Mondauk to Marathon

Mondauk to Marathon:
Because I am an athlete, specifically a runner, people tend to assume that I have always been active. In my case, this could not be further from the truth. It wasn’t until I got some disappointing news from my doctor at the ripe age of 26 that I had high cholesterol and I needed to change my habits. Which meant, no more trips to Mickey D’s for the 2 for 1 special on Big Macs, cut down on the sweets and that investing in a gym membership wasn’t such a bad idea. I honestly had no interest in doing any of these things but I knew I should. At the time I happened to be dating someone who cared about health and fitness. He also seemed to care about mine as well because he finally said to me one day, "When are you going actually join a gym instead of just talking about it?"
Darn!!! Nothing being called on the carpet by someone you’re trying to impress in the first place…why don’t ya just add another layer of pressure! Coupled with an eye roll, I joined a local gym.
One of my girlfriends was a weightlifter so she let me borrow some books that helped get her into this fitness nonsense…errr….I mean, business! Fitness business!
As time moved on, I continued to weight train, and took cardio classes at the gym and I saw results. I was much stronger than I ever thought possible and more importantly my cholesterol numbers really improved. I even had a group that I ‘lifted’ with at the gym but I wanted to find a way to burn more fat. So I decided to start running. Mondauk Park was near my workplace that had a dirt running track around it. It was a mile long and had ¼ mile markers. So wearing my cute Nike workout outfit and my CD player in hand, I took off….for about 1/8^{th of a mile. I wish I was kidding but I’m not. I was sucking air so hard people were staring and my entire body hurt and felt like it was burning! Quite honestly, nothing was more painful than this.}
I don’t remember how long I ran that day or if I even finished that mile. I do know that I kept at it, 2-3 times a week I went to that park till I could complete a mile. Pretty soon, I was up to 3 miles. I also spent time running through Wissahickon Valley Park which had ½ mile markers. I finally got up to 6 miles at Wissahickon! I almost threw a party!! After that, I never really looked back. I did get together with some gym members and we ran together on Thursdays and held each other accountable to running (hills) each week and sometimes on the weekend. We also worked out together during week and took cardio kickboxing classes together.
I entered my first race in April 2005, the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington D.C. A co-worker that was an experienced marathoner offered to create a training plan and let me pick his brain. I spent two months training for this race and got ‘lucky’ enough to experience some of the crappy D.C. weather ever. Wind that would blow rain sideways as we’d run over the bridges. It was a tough 10 miles but after I crossed that finish line in less than 90 minutes (which was my goal) I felt like I could conquer the world! After this experience, I was hooked on running races. I signed up for the Virginia Beach Rock n’ Roll ½ Marathon and the Philadelphia Distance Classic (also a half marathon 2 weeks later). Both were fairly successful by reaching my goal and running them under 2 hours. Next up, the wicked Marathon Distance!!
July 9, 2006, I pinned my bib on; No. 547 and stood at the start line of the Seafair Marathon in Bellevue, Washington. My family had mapped out meeting places where they would have GU, Aleve, a wet towel and water on hand for me; along with a camera and a video camera. (My family included, Mom, Dad #1, Dad #2, Aunt Dana, Friends - Shelley and Alan, later to join was my sister & nephew) My ‘coach’ had continued to support me through the half marathons and created a plan for me to train for this full marathon.
I was pretty nervous at the start line. How was I going to accomplish a full 26.2 mile race? Seriously! Sure, my training went extremely well for a first timer and I had followed all the rules that ‘coach’ had set out for me but how the next four hours were going to go was a complete mystery. The gun went off and thank goodness my mother was there to distract me with a video camera and loud voice screaming "Go Tara!" I acted excited and immediately began the self talk: ‘I have a long distance to go. Start out slow.’
Well, I had no choice but to start out slow because the first 9 miles were up hill!! OMG!! I became the little engine that could working my Big Mac Butt up the hills. I met my parents shortly after the 9 mile marker. Of course, this had to be in front of a McDonald’s! For the first time in my life, I did not want to be anywhere near that place. Puke o rama! I got my stuff and got outta there!
The next time I saw them was just before mile 13; almost the half way mark which of course, was a the top of a hill. Oh goody, goody gum drops! Gum drops? Yuck again!
About mile 20, also at the top of another hill, I saw my mom and aunt waving and cheering and I couldn’t help but smile! My dad told me that after that spot it was downhill till the end. Well, he was wrong because Shelley met me at mile 21 and she was also perched at the top of a frickin’ hill!!! I said a short ‘hey’ and continued on. After this point, so many people that had been running about my pace were starting to die. While I can’t lie and say I was bursting with energy, I wasn’t necessarily struggling either; not like they were. With each runner that dropped off I felt stronger. At 25, I was getting pretty stinkin’ tired! My childhood friend, Alan, joined me and had grabbed a sports drink for me and began jogging next to me. He said to me, "Ok, Tara, I’m going to run with you for a bit."
"K." (That’s all I had. As a side note, Alan was wearing khaki shorts, flip flops and carrying a travel coffee cup.)
A full mile passed and I saw a hill in front of me and I was like "Do I have to run up that?"
"Yeah, I think you do."
"Uuuggghhh."
Before I knew it, I was at the top of that hill and Alan dropped off saying, "This is it Tara! Go get ‘em!"
I was in the last moments of the marathon and the crowd totally re-energized me! I barreled through that finish line like a wrecking ball. 4:08 finish time! What made the moment sweeter was my sister crying handing me roses and my nephew grinning from ear to ear so proud of Aunt Tara!!
Less than 5 years later, I’ve put a few more marathons and several shorter distances under my belt. I also coach kids and adults. I feel that if I can pass on my experience and knowledge to others that maybe their world will change just like mine did: for the better. I am closer to my family, friends and more importantly, myself.
See, we all have to start somewhere and it doesn't happen overnight! So quit thinking you can't or won't be good at something you've always wanted to do. Because you can't spend the rest of your life wondering if you'll be a good runner, swimmer, snowboarder, etc. WHATEVER!!! Get out there - Live life, Be brave!