« no, really, what do you want? | Main | stand by »
holly's story
February 28, 2006
umm... this picture was taken at the rogue post-party. and, see, we had won these socks because, well, we quit our jobs, and someone found these umbrellas, and holly knitted that scarf herself... and, you know... alcohol. anyway, picture by dr. melissa long, who has some letters that are supposed to go after her name.
i'm going to post some of the marathon stories from other runners in the rogue training program over the next week or so. one of the coaches asked people to post them on the group's forum, and it's a great chronicle of many experiences, and one experience. first up are the stories from holly and tom, who i started the race with...
Miles 1-6 Flew by, literally. Tom, Rob and I tried diligently to get into MGP, but it was so easy to go fast. We felt good. We were joking and having a good old time. I think we averaged 10 min/miles. Which was a little too fast.
Miles 6-12 were just flying by. I felt good. It was a little icy in spots, but fun. I was taking in one shot block per mile and stopping at every water stop. We lost Rob around mile 8 so he could potty. I wouldn't see him until I REALLY needed him at mile 24.
Miles 13-16 we hit the halfway point at 2:15. I still felt good. Going down Great Northern was cold but not bad. Then Shoal Creek and I still felt good. Then along North Loop I started to think I might have to struggle for this one. I brushed it off and kept moving. At mile 16 I stopped talking to Tom. I just kept repeating "Get your head in the game". At this point I knew it was gonna be tough, I still thought I could do it. My stomach starting revolting against me around mile 15. I stopped taking the cliff shot blocks at every mile. I continued with the water, though.
Miles 16-21. Around this point Tom figured out that I was struggling and tried to talk me out of it. I was fighting to "Keep my head in the game". I managed to run up the hill on San Jacinto at the top I knew I was in trouble. I managed to tell Tom to go on and not jeopardize his goal because I was having a bad day. I tried to eat another shot block and couldn't, I spit it out.
Miles 21-26.2. I don't remember much about these miles. I started walking on the way around the capitol. As I exited the capitol I saw the photographer and started crying. I knew then the game was over. I started feeling dizzy and my hips were on on fire. I started wishing I had told Chris to meet me on Congress, that way I could just go home. The thought of even attempting to finish seemed impossible. I felt HORRIBLE.
Somewhere along Congress Coach Janie spotted me. She got right next to me and started talking me. I just remember wanting her to go away so I could quit. I couldn't even talk to tell her to go away. Then she told me to start running, I figured that maybe if I ran she'd go away so I could quit. I had no intention of turning onto 2nd St. I was gonna walk across the Congress bridge call Chris and hide until he came to rescue me. Then, while I was running and Janie was talking I started feeling better, then she stuck with me for the turn onto 2nd and my escape route was blocked.
At some point on 2nd I started talking. I turned onto Caesar Chavez and started the turn around that I didn't have any intention of even attempting. One thing Janie said was to use my anger. I used my anger at the spectator who told me I was almost there to get myself to Lamar. Then I used my anger at the civil engineer who designed the overpass to get up it and made the turn. I stopped looking at my watch - I knew if I saw my goal time while I was still on the course I would start crying again.
Around Mile 24 Rob caught up with me. I remember he asked how I was doing and I told him "I was having the worst day of my life." I guess around mile 24 I become a drama queen. He shuffled along with me for awhile. We'd shuffle (I can't call it running) for a while then walk for awhile. We kept each other talking. Next thing I knew we were at the 25 mile marker. We took another walk break and then along came Janie. I turned to Rob and said "There's Janie, she's gonna make us run." I started attempting to run hoping she wouldn't notice (she did).
She rode with us until the 26 mile marker and then told us to sprint to the finish. Everything hurt so much, but for some reason it stopped hurting when I started "sprinting". Rob took off and I couldn't catch him, but I still felt like I was the fastest person in the world. I heard my name and then I crossed the finish. I remember getting my medal, but for some reason the silver space blanket seemed so much cooler. I'm gonna frame that blanket.
So that was Holly Runs A Marathon II aka Holly Knocks 2.5 Hours Off Her Finish Time. Right now considering how funny look when I try to hobble to the freezer to get my thin mints I don't know if this will turn into a trilogy or not.
Posted by Rob at February 28, 2006 02:29 AM