Friday night the coffee machine was in my bathroom with the rice cooker full of oatmeal, both set to come on at 415 AM; my running clothes were set out in the closet. All this was in anticipation of my last long training run before the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer, the 26.2 with Donna. This is the third year I've been involved with this marathon so you think I'd be used to long runs. Still, earlier in the week my running pal, 1.0, and I began the bargaining, "what if we only ran 22 on Saturday, we'd still be prepared." When I woke up yesterday morning I thought, "If 1.0 sleeps in, maybe I will just not make it to this run, maybe the half marathon will be enough for me this year." I know that's crazy since I've made it to this point, but there's a lot you can say to yourself at 4AM when the alarm goes off.
1.0 made it to my house and we grumbled, groaned, ate our oatmeal out of styrofoam cups and headed out toward the run. I sipped on my coffee, more as a crutch than anything since I don't actually drink much of it before a long run. We chatted and slowly I began to wake up.
We got out to the Baldwin Rail Trail and our group, Forward Motion, started out on the trail along with all the other Galloway Training Groups. It was dark but the conversation picked up quickly. We are a small group of mostly women and one brave man. Water stops every two miles and a bathroom break at mile six made the first 13 miles go by really quickly, then we turned around to head back. Our group leaders as well as several group members had run the Disney marathon the weekend before. Some group members who had just ran the marathon cut the distance short a bit, understandably. Our group leaders followed us on a bike, running half the distance then switching to the single bike they shared; it meant a lot to me to have them out there with us.
Truthfully, this was one of my favorite long distance runs ever, the weather was perfect, the company was good, and I was not injured or feeling unwell. The last five miles or so the group told embarassing or entertaining stories about our lives to pass the time and the miles rolled on by. I won't say it was easy, because no 26 mile run is a cakewalk but it was definitely one of the better ones. Whenever I have a tough time running I think of the breast cancer survivors who train with us, and I say to myself, if they can do it so can I. I run because there have been times when I have not been able to, and there are so many people who aren't able to now, and there will be times in the future when I will not be able to again, but for now, I run.
As we approached the finish line for the run we noticed an arch of pink balloons and the running ribbon that is the symbol for the marathon. It just filled my heart with joy and gave me that last push to run in together with my group members. We took some group pictures, said goodbye to friends, pulled on clean shirts and headed out to share a celebratory cheeseburger.
When I got home, I said hello to everyone then headed for the tub and the ice bath that hurts so
good. I hate the ice bath, but it really saves my knees and muscles from feeling sore the day after a long run. I eased into a tub full of cool water, wrapped in a polar fleece with a toboggan on my head. UberGeek slowly added ice to the water until it was frigid and I couldn't feel my limbs. When I couldn't take it anymore, I got out and took the best hot shower ever. As I was drying off I noticed that the bathroom was clean, really clean. I threw on some clothes and looked around the rest of the house and the whole thing was spotless. UberGeek and I put the kids in their rooms for quiet time and it was time for a nap.
My life is good, really, really good.
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