Cheap Marathon (Salisbury, MA)
Finish Time: 4:17
Pace: 9:48
Temp: 55 degrees
Conditions: Warm, with cool breeze
Run For: Tiffany
Recap:
Today’s marathon was run for Tiffany. I first met Tiffany at the very end of her own marathon journey, literally the day before she was going to run her very first marathon in New Orleans. As a coach for Team Challenge, I get the very cool opportunity to meet some pretty inspiring people. I told her I’d see her out on the course and the next day at about mile 20 of the marathon, I joined Tiffany for the last 6 miles. We talked and shared our stories about what lead us to Team Challenge. Tiffany told me exactly what she allowed me to share with all of you, and it was apparent that she is very determined and will stop at nothing to get us those cures. Hearing her talk about her friend Brian and the story behind her getting involved with Team Challenge was incredibly inspiring.
Tiffany continues to push herself to this day and is always stepping outside of her comfort zone. She has removed any and all of the limitations she once had. She knows that anything is possible as long as she works hard, puts in the training and surrounds herself with those who support her. I can’t wait to see what she does next and I know that because of her we are that much closer to cures. I couldn’t have been more proud of her when she crossed that finish line, covering 26.2 miles in New Orleans. I was lucky enough to be able to join her, as well as a handful of other coaches, as she became a marathoner! It only seemed fitting to be able to include her in this 26.2 For You journey.
As for the marathon today, it didn’t go exactly according to plan. Race days are so unpredictable, as some many things can just go wrong or in this case, just not line up how you want them too. I hate to make excuses as to what didn’t go right, but there were certain things I did leading up to the marathon that I knew would affect how I felt and how it would go. Learning lessons is what we can call them, instead of excuses. It was a busy week, lack of sleep (especially last night), lack of proper nutrition, and running on tired legs. Basically life happened leading up to today and you just have to accept it and go with what the day brings, so that’s what I did. The weather was ideal for running today, being warmer but with a cool breeze and some light cloud cover, I mean perfectly ideal! The course was a 4.3 mile loop that I ran six times to get to 26.2 miles, and it was flatter than flat! I definitely prefer hills or some sort of variation on a course, just to change things up and keep my leg muscles from working exactly the same way the entire time. I felt very strong during the first two loops (8.5 miles) and my pace showed it running fairly quickly. It was around the start of the third loop that everything (life) caught up to me from the week and my legs felt heavy and just tired. I had energy and mentally I felt fine, my body, more specifically my legs, just didn’t want to keep turning over any more. It was a very long 18 miles with tired legs that lay ahead of me. Mindset is so important when it comes to endurance running and I needed to tap into all of my inner strength to keep pushing today. I just put my head down and pushed through with my mind telling my body to keep going, as loud as my tired legs continued to scream to stop and rest.
My overall time was slow, compared to what I have been running the previous marathons, but that is ok. The main goal of 26.2 For You isn’t about speed, it’s about enduring and getting through 26.2 miles one marathon and one story at a time. That thought of that goal NEVER wavered and I never had a doubt about finishing today. How long it took me to run 26.2 today was unknown but that doesn’t matter. I was out there, I was pushing through and I was being smart and listening to my body, knowing I was fine, just tired.
Marathon #29 is done and to run this one for Tiffany made me happy! I am inspired by all that she does and all that you continue to do is helping us get closer to cures. I believe that! I am honored to run for you and thank you for allowing me to share your story for this one.
This 26.2 was for you Tiffany! 26.2 For You!
26.2 FOR YOU 