Second, I would like to say that Pete Pfitzinger is a running mastermind in terms of training. I stayed on his program throughout the course of 18 weeks and it worked perfectly. However, those last 4-5 miles, I was on my own. Nothing can prepare you for those last miles. They are painful and difficult, but the last half mile is nothing short of a miracle. I found energy I never knew existed.
Third, I want to say I am blessed to be part of the NMBRG. From the 5k, to the half, to the full: you all did incredible and I am so proud of each and everyone one of you!!! A job well done!!!
Last, I want to thank everyone for helping me through this process... My family for always believing in me when teachers and others thought I had no shot in hell, to the NMBRG for pushing me into a whole new level in running, and a whole new definition of true friendship (love you guys!) Thank you to my girlfriend Melissa, who has put up with my running nonsense and for helping me overcome my nerves before the race!To the DM crew for always motivating me day in and day out, even when I don't respond back (seriously everyone, thank you!) Thank you to EVERYONE who donated to the Marathon for Mario and the Mario Lemieux Foundation! THANK YOU ALL!!!!
The Marathon
It started on a nice morning at 4 am as I woke from my limited slumber, I had blasted AC/DC, Metallica, and ES. Posthumus to get me going while I was getting dressed. Peanut butter bagel and a banana along with a bunch of water to get the day started and I was out the door
So I drove over to Broadway at the Beach for the Marathon way too early... I sat at the Grand Strand running tent where I met with the majority of the NMBRG. Spirits were very high and we were ready to roll! I decided to ditch my arm sleeves and apply the calf sleeves (good move) and I was off to the starting line!
I met Nathan right before the opening gun and him and I discussed our Marathon plan at running around 9:00 pace for the entire run. The opening miles started off well, with some nerves going, was I even going to be able to handle 26.2 miles? However, I got into a groove by mile 3 and was feeling better. Most notably, there were almost 7-8 breakfast places (Waffle House, IHop, Huddle House) all begging for Stephen to visit and eat breakfast, and if it wasn't for a $90 entrance fee, I might have done it.
At around mile 6, Nathan's wife, Haley dropped in and ran for about a half a mile, giving us water (as well as taking some of my shot bloks and my hand towel) that was weighing down on my cycling shirt. Nathan and I cruised through market commons and it was on to ocean boulevard...
First of all, Ocean Boulevard is about 9 miles long for this race... It is a long stretch for one road. There wasn't too much to report except that I increased my speed to about an 8:45-8:50 m/m and was feeling good. The heat was starting to peak through, but there was a nice headwind keeping the runners cool. We saw the half marathoners go in their separate direction, which all i could think was, "It's not too late! It's not too late" but alas, I kept going... Right after that I saw Bob and Tom from DM as I high fived Bob and didn't let him take a picture of me :)
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| DM Bob and I... Thanks for your support Bob!!! |
It wasn't until we got on the oceanfront of Ocean Boulevard was when the sun was glaring over us and the wind stopped. This is when the marathon took a bit of a turn for the worse. Anxiety was setting in and I was running by myself, and I knew I would be running by myself for the next 10-11 miles. I wasn't sure what the hell I was going to do until I remembered that I still had my iPod!!! Even though it was a tangled mess, I managed to sort out the headphone cords over the span of about half a mile (I am not even joking). I plugged in and i picked it up to about an 8:37 pace. Things were back on track...
I started to head towards grand dunes and highway 17 when I saw Roscoe and Matt, who gave some inspiring words to me and I was riding very high at that point. Both of those people have made an enormous impact in my running success, so running into both of them made me feel 100% better, and I had 8 miles to go!!!
This is where the race took a big turn for the worse. After about mile 22 with 4 miles to go, that's when my first sign of trouble kicked in... Say hello to pain, left hamstring. While on the greenway, i felt a pain shoot up the back of my left leg and all i could think was... this cannot be good... and I was right... I saw Haley for the third time (who might as well been the angel of light at that point) and she said, "what do you need" which i barely could get out "Anything..." she gave me some gummies, I said my thanks and kept going.
The pain would crawl back on and off and by mile 24, I wanted to walk. This is where Melissa motivation sparked the highest. I knew she was there, I knew I would get to see her as I finished, and so I said to myself... I cannot walk, I have to keep going... the pain is bad, but quitting would last forever. This is about when I spotted Bob for the 2nd time and gave him a thumbs up as I felt like death...
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| Bob taking a photo of me at 25! Doug is in front with the bright shoes |
At mile 25 I started running behind a gentlemen named Doug, a 4 time marathoner, and he kept motivating me and pushing me along the way to state that I was on my way to a sub 4 hour marathon if I just kept with it... This is about the time my right quad started hurting... it was brutal at that point, but i know I could finish...
Mile 26 came by and I saw my friend from Blacksburg Carisa cheering me on and I knew the final turn was coming. This is where my Dad's motivation came in. My father always told me to finish like a champion. With every single ounce of energy I had left, I ran hard towards the finish... Seeing Melissa, Scott, Eleanor and Nigel just made my grin even bigger... My legs were incredibly sore but I finished in 3:55:21!!!!!! The emotion was overwhelming and I broke down and put my head in my hands as I had accomplished a feat that I would have never even fathomed doing
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| My girlfriend Melissa and I at the finish! She's so pretty! Thank you for your support baby! |
Despite all odds, if you put in the work, and suffer through the pain, you can do anything you set your thoughts and desires to
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| NMBRG I am so proud of everyone! Great work!!!! |
God Bless...
