THE BIG HALF-MARATHON RACE
November 29, 2018
Pittsburgh Fitness Project
It was my half-marathon race week! I was excited to go! I was feeling strong, ready to run.
My trip to Philadelphia took much longer than anticipated. Especially as I maneuvered the turnpike through a snow storm on Thursday, 11/15. I had wanted to get into Philadelphia early so I’d have plenty of rest before the race on Saturday morning, 11/17. The trip turned into a 7 hour trek but I made it intact!
THE BIG HALF-MARATHON RACE
Race day turned out to be perfect. The skies had cleared after the recent storm. And the temperature was just about perfect. I told myself to start slow because I knew my Achilles heel was always pushing too hard early and pooping out.
Unfortunately, I kept true to form! I ran just under my goal pace the first mile and told myself to back off and conserve energy. Instead, I went really fast! I was feeling too energetic from the crowds, I suppose. Or maybe I just took off like I tend to do when I feel good. I slowed to marathon pace after that then my practiced quicker easy pace. Less than half way into the race, though, I just couldn’t recover. My energy seemed gone, and the rest of the race was a crawl I had practiced this scenario during training, but on race day, I couldn’t come back. I finished almost 30 minutes slower than my goal.
Feeling sorry for myself, I took off for home right after the race.
DISSAPPOINTMENT…
After I got back, my run coach, Jake, reminded me that we all have bad races and that I managed the training program without injury and got strong. I did feel really strong so it made the disappointment seem more acute.
AND AN UNFORESEEN UNFORTUNATE EVENT…
A few days after returning home, I got a call from a friend while I was at the gym. A good friend of ours who was about our age had suffered a massive ischemic stroke. A blood clot had blocked off a small vessel in his brain. He did not get to the hospital in time for a clot busting drug to be tried so he sustained loss of the use of the right side of his body. Going to the hospital that night was tough. Seeing a dear friend immobilized on one side of his body and struggling to talk made any disappointments that I might have harbored earlier in the week seem so trivial.
We left to spend Thanksgiving at my parents’ home in Harrisburg a few days later. My friend was in my thoughts all weekend. I could still run. I could WALK. I wanted him to do the same.
INSPIRATION
When we got back to Pittsburgh, we visited him at the acute rehab floor of a different hospital. He looked better. He was speaking more clearly. The droop in his face had improved. He was starting to take some steps in physical therapy. I was thankful.
My friend will continue to recover as much function he can. And I’m inspired to try again.