Eagleman 6/2010

This was my next big challenge after completing my first marathon and first olympic triathlon.  I was diagnosed with a tibia stress fracture after the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in April.  This made my training difficult because I couldn't run or get on a bike for a month.  My focus during this time concentrated on swimming, I was walking to the gym pool on crutches and spending a lot of time at the whirlpool.  After a month, I started to get on the spinning bike but I could not push it as hard as I wanted to because I could feel some soreness in my leg.  Around late May, I decided to give my leg a test drive.  After a few miles, I knew my leg wasn't right yet, I was still experiencing pain.  It was really a game time decision on whether I would be able to even get to the starting line.

The week of the race my leg felt a lot better but not 100% yet.  I decided to head to Cambridge on Saturday afternoon after the world cup game.  I got there and it seemed that most people had been to the package pick up area already.  I still had one hour to rack my bike before the area closed.  I got the bike out of the car and started checking the tires and decided to put some more air to the back tire.  As soon as I did that the tire just exploded.  No reason to worry since I had brought two extra tubes.  However, I didn't the clip to get the tube out.  Fortunately, I got help from some guys in the parking lot doing their last minute tune ups.  The guys noticed that something was wrong with my back tire like there was something stopping the normal flow.  I went back to package pick up area because they had race mechanics there.  I was told they had all the equipment in the van and it was impossible for them to help out.  They sent me to a bike shop in town but I never found the place.  I decided to head over to my hotel in Easton, MD but before that I decided to head over to a diner and have some spagetti dinner.

I drove to the parking lot where we were instructed to take the shuttle busses to the race.  As I walked to the bus someone starting saying that wetsuits were not allowed because the water was too warm.  I felt sick at that moment because I knew swimming was not my strongest area, specially since I had not trained in open water without a wetsuit.  Once I got to the race, the nature of this challenge hit me.  How am I gonna do this with a leg that's not 100 percent, no wetsuit, and a bad tire.  I met up with some DC tri people and that encourage me a little bit, at least I wasn't gonna be alone out there.  Well, I checked my tires on race day and they were fine, yes, the back tire had some issues but who cares I didn't have time to fix it.  

The swim start got delayed because of some issues.  My wave was called and I was as nervous as I have ever been in my entire life.  The water was choppy, the day was a little cloudy, and some self doubt started to creep in.  The fist half I muscle through it even though I knew that was a bad idea.  I was a little disoriented at midway but I kept going even after being kicked and slapped a few times here and there.  I looked at my watch and the 70 minute limit was approaching, I started to muscle through again and again.  I got to the swim finish with 5 minutes before the cutoff time.

At least before getting on the bike, I didn't have to take off my swimsuit.  

2009 National Marathon - My First Marathon

Someone at the gym mentioned it several months ago and I decided to give it a try. I found out you have to qualify for it before you can register. Qualifying was easy, you don't have to be super hardcore. I ran one of DCRoadRunners.org races under the qualifying limits. The hard part was training for the marathon. I was fit when I started from cycling but running long distances is a totally different animal. The demands on your muscles is much more intense than cycling and you are more likely to get injured if you don't do what you are supposed to do. Those things include stretching, warming up, and having patience.

Organizers keep you well informed about the marathon by sending you emails and letting you know of any news and changes.  It was convenient to know that metro was opening at 5 a.m. on race day. The nearest metro station (DC Armory/RFK) is a block from the starting line.  When I went to pick up my bib and timing chip the day before the race, everything was organized and there was no chaos.  The free T-shirt I was given was nice and didn't look cheap at all. It's never a good idea with run more than 10 miles with a cotton t-shirt, I saw some people with bleeding nipples.

When i got to the race at 6 am, there were a least 4 thousand people running to the 100+ portable toilets outside the DC Armory and trying to get inside the building to warm up.  My people parked at RFK and then we walked towards the DC Armory to warm up, temperature was in the 30s.

At 6:50, they told everyone to get out since the race was just about to start.  I had never seen so many people (8,000 +) lined up getting ready to do one of the hardest thing (mentally and physically) I've ever done. I was supposed to go to coral #3 based on my qualifying time when I registered but I guess I could have gone to any of them since no one was checking.

Half and full marathoners start at the same time, I know some people don't like this but I was cool with it. The most important thing about running a marathon was having fun and I had the time of my life (even one of my friends said I looked happy at mile 13). There were lots of people at every mile and along the race cheering on their friends or just anyone running. There were police officers at almost every street corner controlling traffic. The water stops were spread out adequately and volunteers were awesome handing out water, Powerade, and GU gels.

Spectators were amazing, some of their signs were hilarious.  One of best was this girl holding up a huge "nice legs!" sign (I told her to call me).  When we got to Children's hospital, there was a lady welcoming people to DC. Well, after living in the DC area most of my life I had never been in this area...she was right, this was the real DC if you know what I mean.  I started running a little faster.

My friends met me at mile 3, half, and before the finish line.  That was real encouraging and motivated me a lot.  After I crossed the finish line, I started getting muscle cramps and the medical team was awesome in taking me to a tent to stretch me, give me some ice and advil (I was crossing my finger for oxycodone, now that's good stuff). There was plenty of gatorade, water, bananas, pretzels, bagels, and oranges at the end.  I know some people were complaining about the food.  I had no problems, I was in no shape to eat a big mac or a whopper.   Maybe some ice cream but you can't really ask for the world, you know.

Would I do it again? Yes, my first marathon was like a roller coaster - fun in the beginning, somewhat scary in the middle, and satisfying at the end. The medal given at the end was nice and made it official, no complaints from me.

To the kid who gave me water at the last water stop, you are gold.  He looked right at me and yelled, "you can do it.  You are almost there."  I did it, in 3:19 minutes.... Sure I couldn't walk for two days but it was the best time of my life!