Detroit

Many of my close friends may know already about my Detroit race or are still wondering.

First I will start out with the good because the good is so great. We had a beyond amazing trip home to the Motor City. Both my husband and I were raised in the Detroit area and spent lots of time in the city so we havee deep roots here as well as all of family living in the Detroit area. We got to visit and see lots of family which made the trip home richer. I spent the day before the race in the city at the expo with my husband, sister and Dad all of whom were running in the half as well. We shared in that excitement of the city being all a buzz about the marathon as well as the Detroit Tigers going to the World Series. We visited the finish line area, happened upon my best friend from high school, and participated in some general silly antics.

The morning of the race we all made our way to the race start to join over 14,000 other Half marathoners and 5,000 full marathoners. The atmosphere was amazing.

Even though my own race did not meet with exceptions, my family all achieved their goals and more. My husband ran his first half and did 10 minutes better than expected with a 2:19 finishing time and powered through what he said was the hardest thing he had ever done. HA! Just wait till I have him marathoning :-) My sister ran 3:20 with which was 40 minute PR of her previous half and my Dad, where do I start, he ran/walked at 63 yrs old and knees that have been ailing him, 3:47. What a wonderful day full of love and realizing more is possible in life always!! My husband and father both admitted to feeling emotional and teary-eyed when they crossed the finishline. LOVE!!

After a week of on & off rest trying to get my legs back after a difficult training week. I never felt 100% rested but was optimistic nonetheless. I wanted to leave hope for the chance of race day magic which is always a possibility. Plus we revised my time goal so that it wasn't overly ambitious and felt much more doable than my original goal. I didn't get to really warm-up before the race but got in a short 5 minute jog to get blood moving before I had to jump into the corral with minutes to spare. I started out at 7:30 pace which was the goal for the first 3 miles, didn't feel great and legs had the dreaded heavy feeling but I keep thinking once I warm-up I will get in a groove and I push the legs out the funk. Mile 3 hit and we were coming up a half mile uphill over the Ambassdor Bridge - beautiful sight but much harder than I had anticipated but I tried not to get discouraged as I could make up the seconds on the downhill and use the downhill to build momentum to picking up the pace after the downhill portion of the bridge. The downhill felt good and I started feeling confident all would be well and I eased into a harder pace around mile 4. I felt like I was really working and legs still felt very heavy. I thought maybe if I could get them turning over I might be okay. I looked down at my garmin and saw that my pace was fricking slow as heck but I felt like I was pushing. This is when I really struggled mentally and phyiscally the rest of the way in. I basically started bargaining with myself mile by mile to stay in it with heavy legs and heavy heart I came in the best I could on that day. I really struggled to with the mile climb up and out the tunnel which my pace dropped to 9 minute. I finished at 1:43:01 - later - my husband and I were talking with another runner who was talking about her disappointment and I told her I understood cause I was disappointed with how I felt during the race and my time. She asked me my time and I told her and she responded with "can I trip you now?" :-) Totally in fun but I realized how silly my disappointment was and made a decision at that point not to be disappointed and move on.

This was not a bad experience, it was an experience that can only expand me and make be better. Yeah my fitness is not shining though like we had hoped but that doesn't mean it won't someday soon. You can not work for as long as I have and not have built some great fitness. Not all things happen in the timetables that we hoped but I still believe it is there. Somewhere, somehow I will breakthrough!! I just believe it.

The thing is I keep trying! I am in the game and the law of averages is on my side.

Here is something that makes realize me reaching your potential does not come easy but through lots of experiences Good and Bad. You learn something from each experience that makes you better and wiser.

Thomas Edison set out to make the light bulb was seen as crazy and disilluioned but he believed. Best said is his own quote -

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison

I will keep working, keep having experiences, and keep believing.

Although most importantly this week, I will work on resting and getting 100% back to feeling heathly mind, body and spirit.