've run I was able to start in the fastest corral.  It was tough to start there knowing I was going to be running my slowest race.  I quickly needed to fight the urge to keep pace with all the fast runners.  I needed to run my own race and not let it get in my head that because I wasn't keeping up with all runners that I wasn't going to be able to run strong and finish strong.  It took me a good five or six miles to settle in.

I've heard plenty of times that running isn't a team sport.  And while I see where that comment is coming from, I don't fully agree.  Have you seen the flocks of runners around the lakes?  Have you ever run a race with tens of thousands of other participants?  We are one of the biggest teams I've ever been a part of.  We smile, we wave, we acknowledge when we're wearing the same race shirts while training for the next big event. On race day we're all starting at the same spot and running across the same finish line.  

In many small ways all my teammates help me through every marathon I run.  

There's always the couple of military men in full uniform, carrying humongous backpacks and holding the american flag - for 26 miles - that motivate me (but arguably make it harder for me to run because I usually get choked up while shouting "Way to go, thank you!" to them).  

At the mid-point of last weekend's race I could have sworn I heard Matt Ceracen's voice behind me.  A quick "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose" lifted my spirits and helped propel me a few more miles.

Soon after that I was approaching Mile 19. Four years ago at the Twin Cities marathon, as well as this weekend's race it's where I got my second wind.  It's a hill climb up from River Road along the Mississippi over the River and into Saint Paul.  It's a tough part of the race, but it's also where some of the best spectators are.  It's loud, spectators will look you right in the eye and tell you "You are so strong!  You've got it!"  Their spirit is infectious and at that point in the race I made sure I "paid it forward."

For many miles I had leap-frogged a runner wearing a shirt that said "26.2 First Timer.  Jeff."  He got so many cheers (someday I'll wear a shirt to a race and put my name big and bold on it because let me tell you, the cheers help!).  Anyway, every spectator who saw Jeff cheered for him.  I decided to as well.  While crossing the bridge after Mile 19 I was coming up along side him, I took a break from singing (when my 2nd wind comes I sing out loud while running) and just shouted to him that he was awesome and to enjoy his race.  He lit up.  I like to think that I helped a teammate carry on for another mile.

Twin Cities was the perfect race to "go out on" (I'm taking a bit of a break from marathons - too much time needed to train for them and I've got too many other hobbies right now to continue tackling such long races).  I absolutely loved it when I ran it 4 years ago and loved it again this year.

Some of my other inspiration...

Marie.  Starting something new is hard.  Harder than just getting better at something...  Running more miles.  Running faster.  Running more miles faster.  Your commitment to starting something new, the progress you're making (and open-ness to sharing your new fitness goals in the social world) is inspiring to me.  NYC here we come!

Greta.  Reading your post of "Knock 'em down one by one" was key on race morning.  I read it while in the cab headed downtown as my mind was imploding with doubt.  One by one.  

Facebook Friends.  The power of the collective group.  The vast quantity of support and encouragement I got to read in the week leading up to the race helped more than anything.  I literally repeated everyone's posts over and over throughout the race.

Joe.  Comedic relief.  A few weeks before the marathon I was deciding whether I should go out for one last 20-miler in preparation for the race.  Joe looked at me (I think in all seriousness) and said "No, you shouldn't run another 20 miler this close to the race...You've got to build your reserves!"  Build my reserves!?!?  I'd been building my reserves for the past three months.  This race was only going to be successful if reserves could replace actual training!  Regardless, I didn't take that 3rd and final 20-miler practice run.  Instead we took the kids camping.  Got no sleep.  And agreed that it was just as rigorous and tiring as a 20-miler.  

I've got this thing with alliteration, sequences, etc.  When our race numbers arrived I was happy to see that the last two digits of our race numbers were inverses of each other's.  That's a good sign.

A couple years ago my kids and the neighborhood kids helped chalk our front walk 

I loved how it looked and dreamed of running a marathon course with miles of colorful sidewalk chalked drawings and messages.  Little did I know that as I was dreaming of this, Nike Livestrong was already figuring it out for the Tour de France.  As soon as I hear of a running race utilizing the Chalkbot I am pretty sure I'll sign up to run it!

Belated Birthday celebrating and carb-loading following the race.  Happy 37th Birthday Joe!  He missed getting a personal best for this marathon by 12 seconds.  He's getting better with age in so many other ways!

While we ran for hours, the kids sat in strollers for hours.  This results in opposing reactions.  We want to sit in a stroller and they want to run.