No Marathon This Year

Alas, I couldn't run a the full and complete California International Marathon this year. Not because of an injury but of time. Trying to fit school, work, and 5 runs a week has been close to impossible for me. Trying to turn one of those runs into a 3-4 hour run, plus time to warm up, drive to where ever I'm running, drive back, stretch, etc. just wasn't happening. Those long runs take up half my day.

The hardest part is that I study best in the evening. Maybe because it's dark out, or maybe I've run out of procrastination techniques. Now days I stay up til 12 or 1 to study and get up late (I don't have to be at work until 9). With that schedule, its damn hard to get up at 6 to go for a run at 7 in the morning. I like sleeping in. It's a nice thing.

So no full marathon for me this year (sob). However I did talk 3 of my new found college buddies to join me in the relay. 4 segments (5.9 Miles, 7.6 Miles, 7.0 Miles, 5.7 Miles) 4 of us, and guess who opted for the longest segment? Yep. That was me.

We called ourselves Team Tortus.  Does that makes sense? Of course not, unless you are a group of first year law students taking.......Torts and running in  marathon where you don't plan on running very fast. See, a play on words. How creative (and it wasn't even my idea).

To prepare for my 7.6 mile run, I didn't train. Really, I actually did no additional training.  I just kept my longest run for the week at about 7 miles (which it is normal for me) and I was ready to go. My other bit of preparation - I went out dancing last night. Yea, I know, smart of me. But it was so much fun and, in all honesty, it doesn't matter if you don't get a good night sleep before a run, it's the night before the night before that matters. So I got 4 hours a sleep and had a fantastic run.

Almost 9 minute miles for the whole thing and I felt great. Much better than the Cowtown 1/2 where I crashed and died halfway thru. Ugg, bad memories. I've never walked on a half before. Makes me appreciate having the proper amount of iron in my body (found out I had only 2/3's the necessary amount of iron two weeks after cowtown).


And then the best part. I saw the 13 mile marker and said, I'm almost done! I can sprint. As I was passing those marathoners trudging along I almost laughed. My day was about to be over, and they still had 13 more to go. HAHAHAHAHAHAH - except I still felt a little sad.  How crazy is it that a part of me just wanted to go on? I wanted to run, and run, and run and, well ok, not forrest gump run, but you get the idea.


But I passed the chip off to my partner in crime and headed back the nauseating buses - nauseating because I get car sick everytime those buses drive me somewhere. I've started each marathon practically throwing up. Combine that feeling with the 80+ stinky, sweaty athletes who just ran 7.6 miles and that bus was a moving vomit inducing machine.


Got back to ground zero - absolutely freezing which was suprising because the run was so warm (65 degrees - last year it never got about 35). But it was cold outside and I was dripping sweat. I ran to pick up my warm up clothes  (in bags delivered to the end ahead of us). The guy passing them out ran to me bag in hand, no wait, with the instructions to get warm. Smart man. He read my number and decided to help me out. What a good guy.


I cheered other marathoners until my throat was raw and my voice disappeared,  saw and hugged my cousin, cheered my teammate crossing the line, and congratulated three friends who have now joined the marathon club.


All in all - a good day, even without a marathon.