‘The Wall’ Love Tap

 

Day two post marathon and I can almost walk like a normal person once more. Based on the effort required to get out of bed yesterday, this is a massive achievement. Speaking of massive achievements…. I FINISHED A FRICKEN MARATHON!!!

Let me set the scene – I have never considered myself a runner. In 2010 3km was a massive effort and 5km seemed like an unrealistic distance. Enter Terri and her idea to run the Las Vegas half. Shit. Now I have to train. 21.1km is far. Done! Enter Meredith in 2012 and the Edmonton half – done.  Head back to Oz and Carrie and I rock out the Gold Coast half in 2014. Turns out I’m a bit of a runner!

Somewhere around 9am on May 3rd 2014 I saw the Vancouver marathon had been held on the same weekend and a plan started to formulate. It would be my 32nd birthday the weekend of the 2015 marathon; I have lots of running friends in Canada who might want to come and do it with me; I have a year to make this happen…. Hmmmmm. Fast forward to 29 December 2014 and the training schedule commences. M-J, Meredith and I have a chat group where we hold ourselves and each other accountable for the training we are doing and discuss the struggles we are facing. Deb signs up too and now there is a two person Australian contingent! Woot! Things are happening and this is becoming a reality.

The lead up to a marathon is not one that is paved with easy runs, clear skies and a happy body. My left ankle was something that haunted me physically both at work and during my training sessions. I had to take responsibility for the lack of healing, change my diet, seek out a good podiatrist and actively do my exercises and rehab.  Rehab for an Ex Phys…. Who’d a thunk it!?! The most amazing change was the diet.  Through working with Ben, I noticed when my body would react to different types of food. One glass of wine and my ankle would inflate to twice its size – I was really fun to go to the bar with, “one soda water and lime please”.  Everything started to feel like it was working more effectively though. Plus my skin looked way better! Yay for being a responsible adult and looking after myself (most of the time – I had a goal, the line got a bit blurry depending on if it was Easter or not!).

Next thing I know, there are some of my favourite people all in my hotel room. Deb was an instant hit with the Canadian peeps and I think everyone had sore abs from laughing at the first lunch. Nothing too strenuous occurred Friday and Saturday, with nerves starting to show up Saturday evening. We were all early to bed, race kits out for the next morning and breakfast options ready for consuming. I need to mention Terri here, years ago she had let slip she was going to fly to Australia to watch my first marathon. This turned into a happy 10k with Beth (her first) and Terri’s trip was delayed.  True to her word, Terri came out to Vancouver from Calgary to support me and our little crew. Despite staying at the airport, away from everyone else (due to Neil Diamond playing in town and the hotels all being booked out – the man can pull a crowd!) Terri was at the start line with us, caught buses to the 25k, 32k and finish line.  M-J and I both commented that knowing Terri was around the next corner was a motivator to continue through each km.

Deb, M-J and I all started in the same corral and then spread out across the pack.  I had made it through the first 21.1km feeling strong physically and mentally; my shuffle kept picking the most appropriate tunes for each section and I was taking on the world! M-J and I were leap frogging each other through bathroom stops and caught up at the 32k where Terri was handing out orange slices, Advil, and hugs. By the time I reached that last 10k, each 1 min walk was used to coax my hip-flexors back into cooperation and get some blood moving through my quads.  All I wanted to do was squat into the foetal position and wrap myself into a ball. My goal at this point had been to make it to 30k and cross the bridge before the 4 hour mark.  Mentally, once that was done, my determination started to ebb.

Thank goodness for the one and only Ginga Ninja. When we caught up at the 32, I was lacking motivation to continue to run when walking would still get me there and M-J was keen to have a watch that told her what the timings were for 10:1 without having to think about it. Off we took, breaking at each water station, and counting down the seconds until we could walk again. We were looking around at the scenery and marvelling at how beautiful Vancouver was.  We spoke about GT and how much she had loved this course, how this was mostly her fault and why had we thought this was a good idea? We got to 37k, 38k, 39k, the finishers started lining the course, 40k, 41k and we rounded the corner and saw the finish line.  500m with a slight incline. Facing that distance and ‘hill’ seemed like running the whole thing over once more. Time moved in slow motion. I saw the my Calgary running crew who had already completed on the left, Terri and J (a surprise supporter) sitting to the right. I shuffled over the finish line with a massive smile on my face. M-J crossed 30 seconds later and the whole scene became a bit of a dream.

5 hours, 39 minutes. 5 months of training. 1 year of planning. 5 years of collecting inspiration from  those around me who approach life with a ‘large and in charge’ attitude. Completed. Done. Over.    I am now a marathon runner.

There are many thanks that need to be said and many hugs that need to occur. Thanks to all who ran, walked, and talked all things running with me. Thanks to those who commented and liked my running pics on FB.  Being able to share goals, processes, and achievements with the near and far kept me going.  The thoughts of an awesome sunrise or a great sunset over the city made putting the shoes on a little more exciting. Plus I had Calgary counterparts running in negative temps.  Training in Brisbane was pretty good!

That’s it for my 32nd birthday achievement.  Deb has suggested Beth and I get a crew together for Kokoda in 8 years.  Who’s in?

Happy Wandering

Hx