1. It's driveable.
2. I would get to run through historic Churchill Downs.
3. The medal is pretty cool.
4. The timing was perfect. It wouldn't be too hot just yet in late April.
After getting both Isaac and our exchange student, Isa, squared away for the weekend, Chasen and I left on Friday to head to Kentucky. It took much longer than anticipated, due to a wreck on I-40. The race expo closed at 9 PM on Friday night, and I didn't get there until 8:40 PM. Eek!
I was in and out in a flash. Believe me, Kentucky is BIG on bourbon!
The race swag was pretty cool. The Louisville Slugger has the race logo on it.
When my alarm went off at 5:45 AM on Saturday morning, I did NOT want to get up. It wasn't that I was avoiding the inevitable; after all, this was my comeback! I have completely transformed into my "old self" to be able to do this race! It was because I was in the eastern time zone, and my body knew it was really 4:45 AM. Ouch!
By the time I showered, got ready, had breakfast, and "got empty," I literally had to hoof it to the start line. Hoof it -- see what I did there? LOL #racehorsereference
I made it! I was so excited for this race.
As I stood in the corral, I did my pre-race kicks that my chiropractor instructed me to do. A lady next to me commented that she was impressed that I could kick so high. Who knew?!?! Upon learning that I was doing the full, she "warned" me about the hills at Iroquois Park. I took it with a grain of salt. Hills are my middle name! #famouslastwords
We began in downtown. There was so much excitement! I didn't even put on my podcasts until many miles later. I was so happy to be there. It felt like I had somehow "erased" the past five years of sedentarism and allowing life to get in the way of my health and fitness. I was BACK, baby!
I was actually doing quite well! I was enjoying every second. One highlight was a young man's sign that read, "I trained for months to hold this sign!" Another highlight was taking a cup of water from a priest.
I heard someone call my name at around mile 6. It was sweet Chasen on one of those electric scooters you can rent in metropolitan areas! He actually scooted next to me until I went into Churchill Downs. It was the sweetest surprise EVER!
I heard someone call my name at around mile 6. It was sweet Chasen on one of those electric scooters you can rent in metropolitan areas! He actually scooted next to me until I went into Churchill Downs. It was the sweetest surprise EVER!
I did not know he was there! I'm easy to spot in my signature orange. Notice the lady BEHIND me.
Here I am just before I entered the racetrack. I was excited!
I read reviews of this race before signing up, of course. Many people said that running through Churchill Downs was underwhelming. Sadly, I have to agree. It's not like I ran through the barn or anything! I did, however, get to see a horse and jockey doing a practice run off in the distance at one point.
The clouds were pretty, and it IS a landmark. So, there's that.
Believe me, friends, I was doing my best!
Mint julep, anyone?
As I exited the racetrack, the full marathoners went right and the halfers went left. Chasen, who was waiting on his scooter, said hardly anyone went right. This was just before mile 9. He stayed with me until roughly mile 10. At this point, the heat was beginning to rise, and I felt that I needed to "get in the zone," put on a podcast, and get down to business. So, I not-so-kindly asked him to depart. He said he would meet me at mile 20. I requested that he bring M&M's.
I was looking a little bit spent, I admit.
By this time the course was an out-and-back, meaning everyone who was literally eight miles ahead of me was headed back towards the finish. You can see them above, going the opposite direction. I did a calculation and determined that mile 13 would be the turning point, so I looked forward to that. It's always great to be the one telling those slower that you, "You've got this! Keep it up!"
Around mile 11.5, after the last water stop I would experience (stay tuned!), I entered hilly, beautiful Iroquois Park. I had no idea how long I would be in there, but I had been warned about the hills. I was not worried about them. Boy, was I wrong.
Iroquois Park was a labor of love. As much as I love running in nature and being in the shade, this place was ALL UPHILL. Let me rephrase that. It was all UPHELL. It felt like I was crawling. Remember how I was looking forward to cheering on those behind me once I hit the turnaround point and got out of the park on the straightaway? Sadly, I realized I was THE VERY LAST ONE IN THE MARATHON. That's not exactly a confidence booster, especially after losing 60+ pounds and training for 6+ months for this comeback marathon.
See, I was DEAD LAST. Granted, I was lapping everyone on the couch!
Let's get real, people. This made me really sad. Like really, really sad. I felt like such a loser. However, do you know what I am not? A quitter. Susan Stout does NOT quit unless it's a matter of health or safety. All that was damaged here was a little thing called my ego. It was badly bruised.
Eventually the police officer asked me to kindly move to the side of the road because it was time to open the course back up to traffic. I expected it, so that alone did not bother me. I was just grateful that there was still someone ahead of me that I could still see.
That's Kelcie, my new BFF. She's the one that was previously behind me.
The gal in front of me grew to be an amazing ally. Her name is Kelcie. I figured out that God surely put her in the race quite literally to keep me safe. Even in the park there were times when there would be a fork in the road. With 100% of the course mile markers, water stops, etc. removed at this point, I would have had no idea where to go! Can you imagine? Without Kelcie I may have ended up calling Uber!
Smart Kelcie printed out the turn-by-turn directions for just in case.
Once we FINALLY made it out of the park at mile 15, I thought to myself, "Ughhhhh. How on earth am I going to make it 11+ more miles?" I was SPENT and demoralized. These are the times you find out what you are made of. Like I said, I am NOT a quitter. I certainly thought about it, though! I didn't want to let myself down. I didn't want to disappoint Isaac or Isa, or even Chasen. I didn't want Louisville to get the better of me. But, can you imagine having to go 11 more miles when you literally hurt everywhere from the neck down? My left shoulder was so tight it felt like I had been in an accident. My lower back, sides, and glutes felt ROCK HARD. They were so contracted! My right knee even hurt.
I must say that my hip did not hurt. This was the hip that sidelined me for all of February. Thank God for small favors! What hurt most, though, was my pride. I was a sad sack. Here I was in an unknown city with zero course markings, no water stops, and a husband I wouldn't see for nine more miles. I could cry just typing that!
Do you know what kept me going? KELCIE. That girl has an iron will! She kept trudging along, and I kept following her. She had the foresight to contact the race director before the race and confirm that there would be a medal waiting for her regardless of when she finished. At one point she called her husband and told him to make sure they kept TWO out. Bless her!
We walked... and walked... and walked. We walked through the nice university area and then through some not-so-nice areas. I kept thinking, "Chasen would DIE if I was here alone." Like I said before, without Kelcie I would have been ALONE and lost in an unfamiliar city with no new water and some seedy areas.
Sure enough at mile 20, up in the distance like an angel, was Chasen. He had to walk quite a way to get there (no scooter). He met me with M&M's and a Three Musketeers bar (my favorite). That man literally walked us all the way to the finish line. That's 6.2 miles, friends, in street clothes. 10 kilometers! I'll tell ya... I was glad to have him, both because I slowed to a point that I nearly lost sight of Kelcie AND because the course went through some desolate parts with an active homeless population. Again, I know Chasen would NOT have wanted me to be alone. He is the best!
He could have chided me or spurred me on a bit, but he did not. He simply walked beside me, kind of willing me to keep going. How will I ever repay him??? Those last 6.2 miles were torture. He's my HERO.
Finally, finally, finally, we rounded the last corner. I could see Kelcie, her crew, and two race people, one of whom was a man holding a medal! I actually RAN to them. I was sooooo glad to be done. Somehow I ended up with a marathon relay medal, so they will mail me my official marathon medal. I snapped a photo of Kelcie's medal for this blog.
Ain't she a beauty? The Louisville Slugger museum/factory is displayed.
Wouldn't you know that our hotel was about six blocks from there? Phew. I was DEAD by the time I got back to our room. Literally all I wanted to do was lie down on the floor. I told Chasen to take my picture because this was real life! Everything hurt and was on the verge of cramping.
I wanted to sit down all day! This was even better.
The amazing thing is that after a shower I was about 90%. Ninety. Percent. How on earth did that happen? I felt like I was on the verge of death just ten minutes prior. Also, for the first time ever, I experienced zero chafing and sore toenails. WHAT?!?! Today, the day after, I have ZERO soreness. I am 100%! WHAT?!?!
Now what? You didn't think one bad day would deter me, did ya? Heck no. Better days are out there. It is all SO WORTH IT! Running makes me the best version of myself. I have fall race goals and ideas for the years ahead. You can't keep a good woman down! I'll see you out on the roads, friends.
1 comment:
I am so proud of my wife and was very happy to be there with her.
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