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Published: November 18th 2007
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Every visit to Richmond, VA has been a unique adventure. This trip's mission: Run my first marathon. Status: DONE!
We flew in Fri morning, Nov 9 in order to settle in with friends well before "game time" and to gauge the atmosphere of downtown Richmond. After lunch at Ukrop's, we headed to the Omni Hotel to join other marathon participants on a guided 2-hour bus tour of the course. Then, we went to the expo itself to pick up our bib number, t-shirt, and free literature. The race organizers offered no free swag whatsoever, but I did get a free green bracelet (which I proudly wore on race day) from the wonderful folks at Donate Life. After a rich carb-loaded dinner, we settled in for a movie prior to getting a good night of sleep.
We left the house at 6am to get a choice parking spot downtown and for John and Jeff to meet their training team members in time for a group picture. While they huddled with their cohorts, I stood across the street and realized it was pretty damn cold outside, though we all wore at least one extra layer of clothes over our race clothes.
We are Marathoners!
Post-race in the Omni Hotel; Without John and Jeff flanking Manny on both sides, Manny surely would have fallen to the floor, which would've been funny to no one! Up until the start of the race, we were all wondering if the temperature would go higher (we didn't think so). By the start time of 8am, I removed the extra layer and wisely kept my scrub gloves.
The course itself was relatively flat and weaved in and out of residential areas. The marathon itself was dubbed by the organizers as "America's Friendliest," which was certainly true. Volunteers and locals cheered me on every step of the way; some opened up impromptu water and food stations, while others raced into local pharmacies and food stores to purchase bags of bite-size chocolates and hard candies to dole out to runners and walkers alike. Very cool.
I felt comfortable after reaching the 13.1-mile mark, even more with friends, Ralph and Nidia, there to cheer me on through one of several "party zones." Each party zone had people lined up on both sides of your running path and cheered you on. While very nice, it also offered a false hope, especially if one (ME) sensed it as an approach to the finish line. After running through that particular party zone, I realized I had another 13.1 miles to go. UGH! (Mental note to self: that's because I didn't discipline myself well on the weekend long runs)
I had been running my goal of nearly 10 minutes per mile at the halfway point, but knew I had better slow down if I wanted to actually finish. At mile 17, first signs of trouble appeared when both of my calves cramped. Uh oh, three miles earlier than expected... At mile 21, both of my quad muscles gave out and I started bawling because, quite frankly, I didn't know what else to do. I had never injured my quads before and I didn't really know what was going on. Was it cramps? Did I pull the muscles? At this point, I'd like to thank the young man (whose name I never got) who offered me his handlebars for me to lean on while I agonized my next steps, literally and figuratively. After profusely thanking him and convincing him I would be fine, I limped the next 3 miles to the mile 24 mark where I massaged enough pain away to jog again. After passing mile 25, I knew with the pain and all, I could finish the remaining distance in 15 minutes and went all out. Mind you, I certainly wasn't sprinting but I really wanted to finish on a stronger note. The last 4/10 of a mile was downhill and I was just hoping I wouldn't trip and roll down the street. I finished at 5 hr, 25 min, and 8 seconds, nearly an hour longer than my established goal. I'm just happy I finished, damn it!
Thank you to my colleagues for their inspiration and advice - particularly those I've trained with since I started running last October 2006. Thank you to my family and friends for their understanding and support. Thank you to the cops, volunteers, and locals who braved the harsh weather conditions on marathon day to support and root for family, friends, and strangers alike. And, thank you to John and Nidia for having me over again! Very much appreciated!
And, thank you to the recipients of my never-ending stream of text message announcements of my "first" running accomplishments, e.g. 5k, 8k, 10kl... well, you get the point. Thank you for your patience and feedback! To you, I promise no more "firsts" text messages. I can only strive to continuously improve, moving forward.
I am a marathoner!
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John Sicat
non-member comment
Hello...
What's up Marathoner?!!...a very nice entry for an amazing experience. I'm sure you're still flying high. Truly a great accomplishment and something you can always be proud of! Looks like it's on to the next challenge, playa!