Sunday, April 24, 2022

Challenges Make Life Interesting


It’s been 16 years since I started down this marathon road to raise funds for charities in Nick’s memory and I can say without hesitation, the runs are not getting easier.  Likely at this point you are saying “Duh!!  Your 16 years older, battled through 2 years of chemo, and are now dealing with Parkinson’s.  What do you expect?”   OK, point taken.

So on to this year’s Marathon Challenge.   The goal was to run/jog 26.2 miles over 4 days in under 4 1/2 hours total time.   My strategy was to run a longer run on the first day, give the old bones a rest on day 2 and then 2 shorter runs on day three and four.   While this is not a big improvement over last year’s challenge, the hills around our home in Charlottesville will more than double the vertical climb this year. 

Day one was pretty much on plan.  I was slightly slower than last year but I attribute that to the hills and the Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s makes my left leg stiff starting out and because the brain to muscle connection is slower it also causes the left foot to drag a bit.   The first 2-3 miles are really slooooow and awkward as I work to get the stiffness out.  So slow that the deer I pass on the road don’t even bother to run off.   On a typical day the first miles will be around 2 minutes slower than my last.   

I started day three stiff and sore but loosened up a bit as I got into the later miles.  Did I mention there are a lot of hills where I run?    Turns out over the first two days of running I’ll climb more vertical feet than the whole Boston Marathon.   On this day alone I’ll cover the equivalent of running the infamous Boston Marathon Heartbreak Hill 3 times.    It turns out, as tough as the uphills are, it’s the downhills that actually beat up your legs.   By the end of the second day of running my left quad (thigh) had more knots in it than a 5-year old’s shoes.    At this point I’m just a hair below the pace I need in order to bet the 4 ½ hour mark.

 

Day four dawned rainy and cold (35 degrees).  I normally don’t mind either rain or cold, but rain just above freezing is the worst.   There is just no way to dress that will either keep you warm or dry and the more clothes you wear the heavier they get as they saturate.  Kind of like running with a 5 lb. bag of sugar on your back.   The good news, this will to be the shortest of the three runs.   After struggling through the first few miles the quad loosened up enough to get a reasonable stride out of it.   The pace was slower than the previous two days but I was able to complete the run.

And yes…we made it…26.2 miles in just under 4 hours 30 minutes.   Definitely tougher than I expected but a win just the same.

To put this in historical perspective, my last Boston Marathon was in 2018, in between chemo treatments, and I completed that in 4 hours 5 minutes.    I know it is stupid to look back and compare the two but I had hopes that one day I would be able to run a marathon again.   I’ve come to the realization this may be the best I can do.

Truth is, it’s not about me, or the marathon challenge.  It’s about raising funds to help people who are struggling in some of their toughest moments.  We’ve all been there and we remember the relief when someone reached out and said” let me help”.   Your support for me and Help in the Nick of Time has allowed us to do that for hundreds of children and families.

 

So that’s it for this year.  I’ll be back next year to do it all again…God willing and the creek don’t rise.

No comments: