385 Yards. Two-tenths of a mile. The last hurdle between finishing the race and falling short. A mere 385 yards. The most glorious .2 mile there every is, was, and will be...for me at least. I can safely say I have completed the marathon, and I am done with them. One and Done! But, I can confidently join the ranks of the less than 1% of the Population that has completed the full 26.2 miles!
Two weekends ago, Feb 13th, I and a friend ran the Rock N Roll, Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans, LA. We had been training since October for this one day, this one race. Elizabeth and another friend were running the half-marathon too. The day had arrived, and we woke up early, ate our meager race breakfast and walked the mile and a half to the race start. I was nervous, I had been nervous all weekend, all week actually. I was afraid of how my body would hold up to running for that distance, that amount of time. However, I didn't have time to worry, because, before I knew it, the race had begun and we were on our way!
The first five miles were a breeze, the Core four, all of us that trained hard together, got to run together. The four of us were Haley Young, Emily Bankston, Elizabeth, and Me. We chatted we looked around at the houses and the people, and we generally had a great time. Just another run like we had done at home, but flat and people cheering us on. So, easier, more energy, lots of fun. At mile 5 the half marathons split off and the marathons were on our own. Haley and I and a much, much thinner crowd, turned off for 21.2 more miles. I was doing great, still excited, still in good shape, just peachy. At mile 8 we saw Sarah, Mom, and an Anna Lynn. There were in Audubon Park. A lovely place to run and even better with family cheering us on. That was one of the highlights of the race for me. By mile 14 we were heading into the French Quarter. I was trucking along just fine, good pace, good attitude, good run. We take a turn, North, to run up Esplanade St. This street marks the Eastern border of the Quarter. This long, bumpy, potholey, street, takes us up to the park where the end is located. I'm running fine, Haley has pushed through her wall and is running fine. We pass mile 18 and we see him.
Well, we see his feet and his legs, and the 7 people around him administering CPR and call for the police. A runner had collapse, obviously a man, in the middle of this road and was fighting for his life. This took the wind out of me. This got in my head and made the next 8 miles crazy hard. Thankfully Haley was there to push me through my wall and help me finish. At mile 22 we ran up on the Lake Ponchatoula. This was beautiful and for about two miles we ran beside this gorgeous lake.
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| Core 4 Before the Race |
At this point I hurt, a dull pain in my body, if I stop my knee hurts too bad to start again, so I know I must finish and finish strong. I struggle through till mile 24 where my buddy Josh and my beautiful bride are there to meet us and run with us the last few miles to keep our spirits high. Josh had been on the course in different spots to give support and cheer us on. Eliz had finished her race and then come back to run more miles with us to help us out. Gosh I love her! They were able to carry us to the last bit, the last 385 yards, .2 miles where they funneled all the runners to the finish line. This last little bit was both a huge relief and the hardest part of the race. My mind had adapted the mantra of Dora from "Finding Nemo." Where she would sing "Just keep swimming..." mine was "Just keep running, Just keep running..." This little bit plus the opportunity to not run, pulled me through the end to the finish line.
After I crossed the finish line, the next few minutes were a blur, water was thrust into my hand, a medal was thrown on my neck, a piece of foil/space blanket was wrapped around me. Fruit and snacks were stuffed in my hands and pocket. I went to a lady at a table of orange fruit cups. She handed me one. I looked at it, looked at her and asked if she could open it. When she did I took the whole cup down like a shot of liquor, fruit and juice all. Tunnel vision had set in and I was just walking it off. Fortunately my buddy Josh was there to guide me to my friends and family. I was able to hug Eliz and finally settle in to the realization of my accomplishment.
I was very proud of all of us. We spent the afternoon and evening "enjoying" ourselves in New Orleans. There is so much more that could be said, so much more that can be told, but some things are best told in person. I will say, my legs hurt for four days afterward, and the day after it took me more than one try to get up from a seated position. Would I do it again? I don't know, probably not. Was it Worth it? Absolutely!
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| The Core Four, "David and The Divas" |
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| Precious Eliz after she Finished |
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| All of us who ran the race that day. |
Two weekends ago, Feb 13th, I and a friend ran the Rock N Roll, Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans, LA. We had been training since October for this one day, this one race. Elizabeth and another friend were running the half-marathon too. The day had arrived, and we woke up early, ate our meager race breakfast and walked the mile and a half to the race start. I was nervous, I had been nervous all weekend, all week actually. I was afraid of how my body would hold up to running for that distance, that amount of time. However, I didn't have time to worry, because, before I knew it, the race had begun and we were on our way!
The first five miles were a breeze, the Core four, all of us that trained hard together, got to run together. The four of us were Haley Young, Emily Bankston, Elizabeth, and Me. We chatted we looked around at the houses and the people, and we generally had a great time. Just another run like we had done at home, but flat and people cheering us on. So, easier, more energy, lots of fun. At mile 5 the half marathons split off and the marathons were on our own. Haley and I and a much, much thinner crowd, turned off for 21.2 more miles. I was doing great, still excited, still in good shape, just peachy. At mile 8 we saw Sarah, Mom, and an Anna Lynn. There were in Audubon Park. A lovely place to run and even better with family cheering us on. That was one of the highlights of the race for me. By mile 14 we were heading into the French Quarter. I was trucking along just fine, good pace, good attitude, good run. We take a turn, North, to run up Esplanade St. This street marks the Eastern border of the Quarter. This long, bumpy, potholey, street, takes us up to the park where the end is located. I'm running fine, Haley has pushed through her wall and is running fine. We pass mile 18 and we see him.
After I crossed the finish line, the next few minutes were a blur, water was thrust into my hand, a medal was thrown on my neck, a piece of foil/space blanket was wrapped around me. Fruit and snacks were stuffed in my hands and pocket. I went to a lady at a table of orange fruit cups. She handed me one. I looked at it, looked at her and asked if she could open it. When she did I took the whole cup down like a shot of liquor, fruit and juice all. Tunnel vision had set in and I was just walking it off. Fortunately my buddy Josh was there to guide me to my friends and family. I was able to hug Eliz and finally settle in to the realization of my accomplishment. 
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