Marathon woman
I must be one of the luckiest people ever! I won the lottery three times!! Seriously, I played three times and won all three!! Now… I’m not any wealthier by virtue of that extremely rare fortune but it is clear that somebody up there wants to keep me in tip-top shape and whip my ass running!! Yes… I won the NYC Marathon lottery three times out of four! (For comparison, my husband entered nine times and only this year he made it for the first time ever)
The first time I entered was in 2012. I applied after hearing my friend’s fun retell of the experience and witnessing on the sidelines all the crazy fun cheering the runners get (I’m a sucker for people’s cheers!). Little did I know I was about to get pregnant with my first child and I was not going to feel up to the challenge. So I postponed the run for 2013 and when the time came to start training I found myself with a newborn, enjoying a wonderful but terribly hot and humid time living in Costa Rica and I chose to stay cool on the beach and at home instead. I planned on still running (or walking) come November’s marathon but, I was strongly discouraged from doing so by an experienced marathon runner acquaintance (rightfully and thankfully so).
So in January 2014 I applied for the second time to the lottery. I got pregnant with my second child in February… oh boy! I mean… How could I be so lucky?!?! I made my calculations and figured my due date was just 11 days after the marathon run… hmmm… should I still consider running at 38 weeks pregnant?? Not for me! So I postponed it again until 2015.
My son was born and I decided this was going to be it! I was going to train and run in 2015! So as soon as my child turned 6 months I started training. I still remember the pain in my overflowing breasts and all the leakage that came during those training sessions. I mean, I had fluid coming out of my every part!! Sweat from my pores, breastmilk from my nipples dripping all over, incontinence from a weakened pelvic floor… I was such a mess!!! But somehow I kept at it, trained for six months (not quite as consistently as I would have like but I did it nonetheless), and November 1st 2015 I embarked the Staten Island Ferry and joined thousands of participants in the starting line…
I HAD A BLAST!! I vividly remember telling my husband when I first found him and the children cheering on from the sidelines: “my legs don’t hurt as much as my face from smiling so much!”. I think running the NYC marathon was one of the top five most fun things I’ve ever done in NYC. I felt elated, ecstatic, alive and just as happy as I could be! I took it very easy, I walked every mile for a while to drink my water calmly. I was not there to beat any record, I was there to enjoy the moment! And boy, did I enjoy it! It was incredible, running by and hearing people shouting your name and cheer you to keep on going! Seriously… so fun! If you have never done it and you have felt curious about it (and are I good physical condition of course), you should totally do it! It is a lifetime memory that will forever come with me… the training is a pain in the butt, but the race is so exciting and fulfilling that it makes it all worth it!
Last year I decided not to participate in the lottery. I wanted to let my husband try out the experience and, since our children were still very small, just 3 and 1) that meant that I would have had to stay home during the long training sessions. Unfortunately my husband didn’t get in the lottery but I was happy I didn’t applied. I was happy to take a break from running for a while.
But this year the bug bit me again and I decided to play the lottery again… and I won! And so did my husband!! So we are still trying to figure out together how to take proper turns in our training sessions; we hope we both can keep the training going and make it to the marathon. So far we have decided that I will run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and he will train Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
I have also decided to hire a virtual coach. This guy JCT who is based in Barcelona will follow my progress (through the magic of GPS watches and smart technology), recommend a training plan and assist me adapting my training to my needs. I think it is a good idea to use some proper training right now. That way I hope I will be able to train less time, but more effectively.
I have just started the conditioning phase, which is something I like to do before I enter into full training mode. Just run enough to get my stamina back and get rid of the rust. I run for about 3 miles a few days a week and combine it with some gym work and cross training… it is going well so far! I just hope I can keep up the routine and motivation and I’m not confronted with any “sleep disturbances” from my children which can really derail me… I will keep you appraised on my training progress and hopefully you will help me remain committed to my goal. Let’s run the 2017 NYC marathon!! Go Susana, go!!!
