Way behind, but Marathon SUCCESS!!

So my last post was totally a month and a half ago. I reckon a lot has happened!! Due to school, work, projects, training...aka LIFE...I haven't gotten around to my blog in a while.

Brief update as to where I am at the moment. I've got one final exam at Longwood tomorrow and I'm DONE with undergraduate!! I start orientation for my new job at UVA hospital on May 5th and graduate on May 10th! I'll be living in Farmville until July, then it's back to the raging town of Scottsville! This fall I'm starting the 2-year paramedic program at PVCC, then after 2 years, who knows! :)

The purpose of this blog was to track my marathon progress, and I'm happy to report I successfully completed the Charlottesville Marathon on April 19, 2008 with a time of 4:49:39. I'm copying and pasting exactly what I posted on facebook and myspace, so if you're reading this, you're likely someone who has seen it already, but here it is:


Well, it is official! As many have already seen, I have successfully completed my very first full marathon. That’s 26.2 miles! Thank you sooooo much to everyone who has offered support, well-wishes, and congratulations over the past several months as I’ve pursued this goal. Many of you think I’m crazy…and as well you should! 26.2 miles is pretty crazy if I do say so myself! But I’d like to take a few minutes to go back to the beginning to shed some light on the decision, the process, and the ultimate experience which was the Charlottesville Marathon…

November 17, 2007 my best friend Eleanor was taken from this world. There are few things harder than loosing someone you love so much. That first week I think I was just in shock and didn’t want to believe it had actually happened. But then it really hit home at her memorial service in Scottsville the following weekend. I cried…and cried…and cried…and just felt like a huge part of myself was missing, as I’m sure so many other people who knew Eleanor were experiencing as well.

Eleanor’s mother, Christine (who has got to be one of the strongest women I know!), spoke so beautifully at the service about Eleanor’s life. Christine encouraged everyone to really celebrate the short, but incredibly full life Eleanor had lived in her 21 years. Buttons and ribbons in green and gold (Eleanor’s riding colors) were passed out at the service. The inspiration behind these items was that each person could take a small part of Eleanor with them as they pursued their own goals. It was shortly after the service that I decided to pursue a huge goal of mine that I had not quite made the year before – completing a marathon.

The passion and drive with which Eleanor had pursued her goals became my inspiration. I knew how dedicated Eleanor was to her sport of choice, eventing. All through high school I watched her train and compete, and yet still stay dedicated to her schoolwork. She was determined to make it to the top in her sport, even though she did not have the same luxuries and expensive horses as some people in the sport enjoyed. I watched Eleanor and her horse Bailey climb steadily and surely through the levels and up to advanced. Eleanor had put in the hard work and was definitely living her dream. She MORE than earned the level she had reached.

I remember fall semester senior year begging her to come off to college with me, but deep down inside I knew that Eleanor had found her life’s calling in the equestrian world. A month before we graduated high school, Eleanor packed up her belongings and horse when she got the opportunity to follow her dreams to England. It was hard to say goodbye to my best friend, but I was happy for her to get the chance to fully pursue what she loved.

If you think running 26.2 miles is an impressive feat, you haven’t heard anything! Try competing at Badminton, arguably the most challenging and rigorous equestrian competition in the world! And try doing that at 18 years old, as the youngest competitor, on a horse you trained by yourself! Eleanor and Bailey did just that in 2005. And what I think is more impressive – at Eleanor’s first international competition in Lexington, VA in 2002, we learned that had the Brennans not purchased Bailey, he was to be shipped off to Montana to become a pack horse because no one could train him! Well, Eleanor was able to take him all the way to competing at Badminton! She certainly had a gift and an absolutely amazing partnership with Bailey.

While Eleanor continued training and competing in England, I pursued my own goals in college. I had found my way to the world of fire/rescue and had also developed a passion for a variety of athletic endeavors, including running. I’d decided in 2006 that I wanted to run a marathon, but did not quite make it for 2007 due to school in the spring and knee injuries in the fall. I’d lost a great deal of my drive as I battled injury and took almost all fall off from running. After Eleanor’s accident however, the passion was rekindled and I became determined to achieve this goal I had set for myself.

I progressed my mileage slowly to avoid injury, and created a training program which incorporated the minimum amount of stress on my knees, but would still allow me to go the full distance. (As a side note - I was able to complete the entire program injury free and have since learned that it was actually the biking, not the running, which was troubling my knees in the first place.)

Many of my long runs – the most important aspect of the marathoner’s training program – took place on the dirt paths of Glendower Rd and Coles Rolling Rd in Scottsville. On these training runs I would pass both Grayson Farm and Plain Dealing Farm where Eleanor and I had spent many hours together enjoying a sport we both loved. Both of these places hold so many amazing memories, and it was during these workouts that I felt Eleanor was close with me. Throughout the 5 months of training, I felt like giving up quite a few times, but it was Eleanor’s dedication and determination which really kept me going.

A busy school schedule forced me into a taper earlier than I had planned. Thus, my last few long runs were missed, but I had made it far enough in the program to still be capable of finishing the 26.2 miles. My nerves the week leading up to the event stemmed from missing those last few workouts, and I prayed that the mileage base I had built over the past several months would be enough to carry me through.

April 19th the alarm clock rang at 4:15am. I was so nervous I could hardly eat my staple bagel breakfast. I arrived in Charlottesville at about 5:30am – the race started at 6:30am, so I had plenty of time to stretch, warm-up, and mentally prepare myself for what was to come. I really don’t know why I was so nervous. My only goal was to finish, so all I had to do was just keep moving…keep moving for 26.2 miles…

The gun was shot off and I crossed the start line of the Charlottesville Marathon, my very first marathon attempt. It was a surreal feeling knowing that the next few hours ahead of me were exactly what I had been training and preparing for over the past few months. All the hours and all the miles had led to this. I know I had my best friend there with me in spirit, just as she had been with me over the entire training process.

The first few miles were effortless. In fact, the first 2/3 of the race was pretty effortless!! One foot in front of the other, that’s all it took. I clipped right along at a 10:00min pace for most of the race. The majority of the pack, which was running the half marathon, turned around at mile 6.5 and left us marathoners to continue along on our own. It was quite peaceful and absolutely beautiful as we ran down Garth Rd, passing Foxfield, the Mechum River, and amazing Albemarle County estates. A right turn onto Ridge Road offered a winding dirt path through the woods and past more gorgeous countryside. Another right on Free Union Road looped us back to Garth Road after taking a quick out and back down another dirt path.

Once back out on Garth Road and headed back into Charlottesville, I knew I was in the home stretch. My feet were really aching and I started doubting if I could actually finish, since I was still several miles out, but I know I had someone right there with me, continuing to urge me along towards my goal. My pace had slowed considerably, but I was still moving along towards the finish. A right turn onto Old Garth Rd meant we were only 5 miles from home. My goal was within reach.

I specifically remember checking my watch at mile 22 – 4.2 miles from home and I was at 3:40:00. It was at that point that I KNEW I would finish. It was during mile 23 that I probably walked more than I ran, but I didn’t care, I was still getting closer to home. At the start of mile 24 I started running again, albeit very slowly. It was probably more of a shuffling walk!

Seeing the mile 25 marker brought with it a last surge of energy and adrenaline. The last mile was all downhill on Grady Ave (the BEST part of the Charlottesville Ten-Miler route!!). My legs were starting to really cramp up at this point, but I knew I was so close. I could see the finish line as I passed through the intersection at Preston and Ridge! My mom and her friend Megan were sitting on the corner as I turned on Old Preston, cheering as loud as they could. Just about 50 yards and I had it! Even though the winners had crossed the finish line more than 2 hours before, there was still a crowd cheering me home. I started crying as I crossed the finish line – I had done it. The final official time was 4:49:39.

My Mom, Dad, and Megan all met me with their congratulations, but there were too many emotions following though me to really answer or respond. I wouldn’t have thought I’d have such an emotional response to the whole ordeal, but it took several minutes of just sitting and being able to gather myself before I could really speak intelligently with anyone. I had just completed a HUGE goal I had made for myself, and it was an absolutely amazing feeling. Doing this was also my personal way to honor and celebrate the life and spirit of one of the greatest people I think I will ever have the experience of knowing and being close to.

Had you asked me that afternoon if I would do another marathon, my response probably would have been something along the lines of, “awwww HELL no!!” My left ankle seriously felt like it was broken and I had to practically crawl along the railing to get up or down a flight of stairs. But I was well enough to go out celebrating that night and really was not as sore the next morning as I was expecting. In fact, here it is Tuesday evening, 3 days following the marathon and my body is not even feeling like it ran the race! I had NO idea I would recover this fast, but I’m still gonna take it easy for the next few days.

So, what are the plans for the future? Triathlons in store for this summer, and I’m already plotting marathon #2 for sometime this fall - either the Marine Corps Marathon in October or the Suntrust Richmond Marathon in November. Knowing I can complete a marathon also makes me more excited to one day consider an Ironman triathlon! But one step at a time – maybe shoot for a half Ironman sometime next year and take it from there!

Once again, thank you to everyone who has offered me support and given congratulations as I post my race results online. You all have also helped me keep going and keep working towards these crazy goals of mine. Keep a look out for me in races this summer – I’ll be the one proudly showing off the green and gold!!

Much love!
Erica