Celebrating #45 the way I wanted to

In a short while I was going to complete number five if all went well. I needed to set myself another goal; my little college clique will laugh - they know I need to be overbooked to feel useful. So I thought to myself, "Why not aim for completing ten marathons before I turn 50?" So I looked up various races and found one that was on my birthday. That discovery was really exciting - on my birthday, on a school long weekend, not too far from home - wow! I almost never spend a birthday the way I like to anymore. I waited until I caught hubby in a really good mood and checked in, "There is a marathon on my birthday; it is a long weekend for us. Should I book? We can all go; it is Carlsbad so the kids can spend a day in Legoland or go to the beach." Hubby was fine with it other than grumbling about taking off for too long on Friday.He also suggested that we fly back on Monday but I decided against it. I would not have had the kids go through a routine disruption otherwise and was not going to do it for myself, particularly knowing how V suffers from a break in his routine.

The next step was booking the marathon and the hotel. From a past experience around a marathon in San Diego I knew that I needed to book the hotel even before I booked the race. The race organizers had two hotels endorsed and I picked the Sheraton due to its private entrance to Legoland. The flights were booked later as well as the rental car but that didn't matter.

The training for this one was really different from my previous marathons with a great deal of training on the treadmill towards the latter part. I had forgotten how dark and cold it could be early mornings; if I left later for a run I would be gone for most of the morning which I couldn't afford to do given that my now ten year old would be up by 7:00 and he still can get my heart rate beating way too fast even though he is doing really well now. So, I would go to the gym by 4:00 even on a weekend morning to accomplish my long run goals. I did miss training as often as I did on the dish or other hills in the area. At times I really worried about how I would make it.

The other factor that was different this time round was that I went through a period when my left leg really hurt, particularly a month or two before the race. It was really bad for a period of time though I tried not to let it bother me. A known runner but stranger simultaneously came to my rescue on this matter. I was on my way back from a run during the winter break, stopping at Peet's for a glass of water when I ran into this person whom I have met several times either at the dish or the neighborhood and who I knew had been suffering from an injury. He struck up a conversation by mentioning how good it was that I was still running. I thanked him and remarked that I had this pain on my leg. He saw the spots I pointed to and showed me a stretch that would help. That was like a miracle worker. All I had to do was incorporate that particular stretch (in addition to my regular surya namaskars or sun invocations) and it worked wonders.

Three days before the race I got my first cold in more than six months. It was a nasty cold. Fortunately, it was a short school week, but on Thursday, I barely made it to work, warned all the kids and other adults whom I encountered to stay away from me. My aide who is darling was so worried about me wondering how I would manage. I had to insist that I was fine and that she knew me better than that, I had planned this for so long, nothing would stop me. In the meantime, the weather had actually turned for the better with the rain magically vanishing.

On Friday, when the four of us boarded the flight I was still fighting my cold and praying. This couldn't be true. To our luck, there were no flight delays, nor too much traffic to encounter from San Diego to Carlsbad. The weather was as good as it had been where we left off. The hotel was good, we got to relax. V wanted to run the kids' marathon mile the next morning. He was so excited that he was up at 6:00 a.m. Things have been doing so much better with him that this hour or so lack of sleep does not mess him up like it used to for the most part. The mile race was a great deal of fun and very inspiring for these little ones.

Fast forward to Saturday night where I was in bed by 8:30 and so were hubby and kids. I must have awaken a few times so that I could be sure to be awake on time. Woke up a little before 4:00 (those of you who know this about me know that I don't need an alarm, nor is it a problem to wake up at really early hours), showered, went down to grab a coffee and a bagel (I really dislike coffee but dislike even more the way tea is made in the coffee shops, so normally settle for the lesser of the two evils). While waiting in the lounge for the shuttle (to take me to the starting line), I met two women from Phoenix, one of whom was running a marathon for the first time and the other who was running her fourth marathon. It felt to meet regular women like me who weren't skinny and ran at normal pace. They were as upset as I was with the way the hotel had organized race logistics. After boarding the shuttle, met one person who was from Orinda, not far from us, and running I don't know which # marathon. He was much younger for sure. Then there was this woman who runs about 19 marathons a year! She was amazing - she had run a marathon in Charleston in 19 degrees F. the previous weekend, has run the NY marathon 5 times, has run practically every marathon you can think of, was running the Carlsbad marathon that day, taking the red eye to NY that night and flying on a business trip to Lisbon the day after! Wow, wow, wow! It makes me wonder whether I have accomplished anything at all.

At 5:20 a.m. when I got off the bus, it did not seem like there was any race taking place at 6:00 a.m. There was practically nobody around save for the start line banner across the street. Everyone headed out in some direction and I just followed. Using one of the portable toilets is almost a must before a race. Thereafter headed towards the tent where everybody seemed to be. This was my first ever winter marathon and I had no clue how it worked. Upon entering the tent, I saw almost every inch occupied by a runner, stretching or just sitting. I decided to turn in my sweats, having worn arm warmers for the first time (and gloves of course); came back to find a spot in the tent and waited around until one of the organizers hollered, "It is 5:45 folks. You need to go". So everybody trudged to the starting line. Met someone who was running her first marathon and landed up being the first person to wish me in person on my birthday. Another race, another city, another set of runners ....

The sudden silence when "The Star Spangled Banner" was sung beautifully in the dark and cold. Then the cheering and off we all went. I was, as always, in the middle of the pack. I decided to start off close to the 4:45 pacer, thinking that I would aim for less than 5:00 hours. I was feeling really good and really thought I might be able to do well time wise even though my training had not been focussed with a time goal in mind. Seeing the dawn breaking followed by the sunrise was inspiring. Despite the early morning chill and darkness there were several people cheering. I have often wondered if I am foolish to run long distances but then looking around there were so many people who had come by themselves like me, not with friends or family and it really helped. Listening to conversations is always inspiring as is reading people's slogans on their T-shirts. Two that stand out were - "I have donated a kidney and a liver" and this person was running a marathon thereafter(not sure how many after his organ donations); the other one was "Pain is only temporary; finishing is permanent". How true! The thoughts of my family and my sister's wishes as well as a dear cousin's(more like a brother) normally keep me going; thoughts of how various people struggle through life on a daily basis.

Running along the Pacific Ocean before the sun came all out was one of my favorite parts of this race. There was a group of men playing volleyball on the sand, a few early morning walkers and runners other than which the coast was almost empty. It made me wonder, what if one day I decided to start running from home, run south along the coast and keep going along the Pacific, letting myself do as much or as little as possible each day, wouldn't that be bliss? Watching the waves as one runs along each day and seeing the ocean in its myriad of colors and patterns?

By 7:15 the sun was blazing and I wondered why I was so thrilled at seeing the sunrise. It didn't bother me a whole lot though since it was still relatively cool, I felt really good. Between miles 8 and 9, it was a steady uphill - not very steep but surely only an ascent with the sun staring into your face. Someone who had done this race before remarked that this was the toughest mile. It wasn't really that hard, it was just a little harder than the rest. By the time I reached the top of that hill, I knew the 4:45 pacer had gone ahead and I might not be able to catch up. However, that didn't bother me because I would not have enjoyed my run half as much if I had.

The upside to the uphill was that the sun was truly behind me thereafter. The race organizers had done a really good job with each of the mile markers (it is always uplifting to see the next benchmark so to say), the water, the gu, they even had vaseline, which I should have used then instead of suffering later. This running stretch took me past the road that crossed our hotel. So I thought it would be great to call hubby and have them come there so that I could hand them my arm warmers and gloves which were rendered pretty much useless by the time. However, Ram did not pick up and I decided not to retry. I was a tad disappointed at not seeing them during but we should have planned that out better. Plus I know how much my twelve year old likes to sleep in. She had really given up her time this weekend.

Besides the above-mentioned, the race organizers had done a great job with the cheering squads. Also, I was impressed at how many locals wore blankets and came out to cheer random people. By mile 15, I knew something was wacko - when I realized that it was my feet, it was a complete will power exercise thereafter. My feet were hurting which hadn't happened before during a marathon like they were really tired. I think all that walking in Legoland the previous day may have played a role. I completely had to block the pain out thereafter. After having thought about it for a couple of minutes, I was able to successfully block out the pain and continued on my journey. I don't enjoy flat running much so I was kind of disappointed when the downhill was over.

After having lost the 4:45 pacing group, I had managed to keep in sight and stay a little ahead of the 5:00 pacing group. By mile 19, I realized, they were a little ahead and by mile 20 they were even further out. There was one group of men, wheeling one of their friends in his wheelchair the entire way. I crossed them several times and was really inspired by their spirit, their enthusiasm, their drive and just the motivation for them as well as this friend to do this for 26.2 miles. They kept up their humor as well which obviously helped while I had started to feel tired.

For this race, until mile 20 I thought it came fairly easily. Thereafter, I was kind of really out of it until mile 23 after which I had to tell myself that it was only 3.2 miles. Somewhere near mile 19 the half marathoners who had started after us, joined us and that made it almost a party. They not only had a great deal of energy, there were so many of them that it was actually good to have company at the time. Between miles 20 and 21 when I felt like I really needed some pep, I saw one of the most beautiful sights - a lagoon with hundreds of brown pelicans - it was breathtaking. Right at the time, a solitary brown pelican swooped down into the water from the skies that seemed to completely be worthwhile the run.

At about mile 21 or 22, I must have looked a sight. There was this little girl cheering - she was probably no more than 9 or 10 years old and adorable. She made it a point to cheer everybody. When she saw me, she went on - come on, you can do it, etc. and then give me a high five, come on, you really can - it was her tone and spirit that was so very touching. It was straight from her heart and it was another of those - aah, this is so worth it.

By mile 24 I knew that hubby and kids were near the finish line which was great. This part of the race was again along the coast by which time several people were out walking or running, the pubs on the other side of the road were full of people partying and I could see several of the half marathoners having finished. As I saw the 26 mile marker when each time I get renewed energy, I saw my family too. I called out to my ten year old who has joined me on the last stretch more than a couple of times. However, this time, it was my twelve year old who said, "Come on, Mama, lets go". Was I thrilled - she has not only never joined me at the finish stretch but also makes it very clear that this is not her thing. So, with me trudging the last two miles, pretending that I was sprinting and with her telling me that I was way too slow, I crossed the finish line for another 26.2. Time: 5:36 - but that did not matter at all. I was feeling elated at having spent my birthday morning the way I really wanted to.. Here's till the next one!