Baie Dankie! Ke a lebohoa! Saha! Hartelijk dank! Toda raba! Shukriyaa! Muchas Grasias! Ngiyabonga kakhul! So many, yet not enough ways to say "Thank you" to you and every single person who helped me...supported me...encouraged me...pushed me...vented with me...cried with me...cheered me on every single day since August 19th...the day that I set my sights on pushing the limits of what I thought I was capable of...the day that I, unbeknownst to me, changed my life for the better...the day that I decided to stop talking about it...the day that I started to be about it. Thank you. Thank you to Brieon, Kristin Margaret, Mom, Dad, Karl, Christina, Chris, Jestein, Gerald, Jami, Adrienne, Linesiya, Yonathan, Sipho, Max, Meena, BigPhil, Kyla, Uncle Warren, Carmen, Theo, Jennifer, Robin, Day Family, Michelle, Danielle & Family, Leslie & Family, Ken, Chris, Kevin, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Angelique, Franca & Ron, Gina, Maurice, Ginger, Christina & Marcella, Dave, Marti, Cari, Carey, Simran, Seeng, Nao, Mrs. Kennedy, Jeremy, Jeff, Grandma, Grandaddy, Kristen, Bakaffa, Keon & family, Blanche, ICAP-Lesotho team, and sooooo many more for all that you have done to get me to Sunday, March 20th, 2011 when I completed the Publix Georgia Marathon!!! Not that this simple 'thank you' will ever fully capture my sincere gratitude....
So...now to the juicey details!
I didn't end up going to bed on the 19th until after 1:30 am. Having two of my best friends fly in the day before the race, after not having seen them in a year, certainly made going to bed early both difficult and the last thing on my mind! We laughed and laughed and laughed...until I simply passed out! Luckily my borrowed alarm clock was set for 4:00 am, otherwise I'm not confident I would have made the race!
Up by 4:00 am as scheduled and out the door by 5 something. By the time we reached Peachtree Street, we met up with my father who landed in Atlanta from China at 12:00 am on the 19th just to support me during the race! Together, my two best friends and dad walked to the park and met up with my brother, sister-in-law, mom, and friend Kristin.
Wow...there were so many people at this race...over 16,000 participants! Much different than any of the races I've ever attended before! There were all kinds of booths to visit, music stands, group warm-ups, and much more. Usually, I'd take the opportunity to walk around and take it all in, but my amazing cheer team kept me fully engaged by all of the picture taking, motivation talks, dancing and generally acting a fool (Gerald and Chris specifically)!
Around 6:30 am, my crew ushered me over to my corral (L) on Marrieta Street. On the way, we ran into Kristin's friend Bakaffa who was also running the full. Luckily, he was in the corral head of me, so the party got that much bigger! We laughed, talked and laughed a whole lot more until the race whip cracked and we were off!
As I crossed over the starting line, all I could say to myself was "Ohhhhhhhh Mah Gawd...I'm really doing this! I'm really here! Seven months of training...I have no choice but to finish!"
Here's the mile breakdown:
Mile 1: My left Achilles tendon started to ache...but I pushed through!
Miles 2-3: I started experiencing very sharp pain in my left tendon, but figured that if I kept running, everything would be ok. I expected that adrenaline and endorphins would kick in at some point and I wouldn't feel it anyway!
Miles 3-20: From the time I started to run to this point, I ran the entire 20 miles...hills and all! Speaking of hills, yes, this race is as hilly as others have said but it felt like a complete breeze...at least for the first 20 miles! I didn't stop or slow down on any of them. I wasn't tired, I wasn't sore...I just kept on going!
At mile 3, I saw a sign that said, "If this was easy, we'd be doing it too!"
At mile 5, I ran into Little 5 Points and saw the funniest sign: "Once your time is on the internet, it will be there forever! Keep running!"
At mile 6, I saw my friend Brieon and her husband and got the best hug!
At mile 8, I saw my parents as I ran past Candler Park.
At the halfway point (mile 13), I entered Decatur and saw my parents again. I need to really give a big shout out to Decatur for having the best cheering section ever! The water stations were awesome, there were bands, they were blasting Stevie Wonder's "Isn't she lovely", and super funny signs for runners to follow along for the entire route through the city!
Somewhere between mile 14 and 15, I saw my friend Kristin Margaret and got a huge hug!!!
At mile 16, I passed my friend Phillip!!!
At mile 17, I met up with Gerald and Chris. These two guys were so freaking crazy! They ran next to me shout "Dani, Bomaye!" like I was Mohammed Ali in "The Rumble in the Jungle". Haha...a police car drove past and the officer got on the loud speaker and said, "Hey you guys, leave that girl alone! She's trying to win this race!" We all laughed at that! Once we reached Ponce de Leon, we parted ways and I kept on going!
Between mile 20 and 21, I was running ahead of the 4hr 15 minute pace setting runner. That was perhaps part of my slack off, because I began to slow down thinking that I had a bit more time to spare. Oops! I lost a bit of focus and slipped behind. Loss of focus and slowing down from my pace allowed the pain to creep in and I began to feel my aching left tendon. I started to walk. Dang! That was not cool, but the cheers from bystanders calling out my name (which was so conveniently plastered on the back of my shirt) and other runners who saw Chris and Gerald's tom foolery kept me going! I started to run again.
At mile 22, I entered Piedmont Park and saw Gerald and Chris again! They were the peanut gallery that I needed to keep going. Because I walked earlier, I began to see people I was initially ahead of. What's worse, I saw the pace setter for 5 hours just ahead of me. Not cool! When I saw that, it was as though a jolt of lightening hit me and I remembered why I was there in the first place...to finish...and finish before 5 hours! Adrenaline being my best friend creeped up from out of nowhere and I shot past the pace setter and ran the entire rest of the race!
At mile 23, just after exiting Piedmont Park, I ran up a huge freaking hill and was met by my beaming father! Later on he told me that I was one of the only people I saw actually running up the hill. He estimated that about 95% of the runners were actually walking!
Honestly, after mile 23 and until I crossed the finish line at mile 26.2, everything else was a blur! All I know is that I made it across with pure inertia...I just kept on going because I was already in motion!
At the finish line, I was met by my entire cheer section! Everyone, with camera in hand, gave my hugs, kisses and a big bouquette of flowers! I did it! I set out to run the Publix Georgia Marathon and I did it!
Once crossing the finish line, I passed by tables full of snacks (took everything) and took a photo in front of the GA marathon sign! Again, I was met at the end by my family and friends...and proceeded to stretch...slowly...painfully...OMG!!!
....And just like I said I would, over the course of the rest of the day, I walked 4 miles equaling out my 30 miles for 30 years!
After the race, I headed over to my brother's house for a party with friends and family, followed by another party with, followed by another party, followed by a huge basket of Taco Mac's hot wings, followed by talking and laughing until 3am, followed by passing out!
March 20th, 2011 will be a day I will never forget! It is a day that another one of my dreams was realized. It is not the end of my journey...but rather just the beginning!
Well, I've written a lot because there was a lot to tell! But don't stop visiting me, because I all ready have plans to run another one, and another one, and another one, and then the Soweto Marathon in Johannesburg, South Africa!
So until next time...one foot in front of the other...keep it movin'!!!!!!!!!!
Yours in (on to the next one) training,
Dani
1 comments:
So proud of you!! Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in the States.
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