The registration this year was early. In past years, I've watched the entry open on 1 July and always said, "someday". Last year my entire season was a bust due to a cronic calf issue. By the time I had an MRI done, all they could say was, scar tissue is eveywhere due to repeated injury. I spent the winter breaking up the scar tissue with constant roller, stick, and massage work. This year training has been good and I entered The Columbia olympic.
(It's in my back yard.
). Imagine my surprise in mid-March when i saw on th JFK web site that the registration had been moved up to 1 May and included the wave entry based on mararhon times! As a Navy retiree, I was eligible to enter in the first wave, but I needed to get a 4:30 marathon under my belt within the past two years. I had to make a decision, keep focused on tri or find a marathon and bet busy logging some long miles. I turn 50 this year and knew this was my only chance to achieve the bucket list of running the 50 miler on the 50th annual, at the age of 50.
(silly, perhaps, but it makes it easy to talk about which makes me get public leverage on myself.
)I was tentative on how the calf would hold up, but I began racking up some long slow miles. I found the Gettysburg marathon a couple of hours north being held the last weekend in April. I knew that if my body held up, I had a chance. A month before the race I was on a business trip and tried to sqeeze in a quick run on the hotel treadmill befor leaving for the airport. Finding the treadmills all occupied, I opted for the eliptical trainer. I was cruising along when suddendly I tweeked my knee. I don't mean a little, I mean full stop, cant bend my knee, where is the ice NOW tweek.I paid extra for the 6 hour flight so that I could have a bulkhead seat and elevate/ice my leg all the way home. I hobbled for a couple of days, waited a week to run and crossed my fingers. My biggest problem was twisting the knee. As long as i ran straight, no trails, i was not too bad. Throwing caution to the wind with two weeks to go, I sent my registration in to the race. I drove to Gettysburg, toed the line and frankly had no idea if I was going to be able to run a mile or 26.2.
(I turned my knee at the foot of the stairs a week befor the race.
). I was not out to set a marathon PR - the rolling hills of gettysburg really isnt the place for PRs anyway. All I needed was a 4:30 so that I could send in my JFK application in the first wave. Reaching the half 10 minutes ahead of schedule gave me confidence, but I didn't relly feel safe until I crossed the finish at 4:21. Ten days later my wife hands me a aelf addressed envelope, "whats that?". I say, " it's the answer". I used a letter opener and felt like I was openining my college admissions letter a few decades before. I peekd in the top and only saw A single piece of paper and it wasnt my returned check. Woo hoo! It read Congratulations... And is now hung on my refrigrator to remind me.I have the Columbia tri this weekend. Yes my marathon training used up many of my cycle training hours so I know it's going to hurt a bit. But that's OK. The event ends with a run which is just part of the training for my JFK 50-50-50. Swim, bike , run, run, run... Body don't fail me now. GO NAVY