My perspective on Altman's race...

I know the risks of running.  As someone that is ultimately responsible for the safety of several thousand runners each year, I know and understand the manuals and guidelines.  I proof waivers and apply them on race entry forms.  As a runner, I have read the waivers and signed them.  I know that by putting on my shoes and attaching the bib, I am taking my life into my own hands and that anything that happens is ultimately my responsibility.

When I met Altman, my world changed.  I became a different person and from then on, life became about us and not me.  My life became about him.  We had a child and now, my life is about them.  

Saturday was supposed to be awesome.  Altman overcame injury this year to train for the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon.  He won it last year.  He wanted to head down and have a repeat win and hopefully a PR. This was meant to be his last marathon for awhile.  We hope to have another Little Altman in the next year or so.  He was going to win and we were going to celebrate and he would be able to say that he won the same race two years in a row.

We had a rough start to the weekend and things weren't really going our way.  That was okay.  We had some timing issues on Saturday morning and I sent him on to the race with our friend Jennifer.  He had plenty of time to warm-up and get ready.  The weather was perfect.  A little cool for the start and no clouds in the sky. 

Jason looked great before the race.  As usual, I got emotional as they played the anthem and my stomach churned with excitement and nervousness.  I wasn't running the race but had decided to still run down to mile 8 to try to see Altman and some of our other friends.  He looked great.  I ran back up to mile 14 and saw him again.  He looked awesome.  Relaxed (as relaxed as you can be running a 6 min mile)  Pace was good.  Posture was great.  He had a pretty large lead and I thought, "hold on to it baby and you are gonna win this thing!"

My sister met me at the finish line with Jackson.  We saw Jennifer finish and then I went on to change clothes and wait.  We found the same spot from last year and settled in to wait for him.  That would be good luck, right?  At 2:33 on the clock, I started to really get excited and nervous.  I could imagine Altman rounding that turn and coming into view.  I would grab Jackson and we would wait for him.  Then, there were the bikes.  We were all pumped...until we realized that the shorts weren't compression shorts and that this dude wasn't wearing an RM singlet.  Ouch.  Total and utter deflation.  My heart sank and I could only think about how he would be disappointed and mad about not winning and no PR.  No celebration.

We reminded ourselves that everyone has a bad day now and then.  We got excited again.  Then we saw the singlet at the top of the hill.  Immediately, we let out a collective gasp.  Altman did not look good.  He was hunched over and almost limping.  As he continued toward the last turn, he looked worse and worse.  About the time my sister said to go get him, he rounded the turn and it was like his knees were giving way.  I thought he was going to collapse right there in front of us.

I took off in a dead sprint with Jennifer and my sister behind me.  I got to him and he had no color and was hardly moving.  The finish line was right there but it seemed so far away.  I asked Brooke to take Jackson and get lost.  Jennifer and I walked alongside him for several steps.  He wasn't really making sense so I asked Jennifer to run ahead and get the medical folks ready.  I stayed with him as he jogged to the finish line.  He was 2nd overall and still had a time of 2:45:59.  That really didn't matter to me.  Who cared at that point.

We got him to the tent where the medical folks started pumping him full of water and Gatorade.  Slowly, his color started to return.  Friends came by to check on him and asked if they could help.  We are so appreciative of the support we received from everyone.  I knew he would be okay but that didn't stop me from getting emotional when he wasn't looking.  It was so comforting to be able to cry on a few shoulders.  I couldn't let him know that he had scared the life out of me.  For a moment on Saturday, my world had stopped.

He is fine.  He was dehydrated and deducted that although he had been taking water at the water stops, he hadn't had enough.  The hamstring injury that had bothered him flared up and stopped him in his tracks.  Literally.  It was a bad day.  A bad run.  That is the curse of the marathon.  Some days are great and fall into place like 2010 and some days just suck.  Saturday was a day that sucked.

I am truly blessed.  In 2002, I found my soul mate.  I found the person that absolutely completes me.  No doubt.  Never any doubt actually.   We have a beautiful child and hope to have more.  I love him with everything that I have.

He knows my side of this story.  We have talked about it a lot since yesterday.  We laughed when he said that he was never running another marathon (yes, he said it while in the medical tent) and I told him he was lying.  I did add that he wouldn't be running another one soon.  I need time to recover from this one.  I also added that from now on, when he runs a marathon, I am going to do it too.  That way, he can be waiting for me at the finish line.

Loving something so much it hurts. Literally.

2011 has been a trying year in running for me. It started well but took a nosedive pretty quickly.  I don't need to tell the story.  You know it already.

After months of PT and rehab, September came and it all starting coming together again.  My pace picked up again and the runs were great.  October was awesome.  I jumped in an 8K and not only had a PR but WON it as Overall Female.  Superb.  I was back!

Then, on Tuesday of last week, finishing up my 3rd 800 repeat of 5, I felt it.  Small, slight twinge.  The 4th 800 was no better and by the 5th the feeling of dread had overwhelmed me.  Once I finished cooling down, I stood on my treadmill in my garage and cried.  A lot.  Where did it come from?  Did I misstep to pull the hip and glute again?  How did it happen?

I learned from early 2011.  I took it easy the rest of the week.  We loaded up the car on Friday and headed to Chattanooga for the Chickamauga races.  Jackson didn't sleep well and I stayed up with him.  At 2:30 am in the morning when I couldn't sleep, I asked for a sign.  I literally asked God for sign and said to him, "Maybe an obvious sign like my sister being late."  My sister is NEVER late.  Tell her 6:15 am and she arrives at 5:45 am.  Tell her 10:30 am and she arrives at 10 am.

At 6 am on Saturday morning when she was supposed to be there, I texted her.  She overslept.  There was my sign.  Don't ask if you don't want an answer.  I got to the race 15 minutes before the start.  Still considering running very easy, I did a warm-up mile.  There it was - that pull down the hip and into the glute.  No race for me on Saturday.  I ran 7 or 8 easy miles to see friends and today, I am paying for those miles.

Don't feel sorry for me.  Don't pity my misfortune.  Don't snicker at me and think that you are invincible and that this can't happen to you.  It can.  And probably will sometime.  I have been fortunate that since I started running in 2004 that this is my first time dealing with an injury like this.  Learn from me.  Listen to your body.  Remind yourself every time you lace up that there is more than just running.  Do you stretch?  Do you strength train?  Do you work on your core?  Do you do yoga?  No?  You should.  I have been lazy and have been skipping those things in favor of a longer run or work or folding laundry.

There will be more races.  Starting this week, I will put more effort into cross training and I will put more effort into strengthening my core and hips.  I never really had injuries when I was teaching group ex regularly.  In fact, I was able to go more miles when I was teaching 5 or 6 yoga classes a week.  There is just no time for me to teach these days but I can't deny that the cross training is good for me.

For this minute, I am going to enjoy another cup of coffee and catch up on junk TV.  A new era begins tomorrow!

Trick or Treat

I haven't really liked Halloween in my adult life.  I LOVE Thanksgiving.  I LOVE Christmas.  I love holidays where you cook and families come together and you give thanks.  I don't like dressing up. And, I will eat whatever candy is in the house so there is no reason to have it here and Halloween brings lots of candy.

I haven't been a fan of Halloween since I was a child and I am not even sure that I liked it then.  When Jackson was born, I think everyone expected us to put him in a costume for whatever reason and take him someplace or at least take his picture. He was 3 months old for his first Halloween.  We didn't dress him up.  We just didn't feel that it was necessary and where would we have gone with him?

Last year, he was 15 months old.  Nope.  We still didn't dress him up.  He wasn't allowed any candy at that time and again, we didn't see any reason to dress him up and parade him around.

This year was a little different.  I had a change of heart.  I researched costumes and the least intrusive outfit that I could find was a Thomas the Train outfit.  Basically, a shirt and a cute hat.  He wore the hat for 45 seconds.  Total.  He actually wore the shirt for our entire trip to the Zoo and for the first part of our train ride last weekend.  I am pretty sure he didn't wear it at all for school trick or treating.

Now, we have a ridiculous amount of candy in our house and I have a toddler who has taken to swinging his pumpkin around while yelling "TRICK OR TREAT!"  He now asks for candy every hour.  Awesome.

Jackson's allergy to peanuts makes the whole trick or treating thing a little more complicated for us.  We have to read every single label and we must remove any item stating that it was made with peanuts, may contain peanuts, processed in a plant with peanuts, generally around peanuts, or if the people making the product have ever seen peanuts.  You get the idea.  The allergy rules out about 80% of the candy he has picked up.

Now, Jason and I have ample candy supply.  And, we have had fun seeing what kind of candy Jackson likes. He doesn't really like anything chewy.  He isn't a big fan of taffy or candy that is similar.  Of course, Hershey's chocolate bars and M&M's don't have a warnings on the labels and he really, really likes those.  He likes suckers.  He ate two candy corns yesterday.

I had fun this year.  Halloween wasn't bad at all.  I will admit that Boo at the Zoo was fun.  Really fun.  The Eerie Express was a great time.  Jackson had fun and Jason and I had fun with him.  So, Halloween can be about togetherness.  It can be about a family going out together for Trick or Treating and sharing memories.  Just one question, can we please just give out apples or fruit next year?