Personal Record

Last Saturday Whitney and I ran (along with our fellow Folsom Road Runners) in the 3rd Annual Parkway Half Marathon. They touted all kinds of great bands, but I think the rain kept anyone with electrical equipment away. Instead we had bagpipes, instrumentals and I think a guitarist with his friend who played the tambourine. Interesting… Despite the availability in music, it was a great race.

I don’t mind the rain. If you read my earlier blog about the Chairman’s Ride, you will know that rain does not dissuade me. Wind or heat, however, do! Anyway, I digress. It was perfect running weather yesterday. Warm enough to wear shorts and a short sleeve top, no wind, and a slight drizzle that kept me refreshed and my asthma – for the most part – at bay. My legs felt strong and my stomach was on course for a good run. This was the first race where I ran with someone other than just myself or my friend, Karen. It was fun to have a group of people to chat with before the race and, to my surprise, during the race as well.

I had assumed that Whitney, Coach Kristen, Chelsea and Noah would take off early in the race. They are all much stronger runners with a built-in stamina that I can only hope to develop as time passes. What really happened was this…

Whitney was nowhere to be found. The four of us (minus Whitney) headed over to the start line to await the sounding of the trumpets. We were squished between hundreds of others and when the race director announced a delay in the start, my claustrophobic tendencies set in. A few deep breaths later, I found my eyes wandering the outlining crowd looking for Whitney. I searched high and low, but she wasn’t to be found. Maybe she was still hanging out with friends and family who had come to cheer her on? Perhaps she was with some other friends who were running; I just hoped she wasn’t alone. When the director finally kicked off the race it took about a minute to actually cross the start line. Whitney was still missing in action. Around mile two (I think), out of the corner of my eye, a woman stepped into my space and I scooted over telling her she could move through to pass me. Well, she didn’t move so I turned and lo’ and behold…Whitney! I was very happy to see her and gave her a big squeeze. It didn’t take long (maybe a mile?) before she moved on past the rest of us and was lost again in the crowd. Whitney is much stronger than she realizes and I think she could have a pretty strong career in amateur running. Go Whitney!

Coach K, Noah, Chelsea and I were left alone again to chat, reflect or, if you were me, try to pretend your asthma wasn’t totally kicking your butt. I didn’t do a lot of talking. I concentrated on my hands and arms being in proper position (which, by the way, they generally aren’t – I swear I’m going to tape them into position next time) and checking off the miles as they passed. At mile five Coach instructed us to take our GU. Mmmm. If you haven’t had GU you should try it. Just kidding. It’s like eating frosting (or alien mucus) during a run – gross, but apparently a very efficient way to quickly fuel. I saw Coach and Noah checking their Garmin to keep track of our pace. My Nike+ Sportband ranged between 8.54 – 9.18 mm during those first few miles (not counting the time you slow down to eat GU or hydrate). I felt proud of our pace (assuming my watch was correct), but knew I was starting to slow down. I apologized to Chelsea (who was running next to me) and told her to keep going. Being the adorable teenager she is, she politely said to me that the pace was fine. What a great kid! By mile seven I wanted to stop and walk. The only thing that kept me moving was not wanting to let the team down. I just knew they were going to be too polite to let me drift off the back and it’s a great burden to feel like you’re keeping people from their potential. At mile nine I whispered to Chelsea that I was going to stop and walk for a minute and that she should continue on. Thankfully, she did. This was her first race and I wanted her to do all she could to make good time.

Here is where my emotional heart poured out. As the three of them continued to run away from me, my eyes welled and my heart sank. All I could think was, “I couldn’t do it. I can’t believe I couldn’t run the entire thing with them. I am so disappointed in myself.” What negative thinking! I was really beating myself up. I looked down at my Sportband and checked the time and promised myself to only walk for two minutes. When I looked up, I saw Noah walking on the trail. I knew right away he was waiting for me to catch up. Noah could have run this race blindfolded with me bouncing on his back, but he stopped to walk so that I wouldn’t be alone. What does that say about a person?

Of course, I felt terrible and tried to persuade him to run without me. This is what he said, “In ten years, no one will know if I PR’d [personal record] at the Parkway Half Marathon, but maybe [you] will remember that I stayed with you. I never leave a buddy behind.” Okay, that might not be verbatim, but it’s close. Though I yearned for him to not let me keep him back, I was also grateful to have him with me. When my two minutes were up, we started running again. After nine miles one might think that four would seem easy, but it wasn’t. I was tired and feeling a little dizzy and around mile 10 Noah lent me another GU which almost immediately took the dizziness away, but made my stomach lurch. Goodness, what I would have done for a clean bathroom and a quiet moment to myself! Of course, I didn’t share this during the run. Still, at mile 11 I stopped again to catch my breath (darn asthma), but this time for just one minute. I couldn’t let Noah walk for two minutes, so with a one-minute rest, we started to plod on.. By mile 12.5 I wanted to walk again and if it hadn’t been for Noah, I certainly would have. (Goodness! With only .6 miles to the finish I wanted to walk….) Instead of walking, this is what I listened to to keep me moving, “Leah, you’re looking strong. Do you want to sprint in this last mile? You’re looking good.” Noah…what a cheerleader! What a teammate! I knew he was lying, I was certain I looked like my husband did after stepping off the “Tea Cups” at Disneyland, drawn-faced, yellow and looking for a garbage can, but it was good to hear.

When the Finish line finally came into view, I mustered what I could and picked up the pace, all the while Noah giving me kudos. When another woman tried to pass me at the end, that competitive gene kicked in I pushed even harder crossing the finish line with my newest friend. I couldn’t breathe and I still thought I was going to give back some of that GU I had consumed, but I was done. The clock read 2 hours 17 mins, but you can shave a minute from that because of the time it took to get across the start line. So, let’s say 2 hours 16 mins (unofficial, of course). That’s six minutes faster than my previous PR (2 hours 22 mins) at the Four Bridges Half Marathon (October 2008) and 34 mins faster than my time at last year’s Parkway Half. In the end, though it wasn’t exactly what I wanted (I wanted to run non-stop), I still felt good. This body wasn’t made to run, but it’s learning.

So, as we head into Fitness Month (yes, May is officially Fitness Month in California thanks to Assemblymember Tom Torlakson) I would like to congratulate ALL OF YOU who PR’d this past month. Maybe you took your first walk, or your longest walk ever. Maybe you cut out the amount of sweets you’re consuming or decided to step into the aqua aerobics class at the local gym. Maybe you just completed your first 5K or even just signed up to walk/run your first 5K. Whatever it was, congratulations! A “Personal Record” is always worth recognizing in my book. And, thanks to those of you (and you know who you are) for helping me reach my PR for the month! I look forward to seeing what comes next.