This story starts a year ago, when 5 friends from eDiets ran a half-marathon in the mountains of California and inspired 21 to do it this year. 2007 was the second year for Cooth, Alicia and me to run together. We were joined by Honu and Janet. Based on our race reports, others started to speak longingly of our experiences. And so, I went searching. And found the perfect event, the Girlfriends Half Marathon in Vancouver, Washington (just north of Portland, OR).
A year is a lot of time. People joined the group, others left. Running wasn’t what some expected, others had
changes in family or financial situations. Some discovered ways to attend, others found circumstances preventing their participation. In the end, 16 runners and walkers, 3 supporting husbands, 4 non-participating women, one brother and a couple of interested eDieters agreed to meet in Vancouver for the weekend of October 19th.
We came from all over, from New England, the South, the Midwest, the West Coast and even from Scotland. We had in common a belief in the support of each other and the desire to reach incredible heights. In total, the group has lost over 1,000 pounds. Some of us have reached our goal, others are just beginning their health journey. All of us firmly believe it’s easier with friends!
For me, the drama began on Monday, in a seemingly minor incident. Walking through my living room, I caught my mom’s walker with my right foot, stubbing three toes. While the pain was sharp, it wasn’t particularly long lasting or bad. Except that Tuesday, one toe was still tender, bruised and unhappy when it was bent. Still, it’s a long way from Tuesday to Sunday and I was able to run with my runners on Tuesday evening. I dismissed the problem.
I left on Thursday for plenty of Girlfriend time with old friends and new. Although I knew everyone from the ediets online community, it was truly special to meet many of them face-to-face and spend time with others that I’d already met. I had almost 3 days to sightsee, visit, and bond with these amazing women! Unfortunately, on Saturday morning, I awoke with a right foot that was beyond sore – it was PAINFUL! Since I had no traumatic event, I could only believe it was the residual from the toe-stubbing.
The pre-race dinner was huge! 22 people converging on an ill-prepared restaurant was interesting, to say the least. We had plenty of time to socialize while waiting for food and sundries. Fortunately, most were able to satisfy their nutritional needs for a pre-race meal. By this time, I was limping badly and was contemplating alternatives for the next day’s race. I knew that running was a dumb idea – even had I been able to do it pain-free, it was sure to cause damage that could be a long time healing. I was nearly in tears as I talked with my closest friends and admitted I wasn’t sure I could do more than start the race and that even standing to wait for everyone else might be beyond me.
Lynette, dear, dear, wonderful Lynette, convinced me to try starting and walking with her. A broken bone in her foot had made her a probable non-participant as late as a week before the race. But, she promised to entertain me through the race and make walking palatable. Honu brought me ice and distracted me long enough to numb my foot and I planned my strategy – no orthotics, no running, a phone number to get a “pick-up” if the pain convinced me I would be doing damage, a painkiller in my pouch in case I needed it to get back.
Breakfast, race day… Lynette, Pratima, Debby and I shared a table and pre-race jitters. Mine were so different than other races. This time, it wasn’t about time. My goal of running with everyone was long abandoned. I still wasn’t sure I could start this race, much less finish. Optimism had me in race clothes, but I was conscious of my foot with every step. Miraculously, I felt no pain, only the ghost of the feeling that had been there the day before.
We walked to the start, gathered our group, welcomed two latecomers, Sabika and Laura, took myriads of pictures, laughed and cried and hugged. Lining up, I still felt nothing in my foot – a great sign, but it made me want to take my place in MY pace group! I stuck with the walkers. Not happy about that. But Lynette trained for the run and was excited and delighted to walk and there was Jan and Chaili and Sabika and Laura and Rashmi encouraging me. Smart, not hurt. Not hurt is too important.
We started, I hit the button on the Garmin and found our pace. Lynette and I settled in at something between 15 and 16 minute miles. While I would be comfortable slightly faster, it was obvious that we’d found Lynette’s limit. About 6 inches separates us in height and it was significant in stride! I brought my camera as a compensation for the inability to run. The first two miles passed in a blink – laughing, singing and talking, we soon found ourselves on a “two way” street, with the fastest of the runners passing us on the “back” of the first out-and-back! PICTURE TIME. I spotted almost everyone, thanks to the distinctive shirts courtesy of eDiets (note to self – dress participants in a breast cancer race in something OTHER than pink or red to stand out!) and got decent pictures of most.
The waterfront was cool and breezy and clouds covered the sky. Woulda been great if I were running, but not so much fun walking! We made the turn and started back, snapping pictures of our other walkers on the way. As we reached the 9 mile point, it became clear that my foot was going to give me the day. I was eager to run, but convinced that 4 miles was still too much. I argued internally and decided on running from 11. By the time we reached the second two way street, most of our fast runners were long gone (and almost finished!). But I managed to get pictures of a few!
As we started down the hill around 10.5 miles, my pace was speeding up and Lynette’s was slowing marginally. I still wanted to run but didn’t like the idea of the concrete surface. Finally, around 11 miles, I decided on a quicker pace, bid good luck to Lynette (it was now clear she’d make her own goal with no problem), set a finishing goal for myself and started pushing my own pace. Finally, we left the concrete and turned up a hill and I was free to run. It felt odd to be running so strong at 12 miles and to be passing out those walking and slogging along. But it also felt great to be doing what I had planned to do – RUN! Even if it was just one mile.
The finish line came up quick. Two of the husbands were waiting at the top of the last, one-block hill, along with our winner – Carmen! As I crossed the finish line, Janet, Honu, Pratima, Christine and others were waiting. And hugging. And crying. And, of course, grilling me to find out if I’d run too much. I was laughing and crying to finish so strong. In just under 3:14. A new personal worst! But truly a rose in the bleak landscape I had seen the night before.
Lynette appeared on schedule in just under 3 and a half hours. Jan walked in strong, Rashmi and finally Sabika and Laura crossed the finish line. We had personal bests, and first finishes, personal worsts and just finished. Two runners almost went under 2 hours! No trophies, but as I have said, we all finished first in our divisions! Just matters how you define your division! (First: Master’s women from Alabama here! First: woman who wanted to run but settled for mostly walking due to late injury, too!)
This half has amazing amenities! Well worth it, and I bet they get better organized every year! Participate if you can and always remember, it’s about the journey, not the medal!
