Chicago Marathon
October 13th, 2019 0730 am. 4:20:59. 5th marathon. 1st World Marathon Major. I AM ACCOMPLISHED. EXHILARATED. SPEECHLESS. THANKFUL. STRONGER. EXHAUSTED. MOVED. ENERGIZED. MOTIVATED. I AM A MARATHONER. Let’s flashback a couple of months when I was in the heat of my marathon training, feeling amazing and feeling in PR power shape. I started feeling a little soreness in my hip, my hips have always caused me some pain from my scoliosis and leg length difference, but when I took off a couple of days off, and it was still bothering me, I knew I should go to the doctor and stubbornly I went. I wanted a quick relief and went to a doctor and got a steroid shot for “IT band syndrome.” After two weeks of no relief, I was disappointed. The doctor didn’t do a full workup, didn’t ask me about my history with stress fractures, amenorrhea, nutrition history, and many other things. I went for a second opinion, which I highly suggest you do if you are ever frustrated with a doctor or felt like you were not heard. I was so glad I did, I got a full workup, got asked so many questions regarding everything and anything. I had gotten an XRAY, and nothing showed up, so the next step was an MRI. When I went to my follow up, I was excited when the doctor started with “you don’t have a stress fracture…..but….you have a thing called a cam deformity which has caused what we think is a labrum tear.” I immediately answered, “so can I run the Chicago Marathon?” “I would suggest not to.” I got a referral for PT and got to work with the awesome Dr. Mike Quinitians! He was confident that I would be able to run, even when I didn’t think I would Mike (https://www.instagram.com/m_quintansdpt) and Christina (https://enflyte.com/head-in-the-game/) who coached me through this injury. Between the two of them, they got mentally and physically go to the starting line. It’s the worst feeling to switch your mind to push through pain that was initially killing me every step. I don’t suggest what I did unless you have very knowledgeable people on your team! Fast forward to Chicago Marathon week; I was honestly still terrified that my hip was going to break during the marathon. Throughout my training, for my long runs, I would do Zone 2, trying to keep my heart rate below 140BPM. I knew that wouldn’t be realistic with the adrenaline and towards the end of a marathon when you’re exhausted. I knew I was going to need to walk if I wanted to finish, pain-free (relatively speaking). I forced myself to walk during aid stations when I was taking gels, and whenever I felt like it. The energy of Chicago was AMAZING! I saw my family + Joey 5 times!!! I usually never stop to go to the bathroom but stopped twice (oops!). I didn’t even bother to look at the course map because I wanted to be surprised. It was about 44 degrees in the morning, perfect marathon conditions, there was a decent amount of wind gusts, and I threw off my gloves probably too soon, and when you weren’t in the sun, it was cold, but in the sun it felt so nice! I tried to take nutrition every 40 minutes and even had Gatorade. At 13.1, I was at 2 hours and had a glimmer of hope that I could break 4, but didn’t push myself too much- I just wanted to finish. I was trying to run more consistently, but my legs were basically shot. I hadn’t done more than 16 miles in 3 hours. I was so shocked by the number of people. There were people everywhere during the course, cheering and spectating, I was never alone, and that was so amazing. It took me 4:20:59, my slowest marathon time, but the most rewarding. I found out that I was able to be smart, patient, and mentally tough when things don’t go my way. It’s just as hard to do a sub-2-hour marathon, as it is to do a 4,5, or 6-hour marathon. It’s the same damn distance, and everyone has their own struggles and battles. I was terrified it was going to take me so much longer and was afraid I was going to hurt myself even more. I give people so much credit for being out there that long. Marathons are so hard, and everyone has their own goals they want to accomplish. “It doesn’t matter how slow you’re going as long as you don’t stop.” I AM ACCOMPLISHED. EXHILARATED. SPEECHLESS. THANKFUL. STRONGER. EXHAUSTED. MOVED. ENERGIZED. MOTIVATED. I AM A MARATHONER.
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