Miguel Runs a Marathon

The alarm rings at 3 AM. I get up, go to the bathroom, then have a light breakfast and take one last look at the weather forecast (57-degrees at the start going up to about 80 mid-day). Make myself a cup of coffee and drink it while taking a warm. Start massaging my legs, close my eyes and relax in the warm water. Get out of the tub about 3:45 and re-access what I’m going to wear. It’s going to be hot, so I put on the compression shorts and decide to use the older pair of shoes as they feel more comfortable. I finish getting dressed at 4 AM and now it’s time to get the rest of the family up. There are aid stations about every 2 miles, so I decide on taking only two 10-ounce water bottles, one filled with Gatorade and the other with water. While the family gets ready I continue to massage my legs and do some gentle stretching. It’s now 4:40 AM and we are in the car for the hour drive from Orlando to Cocoa. We arrive with just enough time for a final run to the portapotty and get to the starting line. Bummer, I realize that I have lined up with the ½ marathoners, so I move over to right side where I’m supposed to be, the rocket engines roar and we take off!

I’m towards the back of the pack and running slowly (because I lined up on the wrong side!). I’m warming up nicely and taking stock of how that left foot is doing (nice and loose, no pain). After one mile or so, I decide to pick up the pace and before 2 ½ miles pass, I catch up with the 4:45 pace group. Instead of going on for my planned pace for a 4:30 finish, I decide to stay with this group as it is close to what I want to run any way. I figure that after mile 15 or so I can pick up the pace depending on how I felt. This turned out to good decision as it gave me a chance to talk with some of the people in the group.

Running in this group, I got to know why some of the other people were running the marathon and the camaraderie helped keeps us all moving, making the time pass by quickly. There were originally about 10 of us in the group, some dropped out, but other runners who dropped out of the fasters groups came in to replace them. As we talked amongst the group, I found that the most interesting story was that of the pacer – Dana Casanave. She has almost completed running 52 marathons in 52 weeks for New Beginnings www.52beginnings.com/ a charity that raises money for an orphanage in South Africa for kids with AIDS. Not only is her cause and effort laudable, the dedication and cooperation from her 3 kids and husband to this cause is as admirable as what she is doing. She truly was an instrumental in helping me keep pace and I’m very glad I decided abandon my original plan and stay with this pace group.

By the half-way mark, I had already come across my family at a couple of stops around miles 4 and 8. Seeing them cheer me on helped lift my spirits and kept me going. On one of the subsequent stops, I came across them again, except this time Donna and Dominick are handing out water and GU at a station that was short on volunteers. Somehow, they usually seem to find some way to get involved. I may be the one running, but without the volunteers, it would not be much of an event.

Now back to the run; by mile 16 the sun was getting high in the sky and even though most of the course is shaded by trees it felt quite hot. I decide to maintain pace and not speed ahead as originally planned when I hooked up with the 4:45 group. It continued to get hotter and I’m glad I did my 2 only 3-hr runs indoors on the treadmill with the heat at 72! After mile 14, at each aid station in addition to drinking water and Gatorade, I’m already refilling the two 10 oz bottles I’m carrying and pouring a cup of water (sometimes 2 or 3) over my head. Even though I did not get to do any hard hill running or speed work I was able to keep the 4:45 pace to mile 20. Then the wheels came off the wagon!

My quads and hamstrings were getting stiff and I could not get the running back in rhythm on any pace. Before this the plan was just walk through all the water stations, I still had plenty of energy, so the issue was to not cramp up, keep the muscles loose and get on track … any track! So I decided to stop and stretch. I did this a couple of time and also went to a 3 minute run with fast 1 minute walk in between. I was now making progress again, but the running start up after walking was well, painful! With the rest of the 4:45 group now long gone, I manage to catch up with another runner who originally was planning on running a 4:30, but on realizing that was not going to happen, she hung in with the 4:45 group I was in. This lady and I started talking … actually trying to convince each other not to stop, and by mile 23 we found a little trot we could both maintain. After another mile or so, we calculated that we had a good shot at finishing in under 5 hours. We kept talking and pushing each other to maintain the pace to the end.

Upon entering Riverfront Park in Cocoa, it seemed that the 0.2 miles to the finish line was an endless red brick paver road! Then, I saw Dominick, Donna and Mom cheering me on with those cow bells and I found a little more energy! Yes, I finished – 4:47:55! I think I earned my complimentary pancake, sausage and egg breakfast, and massage.

Have Donna drive me back to Orlando and go chillin’ in the lazy river with Dominick at the hotel – Priceless!

I am forever grateful to Donna, Dominick and Mom for getting up with me at 4AM on a Sunday morning and driving me to Cocoa at the crack of dawn; Dana Casanave for her inspiration and keeping me going for about 20 miles and the unknown lady that helped push me on those last few miles. My thanks also go out to all the supporters who contributed to the Angel Ride and this Marathon both financially and spiritually to help the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp Hospital Outreach program.