Sunday, April 20, 2014

On Top of the World

After 4 months of training I am 1 week away from the NJ Marathon and my first attempt to achieve a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. I still pinch myself at the thought. I can't believe that my running journey, which started as a way to cope after the loss of my husband, has brought me to this place of incredible personal fulfillment and challenge.

Since I started training for my first half marathon in December 2012 I've run more than 1,360 miles and I've completed six half marathons, one full marathon and many other shorter races. I've raised more than $6,000 for the American Cancer Society and the Colon Cancer Alliance in  memory of Joe. I've met amazing people who share in my life beyond the roads and trails and watched as friends and acquaintances have taken up running and told me that I was part of the inspiration.

I've had some big ups and some frustrating downs over the last 4 months, but I'm ready to make a go at it and see where my training has gotten me. I have been following a more aggressive training plan this time than when I trained for the NYC Marathon last year - incorporating more speedwork, regular core exercises, as well as higher mileage runs and more of them. I've been working on my mental game too, training my brain to push on when I think I can't and to keep moving no matter what. I've trudged through the snow, the freezing cold, plodded out long runs on the treadmill, and most recently eaten bugs for 12 miles (ah, spring!)

I also decided not to race at all in the month leading up to the marathon because one thing that I have learned about myself as a runner is that it is not in me to treat a race as just a "training run". If I'm in a race, I run hard no matter what and I've learned that is a bad formula for the weeks leading up to a big race. For me, the not racing has been the hardest part of this training cycle. I have grown used to starting my race year sometime in February and not letting up. This year, my calendar has looked quite different - just two races in March and then nothing until the marathon on April 27 - so right about now I am more than a little antsy to toe a starting line. Hopefully, that's a good thing.

During my two races in March a song floated to the surface that has come to take on so much meaning for me during this training cycle and I have a feeling it will be central to carrying me through the race next week. I'll put it in my shuffle more than once for sure. On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons always seems to keep popping up at big moments. It played just as I was entering the Battery Park underpass during the NYC Half Marathon on March 16 - the last mile of the course. It came on during training just as I was running up the big hill in Thompson Park. It was the song playing as I ran along Lake Michigan two weeks ago with the sun shining and my heart positively overflowing as the bridge came through my earbuds. More times than I can count I've had it on repeat after a particularly rough day or to get me going in the morning.

I really do feel like this song is the story of me right now.

On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

If you love somebody
Better tell them while they're here 'cause
They just may run away from you

You'll never know quite when, well
Then again it just depends on
How long of time is left for you

I've had the highest mountains
I've had the deepest rivers
You can have it all but life keeps moving

I take it in but don't look down

'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for awhile now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for awhile, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world.

I've tried to cut these corners
Tried to take the easy way out
I kept on falling short of something

I coulda gave up then but
Then again I couldn't have 'cause
I've traveled all this way for something

I take it in but don't look down

'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for awhile now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for awhile, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world.

And I know it's hard when you're falling down
And it's a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

And I know it's hard when you're falling down
And it's a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

'Cause I'm on top of the world, 'ay
I'm on top of the world, 'ay
Waiting on this for awhile now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, 'ay
Been holding it in for awhile, 'ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child

I'm on top of the world.


 My March Races

My first half marathon was in Miami on March 9, 2013 and I ran it in 2:11:39. I loved the race so much that when the time came to sign up for the same one this year I did it right away. It's turning into quite the birthday weekend for me - I bring my little guy, we catch a Mets Spring Training game, and I get to run a race.

This year's race fell on March 2, 2014 - smack in the middle of my training for the NJ Marathon - and it became the race that made me feel like I really can qualify for Boston. After the harshest winter I can remember my body and soul both desperately needed a break so this long planned escape to Miami could not have come at a more perfect time.

My friend Juanita, my son and I boarded a plane early that Friday morning bound for sunny Fort Lauderdale. We took off from 10 degree overcast skies and landed in 77 degree sunny perfection. It didn't matter that my checked baggage was misplaced for an hour in the airport or that the line at the car rental counter took almost 45 minutes. We had a weekend of sun and warmth to help us forget about the more than 50" of snow and record cold temperatures that had plagued us all winter in NJ.

The weekend in Miami was just what I needed and by the time I toed the start line Sunday morning I had a feeling that I was ready for something big. My goal was to beat my previous best half marathon time - the 1:51:30 that I ran in the Rock n Roll Half on September 15, 2013. I was hoping to run a sub-1:50 half marathon.

When I got my results I almost couldn't believe what I had accomplished...not just sub 1:50, but WAY sub 1:50.


Running past the cruise ships along MacArthur Causeway
It felt amazing to start the year off with such a great race and although I knew conditions in NYC would not be quite as friendly (many more hills and a whole lot colder!) I also knew from that race that my fitness had improved greatly even since the fall.

Two weeks after I ran the half in Miami I was running 13.1 through the streets of Manhattan. I didn't originally make it in to the lottery for the NYC Half Marathon, but I'm so glad I made it in when they did the second draw. There really was nothing like running through Times Square even if I had to wait around in the 20 degree cold at the start line and run all the hills of Central Park to get there. This was an incredible race for me.

Towards the beginning of the race I had "I Run for Life" playing on my shuffle and kept seeing Team Determination runners and Fred's Team runners one after another. I freely admit getting choked up by that. As we ran through Times Square and then out 42nd street towards the West Side Highway I was overcome by the combination of the latest Afghan Whigs song playing in my ears and the memory of driving Joe along that route to his chemo treatments.

The crowd support was a blast. It was fun to end the race around the block from CWA's NYC office and to once again be part of a large race in the greatest city in the world. It was cold. It was windy. There were hills. But it was fun and I managed to finish in 1:48:10 - not too shabby considering the cold, windy and hilly parts.

At the finish line!

 Ready to Run

Running NYC & Miami built my confidence and taking this past month off have rested my body and cleared my mind. I'm hoping the combination has put me in the best place possible for Sunday. No matter what happens, I'm sure my first marathon in New Jersey will be unforgettable. I've been thinking a lot about this quote that my friend Malinda posted during her training and just being thankful that I haven't been afraid to name my goal and go for it, even though it is awfully big.

Here's to ATTEMPT #1!


Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

1 comment:

  1. UnknownMay 10, 2014 at 12:54 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)