RALPH: Now that Sixto has relieved me, I can take a break, smoke a cigarette, and read some of this book that Mom’s friend, d.c. scot wrote. Let’s see, I was on chapter five (cough)
CHAPTER FIVE: THE MARATHON
1100 hours: Bike leg; the bottom of Sugar Mountain loop one: What did my computer
register? I tried to slow down when it hit 38 because that is as fast as I have ever
gone on a bicycle, even in Lubbock at the Buffalo Springs One-half Ironman
distance triathlon when I was coming down THAT 15% grade hill. I know I saw
two fours before I stopped looking. Oh, well, I survived. Only five more times to
go. I am glad that this is not the RUN course for this race. It is a full marathon.
I was not sure that I could even finish my first marathon, much less this race four
years ago. I guess that doing something difficult, like running a marathon, gives
one self-confidence...”
There is a charm to doing something that is extremely physically difficult that changes their mind about their limitations - both the mental and the physical ones. Cycling 102 miles in one day was this event for me.
Riding a bicycle up hills with as much as 13% grades can be extremely draining on
one's physical as well as mental capabilities, but it can be just as satisfying and exhilarating as it can be draining. How someone can ride a bicycle, (even a top-of-the-line one) for 2300 miles over three weeks, as the elite riders in the Tour De France do every year, is beyond me still. Running a marathon is beyond most people's comprehension of their physical abilities as well, but I decided to give it a shot.
(I heard the following conversation between an experienced runner and a
novice at a 5-k {three and one-tenth mile} fun run.) Novice to experienced runner, "I've never run this far before, but I kind of like it. What other distances are feasible for a novice runner like me?"
"Well, after this, there are five-mile runs, they are okay. If you enjoy running that
distance, you might try a 10-K (six-point two-mile) run. If you enjoy that, you might try a 10-mile run. Anything over that," said the more experienced runner, "separates the REAL
crazies from the sane people. "
Much of running, cycling, and even swimming is as mental as it is physical. That is
to say, one's body cannot do what one's mind tells it what one’s body cannot do.
There are many exceptions, though, as my mother told me as a teenager when I first
started having knee problems. She told me the story of Glen Cunningham, the first
American to run a mile approaching the four-minute barrier. He ran a 4:04.6 minute mile before anyone thought that running a sub-four-minute mile was achievable. His accomplishment changed many people’s minds about this.
Cunningham was told that he would never walk again (much less run) after severely burning his legs as a seven-year-old. He was caught in a church fire and was unable to get out in time to keep his legs from being severely burnt. A determined soul, Cunningham literally tied his hands to a plow, allowing a horse to drag his legs until he could walk, and then run behind the plow. (4) Cunningham’s determination, I believe, exemplifies one of the best speeches ever given, by the greatest orator of the twentieth century, Sir Winston Churchill. “Never quit, never, never, never…” (5)
Roger Banister is recognized as the first athlete to run a sub-four-minute mile. He is the
official record holder. Cunningham’s time in the mile run still amazes me, though, since he established the American record for the mile run that lasted for three years; in spite of the childhood trauma he suffered. His determination is an inspiration to those of us who have suffered injuries and want to overcome them.
Willis Reed and Kurt Gibson both pulled off heroic events playing their respective
sports (basketball and baseball) on one good leg. Mickey Mantle played all but one
game of his illustrious hall-of-fame major league baseball career on one good leg. (3) He
stepped on a sprinkler head chasing down a fly ball in his first game in the major leagues.
This resulted in knee problems that plagued him throughout his brilliant major league
baseball career. Lance Armstrong is a story unto himself.
(Aside: Yes, I am now aware of what Armstrong was accused of cheating by taking
performance-enhancing drugs when he won his record seven consecutive Tour De France’s.
However, the allegations are still unproven, in my and many other people’s opinions. For
anyone to win seven consecutive Tour De France bicycle races, with or without
pharmaceutical help is still an overwhelmingly amazing feat.)
I don't know how professional athletes function while in pain, but I have discovered a
few tricks of my own. Thinking about something pleasant or doing complicated math
problems (how long it took me to run each mile. a.k.a splits) can be helpful. Since distraction has been proven in the medical field as an effective way of dealing with pain; and taking painkillers before an endurance event is not allowed by the rules of the respective organizations that govern these events, I highly recommend this technique.
The Houston Marathon has a warm-up series that can really help novice runners build
stamina as well as confidence leading up to the marathon, and I needed both. Different
running coaches use differing approaches, but, for someone like me, who is trying to do it with a minimum of coaching, the warm-up series sounded like a good idea. It consists of three runs, a 20-kilometer (or 12.4 mile) run, a 25-kilometer (or 15.5 mile) run, and a 30-kilometer (18.6 mile) run. The runs are staged about three weeks apart (to allow the runners to sufficiently recover) and are done in this order.
I was under no delusions of grandeur about being able to break the four-minute per mile barrier. I simply wanted to be able to say, truthfully, that I had completed a marathon. As a result, I decided to participate in the warm-up series of runs before attempting my first marathon.
I believe that swimming, for the most part, is all about technique. More often than not, the person with the best technique swims the fastest. Cyclists can be given a slight edge by investing in superior equipment, and sprinting is all about God-given speed. Distance running, however, is all about hard work, mental toughness, and determination. Not your run-of-the-mill determination, though. The type of determination to which I am referring is the type of determination that southern high school football coaches call having a "fire in your belly." An average athlete, with enough hard work and determination, can make him or herself into a decent long-distance runner, if he or she has the desire to do so.
For my first two marathons, I set the same goal-four hours. The first had its share of
setbacks: Planters fasciitis in my left foot that required a cortisone shot in it (as well as
missing one warm-up race to rest it). This is a common injury in novice distance
runners, and the only real cure is rest, since it is largely due to overtraining.
I was a sprinter when I ran track in high school, mainly because I convinced myself
that I could not run the distance events. I had, however, begun to enjoy my training runs with Adelina, and my times were steadily improving. I decided that, if my right knee wasn't going to stop me from running a marathon, neither was my left foot (or the nasty sinus infection I developed two weeks before it.) Deep down I knew that if I ever wanted to complete an Ironman distance triathlon, I must first see if I could complete a marathon, no matter what the circumstances were.
This race, though, had more than its share of challenges. A monsoon came with
gale-force winds during the first warm-up race, and that wind was in the face of the runners at the finish of the 20-K run. The next race, the 30-k, was in sub-freezing temperatures at the start. It also started in the dark, with over 2000 runners bumping into each other at the beginning. This did not prepare any of the runners well for the balmy, 80-degree temperature that the actual marathon would bring, despite the fact that it was held in mid-January. (This is not unusual weather for Southeast Texas in January. However, January and February are the coldest months of the year in this area of the country, making early in the year dates the most feasible for endurance activities. The Houston Marathon is usually held the day before the Martin Luther King holiday. That gives most of the participants some extra time to recover).
With my adrenaline flowing at a maximum, the first 10 miles flew by. Unfortunately,
around mile 15, my right knee slipped out of place, and I had to re-adjust it. However, the crowd of thousands of spectators kept me going until mile 20, when people began to fall
over into the grass. To worsen the mental strain, I began to have cramps from dehydration, and by mile 25, I was in severe pain. "I quit!" I heard myself say loudly, fully intending to pull out of the event even though I could SEE the finish line from my viewpoint. (Mile twenty-five is at the crest of the largest “hill” on the course - it was really an overpass. {Houston is famous for its flat terrain, making this course a desirable one for those trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Qualifying for that marathon would give the participant a chance to be proclaimed “World Champion” by completing that brutal course in the shortest amount of time}). Fortunately for me, an alert spectator intervened.
"You've run 25 miles," he said, "certainly you can run one more." Looking both in front of
and behind me, I could see no other competitors for at least one hundred meters. This made me believe THAT person had been placed at mile twenty-five with his encouraging words just for my benefit.
"You're right, " I said, encouraged again. I trotted as fast as my fatigued legs would
carry me, finishing about 50 minutes over my goal, but I did finish, which still put me
into an elite group.
My second marathon would go much more smoothly, largely because I completed all three warm-up races as well as an additional 10-K along the way. I made a new friend in this warm-up series, and I was able to pace on her, a finisher at the Hawaiian Ironman distance triathlon the year before, for the better part of two races. The weather, however, was about the same, and I again missed my goal, although I did improve my time by about 15 minutes.
My focus was not on myself for this race, though. I, instead, focused on Jerry, who
was just getting over a hernia surgery. He decided to run the marathon, anyway. He
was committed to a charity to raise money for it, and so he was determined to finish. He did so in five and one-half hours, the legal time limit at the time. (The time limit was later raised to six hours to encourage more people to compete in this race. It was an effective strategy. The race has more than doubled in the number of participants since my first attempt at completing this course.)
After the marathon, Jerry decided to join Luke and me in our quest to complete a full
Ironman distance triathlon.
RALPH: Hmm… Maybe I will give ups smoking and do like Jerry did. I can train to run a marathon if I stop smoking cigarettes. It shouldn’t be that hard for me, I have four legs!
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