Hartford Marathon Recap

 

HARTFORD MARATHON RECAP!!! 

RUNNING AS A GUIDE FOR ACHILLES CT 💛

Start line vibes were high! 

3 weeks before the Hartford Marathon, I received a text from Achilles CT asking if I would be interested in being a guide for an athlete for the full marathon. I certainly wasn't in marathon racing shape. I was running and had been running some long runs here and there, but fully in a strength block,...and not really knowing why I was doing those long runs of 16+ miles, it turns out because Gail needed me. 

I immediately said yes. And that weekend ran 20 miles and felt good. I knew this would be a fun day! I also knew her pace was slower than my average marathon pace so even if my fitness wasn't there to race, it would be there to guide her across the finish line. 

I was all in on my duty as a Guide. We met one week prior for an 8 mile "last long run" of the training block and had so much fun running along the streets of the CT shoreline. 

I was taking my job very seriously. I knew I wanted to be there in those dark moments in the marathon when she was struggling and get her through it. Call it my endless need to coach, but also in the back of my competitive mind, was all in on getting her a PR. 

I was struggling with a calf issue early in race week. Felt a pop when I was doing some HIIT intervals on the tread the Tuesday before the race. I rested, iced, and tried to rehab it. Went for a 3 mile shake out run 2 days before and was in some pain. I was worried that I wouldn't make the 26.2. 

Woke up race morning, ready, with little pain (thankfully!). We toed the start line, her a bit nervous about completing the distance, me a bit nervous about whether my calf would hold up the entire distance. 

We started at a nice conservative pace, tackling the early hills one at a time. At mile 5 as we headed into the beautiful Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, she started to surge ahead. My job, to stay next to her was very important to me. I went with her, and as I pushed off that left foot, I felt a "pop" sensation in my calf, came up limping and instantly a sense of fear came over me. 

I came here to guide her. What if the guide can't run?? We were only at mile 5, I had 21 more to go. I ran with a limp for a bit, and then seemed to settle in, but noticing pain with every step. I promised her we would take the first half conservative and then throw some surges in the second half. I was concerned what those surges were going to feel like. 

We made it to the half way point. She was struggling. She had 3 weeks off in September due to a minor surgery. I kept reminding her it was one mile at a time and we would get to a single digit count down. And we did. And it got hard for her. We worked together with a run walk "Jeff Galloway" approach. Needing the tether at mile 20 as her vision started to get blurry. 

With two miles to left, I kept reminding her to trust me. That she can do hard things, that she was making her kids proud. All the mantras that I have used and told my athletes to go to in their races. 

By mile 25 there was no time left to run/walk. We needed to keep running if we were going to get a PR. I was hell bent on this happening. She was settling at that point for "under 6" and I knew she wanted and was capable of more. She grabbed my hand..screw the tether, and we ran as fast as she could, hand in hand that entire last mile, crested a hill, turned into the finisher shoot, and as we came under the arches of Bushnell Park, I let her surge ahead. I yelled to her "go get that PR" over and over.

And she did. She dug deep when she needed to. She stayed strong, she trusted me and her body. She PR'd, qualified for the Boston Marathon in the Para athlete division and won her age group. 

It was the most beautiful day I have had in a marathon. Running in the back of the pack, where they close down water stations, where the spectators are few and far between, where the athletes are fighting for every step....it's incredible. 

And I loved that the coaching I do virtually with my athletes, I was able to do in person side by side, my new friend Gail. She had tears, expressing, to her Achilles CT family, the pride she had in what she just did. Surely she gave me the most heartfelt "thank you" but it was her that did the work when she needed to. 

I just got to coach and run along side her that day. It's a day that will forever live rent free in my head as the marathon I had the most fun at. And my calf...well it held up enough. It wasn't about me that day, it was all about GAIL and that is why I love coaching so much. I knew she could do more than she thought she could. I believed in her and now she believes in that she's capable of big things. 

I love coaching, I love running, I love that they come together in a big race. I was asked if I was concerned about my "race time" being so slow. And my immediate response is ABSOLUTELY  not. Forward is a pace, no matter how fast. I will forever and always  cherish running my 9th marathon in Hartford with Gail. It was truly as special of a day for me as it was for her. Damn, I love this sport. 

xo Robin