The List and a Story

I've started to get organized for my trip Friday. I've made a list of things I'll need for the race, it's very long! I've started putting everything on the bed in the spare room so that I don't forget anything. I think I might need more than one suitcase. I'm going shopping today at lunch for a raincoat, Honey Stinger bars and some more Perpetuem.

The schedule for travel goes something like this: I'll be taking my bike to the shop so that it can be dismantled and packed. I'll pick it up Thursday night, fly to Toronto Friday morning. I arrive in Toronto at 2pm. I'll take my bike to my old bike shop and they'll put it together and keep the bike box (whew). Then I'll get my rental car and drive up to Huntsville. Saturday will be check in, etc. And then Sunday is the race! I think from Thursday on I will not be bored. :) After the race, we'll be staying on Toronto for a few days, relaxing and visiting family.

Six days to go! Now I am excited. :) I want that medal.

I needed some inspiration in the past few days, so I re-read a speech that I wrote for Toastmasters a few years ago. I've included it below.

Leaha

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Much like Forrest Gump, I love to run. In my quest to become a “real runner”, I have run to forget, run to remember. I have run to de-stress. I have run to feel free without a care in the world for a small but precious piece of time. Running for me has been the most precious of educations.

My running experience as an adult began several years ago when my daughter was three months old. I needed an activity that could be done quickly after she was asleep. At first I could not run to the end of the street, but I ran every day. Each outing, I would run one more lamppost. This continued until I could run 8KM non-stop. Those early runs made me feel as though I could go on forever, but I still did not consider myself a runner.

In order to feed my growing running addiction, I decided to try a challenging 10.8 KM hilly race. I showed up alone, intimidated and terrified on race morning. I saw one familiar face that gave me the strength to go ahead with my plans. It was a woman I knew, it was her first race as well. So I signed up and ran. It took me a long time but I finished. During the race I had decided to never run again! Somehow that changed when I crossed the finish line. On the way home, I was so elated at my accomplishment that I decided to try a half marathon, 21KM. I trained for a few months with my sister and we had a great time. Thank god she agreed to run the race with me, I was not prepared. I was so nervous that I had forgotten to eat! As a result, I ran out of fuel at 17KM. It was terrible; I wanted to curl up in a ball by the side of the road. I held onto my sister’s shirt for the last 4KM to the finish. Again, I promised myself during the race that I would never do this again! Then I got my finisher’s medal and I forgot about the pain. However I still was not a runner, as I had needed help to finish.

I then decided to join a running group so that I could prepare myself for another Half Marathon. I also learned about the Marathon, 42KM. I was intimidated by my fellow runners’ stories and ran 4 more Half Marathons instead over the next year. After each race my coach would ask, “ So Leaha, when are you planning to run a full?” I kept telling him that I was not ready yet. Then in the fall of 2002, I committed myself. Three of my running friends were training for a full so I joined them. That winter we ran in snow, freezing rain, bitter cold. I ran tired and sore, hungry and sick. Sometimes I almost cried as I was so tired, but in too much pain to sleep. But we always showed up and we somehow got through the long runs. Maybe it was due to the difficult conditions or the fact that you will talk about anything during a 3 ½ hour run, but I formed a friendship that winter that I hope to have the rest of my life.

Slowly the winter changed to spring and race day arrived. I recall standing at the start line wondering what the hell I was doing there. The longest distance I had ever run was 32KM, I could not handle 10 KM more! Then the starting gun went off and I started to run. The marathon was long and very tough, at 38KM I was in a daze and not certain where I was, maybe it was the Advil? However, I did finish strong with help. At 40KM, five running friends, all marathoners, were with me. One placed himself ahead of me. He matched my pace and yelled at me like a drill sergeant! He told me to reach down deep and speed up! I found something left and I was able to match his speed. I raced across the finish line finally feeling like a “real runner”. My final time was 4 hours and 46 minutes. I had done it! I had completed a Marathon. I hobbled home with my finishers medal, sat down and thought, “When do I get to do this again?!”

Over the past 7 years I have completed more than 20 races, only five of them Marathons. Some were faster, some slower. I have loved every one of them and I relive them often. I am not a fast runner. I may never run Boston. But running has taught me more about life than anything else I have ever done.

I know now that “can’t” is just a word that does not control me. I have learned humility and great patience. I better understand the power of the mind, endurance, the importance of preparation and the value of hard won friendships. I have experienced moments of pure joy that I have not felt since I was a child. Most importantly, like Forrest Gump, running has taught me that with enough effort, I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
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