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Just two weeks after The Boston Marathon, here I was to run a half marathon in the midst of redwoods. The weather broke for a beautiful half marathon, with sunlight scattering itself through the redwoods. I couldn’t imagine a more different race. First off, there were less than 1,000 runners to complete the half marathon, and at Boston there were more than 26,000 to finish 26.2!
My race would have been much nicer but for one pretty considerable problem. I have a pretty intense issue with my left foot. With all the training that I completed in preparation for The Boston Marathon, which I completed on 4/20/09, my feet took a bit of a beating. My left foot in particular has a pretty incredible bunion that is developing ever so slowly and I have plantar fasciitis in the same foot. Picture this – shooting pain from your heel through your arch toward your toes with every stride. Not fun.
I had self medicated with 2 doses of tylenol at The Boston Marathon to get me through the race, and I had been sleeping in this lovely strasburg sock which keeps your foot flexed all night to allow the plantar fascia to heal. I decided to go without meds for The Avenue of the Giants – thinking simply this “It’s only a half marathon”.
Pride got in my way, and it meant I had a pretty hard race. My foot began to ache around the third mile and progressed to sharp pain by mile 8. I pushed through, kept my pace, and thought simply this: “The faster I run, the faster I’ll finish, and the pain will end”. It was – shall we say – a little intense.
I reminded myself “this is nothing compared to the pain Greg is in”. Greg Melendy has gone through so much these past 5 months, with complications from his bone marrow transplant, so I just gathered my strength with him in mind and I ran faster than I expected or planned. This put me in a group of runners I had never really raced alongside before. They were obviously a faster breed than I was used to… with stranger habits… One runner obsessively “lumber jacked” every 5 strides from one nostril, and then the other. Another runner had a really funny breathing pattern that was close to lamaze. I kept wondering if he was going to hyperventilate.
Trying desperately not to get annoyed by all the strange breathing, I focused on my stride, my conditioning, my training and I kept my pace. By mile 12, I was beginning to WISH this was just OVER, so I just let myself be led by this beautifully conditioned runner who kept her pace the rest of the way. I kept thinking – “I have to thank her when the race is over” – this perfect stranger who acted as my magnet without ever knowing it. But then, in the last 200 yards, I had enough energy left to sprint to the finish super strong at top speed. Running that fast ALWAYS drives everything else out of my mind, so I forgot ALL about that good intention, got my medal and went in search of my friends Angela Brown & Lindsay Hickman – who I knew had finished prior.
When everything was said and done, I finished with a new personal record (PR) for a half marathon of 2:13:56. I almost ran a negative split too. My first half was only 1 minute quicker than the second half of the run. Not Bad. Jackie Medina and Meghann Finn finished shortly after, and we cheered them across the finish enjoying champagne mimosas together in celebration of our feat.
What I learned from this run is this: The mind is the strongest muscle the body has. It can help you push through the hard times, and remind you of why you’re doing what you are doing. In my case, I’m running marathons and raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society to help put a stop to blood cancers, and keep them from taking more lives. So far, I have raised close to $15K for the cause, and I’m not done yet. My one and only official event of this spring season is here. I am ready, and I will “Rock the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon” in San Diego on May 31, 2009 in honor of my friend, Greg Melendy. I am going to rock it. This time, it’s not about setting a new personal record. It’s all for Greg, and it’s going to be great fun. Wish me luck!
If you would like to make a donation to my cause go to: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/nikesf09/corinna
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