You and I are SO lucky right now. I'm lucky because I get to recall one of the best days of my life, and YOU are lucky because you're about to meet my new friend Missy!
My wife and I run a local running program for Jeff Galloway, teaching his run/walk/run method, and Missy is a member of our team. She just crossed the finish line this past weekend at the "America's Finest City" Half Marathon in San Diego, California (YAY MISSY!). How she GOT to that finish line is an example of determination, commitment, and sheer courage that I'm SURE you will appreciate. I also have to take a moment to personally thank Missy for allowing me to share this story. It's a very intimate and personal change that she went through, and Missy is again demonstrating newly found inner strength in allowing this story to be shared. Missy, I'm your number one fan!!
You could cut the energy at the starting corral with a knife. It was a beautiful morning; a cool breeze with a slight overcast in amazing San Diego (home of Comic Con!!). These were truly perfect conditions for a race. Vera and I had trained our AFC team several times at beaches near our home running store, so we knew our running club members were WELL equipped for this type of humidity.
I was especially excited; I NEEDED this race. I know what I put my body through at Grandma's Marathon earlier this year, and I enjoyed a planned "down cycle" from my usual training plan. My body has been recovering, but my mind has been itching for it's usual dose of running time. Our Galloway training programs always give me a guaranteed number of weekly miles, but I was missing my "John" time. Coming into San Diego, I had some fear and a little doubt kicking around. I had only run once that week.. and I was having motivation issues. What if I couldn't finish for some reason?!?
I was able to quickly move around those fears, thanks to the distraction of 10 runners that I was responsible for getting across that finishing line. The group looked amazing this morning. Everyone was fresh with game faces on.
When I saw their excitement and took in the power of the event, my fears disappeared. You got this John. You've been a Pace Group Leader for MANY runs now. You've taken them for 14 miles just a few weekends ago for crying out loud! My confidence quickly returned and I was getting ready for my new challenge.
I had come into this race incorrectly assuming that I would be helping two program members that have been struggling during our long training runs. As I've said many times before (and will again), things NEVER go according to your plans. The two I was worried about took off ahead of me after about mile 2, and I only know that they survived because of their amazing record times and pictures! ;-)
About mile 4, I realized that this race was going to be about helping out someone else. Missy was in good shape, and kept up with the running intervals; however I could tell by her breathing, and see on her face that she wasn't having a good time. I dropped back with her as my team formed into it's own natural groups (yet ANOTHER benefit of group running) and continued on ahead of us, each of them striving for personal time goals.
"I usually warm up around the 4th mile" Missy told me. I know pleading when I hear it. This girl is having trouble getting her engine going today, and somewhere deep down inside of her is a growing lump of doubt. A lump saying she will fail like she always does, she will go back to the way she was before she started running like she always does. She was carrying fifty more pounds of fear and doubt along with her on this race, and if this monkey was determined to stay on her back, well.. that monkey and me were going to have a little chat.
The AFC race runs on a bit of a tight time limit for new racers. They state that it must be completed within 3 hours, and that the streets will be reopened regardless of runners still on the course. Back at Granmdma's marathon, I was in a similar situation. I turned around at one point and remember seeing a truck riding up behind me. I pushed a little and left that truck behind at Grandma's. Here I was, about 5 miles into AFC with Missy and I figure out that I've never looked behind us to see where the truck was. I turn my head for a quick peek. Oh CRAP.. it's RIGHT behind us.. maybe 30 or 40 feet. There's a handful of runners between us and the menacing jaws of the race closure.
I'm now thinking "this HAS to be killing Missy.. just the mental anguish of that freaking truck behind her". I keep talking and trying to motivate her to relax and try to really recover during her walk breaks. I specifically tell her to ask herself if she is walking SLOW enough to feel her body recovering.
While I'm doing all this, I check my Garmin GPS and see that we are still on track for around a three hour finish.. maybe 3:10 or 3:15.. but I didn't know what that meant. Was the finishing line going to still be there? Would we get caught up on crosswalks when they reopened traffic? What was this woman, who is struggling more now as the sun starts breaking through the morning mist, what is she going to have to go through to truly "finish" this race?
"Missy, there's a chance that we're not going to finish at 3 hours" I break to her around mile 6. "I'm altering our race plan so you can run a little slower, and more importantly WALK slower, and we're going to finish around 3 hours and 10 minutes". "OK" and she quickly nods, taking a quick swig from her camel pack. "The goal of this race is for you and I to enjoy it, we'll cross our own finish line when my watch says we've hit 13.1, sound good?", "You got it John". When "RunnerMissy" is around, there is quick, decisive action!
We enjoyed five great miles at the new pace, but eventually at ten and a half miles, with the glaring sun beating down on her face, Missy looked up at me and said she couldn't run anymore, and I knew she was right. The monkey on her back was finally a gorilla, and though she couldn't run with that sucker on her back anymore.. Missy and I once again altered our race plan. We were going to DRAG that big stupid monkey-gorilla over the finish line, where we could leave it's ass behind FOR GOOD! We left the interval timer going, but instead of running, we would "walk hard" or "walk easy". We kept chugging along talking, and taking in this beautiful day. Two new friends getting to know each other during a personal challenge-gone-crisis.
The cops pushed us up on the sidewalk, no biggie. One of our other Pace Group Leaders caught up to us after taking a pit stop to help add to the mix of conversation and give Missy another dose of energy and inspiration.
The cones are now being removed, and streets are reopening. We almost miss a turn (whoops! Pace Group Leader should have known that course map a little better!!! :-) ).
Pam eventually leaves us to catch up with the group, and HER personal goal. All of a sudden.. that fear I had from the morning pops back up. "What if we get there, and the finishing line is gone, and my record shows a 'Did Not Finish - DNF'"? I would have done this whole race and not gotten a medal!?! And people that look at my record on Atlinks.com or DailyMile will think I'm some loser"! Then I thought.. what if Missy doesn't get a medal. I almost consider calling my wife Vera, who I'm sure is at the finish, but I can't risk Missy hearing THAT discussion. I think about that "DNF". If anyone cared enough to ask about why I had a "DNF" for this race, I could tell them a great story about a girl I ran it with named Missy. What a great reason to have, own, and be PROUD of a DNF! Let's get Missy across our own finish line!
With the help of some completed runners (thank goodness they love to wear their new medals!), and their kind words of encouragement to us, we eventually find our way to Sixth St in San Diego, and make a left turn---
Whoa.. THAT is a BIG and LONG hill. I talk Missy up for one last good push, and we start charging. She's really giving it all she's got now. Luckily, we're on the shady side of the street, and getting just a little relief from that blasting sun. People are constantly sending out encouragement and cheers now, about every minute or so. Missy's face brightens and she smiles back at them with an energetic "thank you!"
"You can do it!", "you're almost there"; it feels like we're actually starting to move faster now. Missy still doubts herself, she asks what if she can't finish. I remind her that she actually IS doing it. Despite her talk, despite the negative chatter in her head, Missy's body and new found spirit have taken over. She works and gets up the hill, we turn a corner with more shouts of encouragement and are once again enjoying our race.
My adrenaline SHOOTS through my body when I see the finish line. It's up, there's still people cheering, the music is still blasting. My eyes find my sister (a Pace Group Leader for our Disney race team) in the stands. I tell Missy "Alright Missy, we gotta run this out through the finish, but I want you to tell me when we're starting. You HAVE to be sure that you can run all the way through the finish." As we walk up to where the guard railing begins, New Missy tells me.. "OK, where the rail begins"...
I'm not sure why I did it, but I was somehow smart enough to pull out a sport cam that I use, and I actually recorded Missy's finish from this point forward. You can see the rest of this play out for yourself below! I probably couldn't write it out due to excessive moisture around my ocular units, just know that this is one of my proudest moments as a runner, Pace Group Leader, and man. We are on this planet to help each other. Once again, thank you Missy for being so generous and brave in sharing this; now you are helping others too!
Click HERE to see Missy's Big Finish!
Missy and I finished at 3:25:41, an AWESOME time. To see what Missy was able to pull out at that finish line, and how hard she worked for that moment was worth every single step that came before it. As we came across the finish we were greeted by my teary eyed wife and several group members. Missy's mother, Kim, who also ran the half marathon with our program was there for more hugs and tears. Even the event staff joined in on the celebration, making sure to run over and give us medals before we took any photos. It was really a special moment. Like a new family being made all within one big accomplishment. An accomplishment that only Missy could have made, and she did.
Missy has already started training for her next half marathon! Go get it girl!!
Happy Running Everyone!
John
