11/05/2019
My Marathon experience: (WARNING long post! 😂)
It started at the CKO convention last April where James Raffone was a guest motivational speaker. And he was motivating! He convinced me to run a marathon! So that’s when it started. I made the commitment and woke up every morning thinking about it. My task was twofold, raise awareness and funds for the charity JAR of Hope to fight Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and to train to run this 26.2 mile race. I started my plan mostly in July and the fundraising was difficult for me, I hate asking for money but I knew I could do it with my amazing support system of family, friends and CKO family. And we did!! The run training should have been much easier than it was. I had so many people with experience guiding me and helping me but my life seemed to just get more and more hectic as the countdown progressed. I definitely felt defeated at times. My body didn’t agree with the schedule and there was lots of painful times. Not to get sympathy by any means, but to give an example ...6 days out I bent over to pick up socks and heard a loud “pop” in my back and felt immediate pain. I couldn’t stand upright for about 20 minutes. I stretched and worked my way up and went to work. Could only do half my class. Went home and took the rest of the day off and iced it down. Next day I couldn’t bear weight on my left leg without sharp pain in my back. Couldn’t lift my left leg to do a front kick, forget any roundhouse kicks. Panic started to set in. I somehow got through teaching 3 classes that day. Went to Grano Pain Relief & Wellness Center and my massage therapist, Lori Breen each day after that leading up to raceday. And thank God For them. I felt about 90% on marathon Sunday but I hadn’t tested running at all. I had told James my issue and he said document it all because after the race you will be so proud of your accomplishment. He definitely lifted me out of a defeated mindset. He offered me to stay with his wife and family the night before the race so I could be on the bus with the team going to the race. I met Jamesy the night before, and what a great feeling it was to actually see the little boy I was actually helping by doing this race. He was quiet and shy but a beautiful boy with a determined spirit. He is surrounded by a family of pure strength. His mom, Karen Hahn Raffone is a pillar of her family. As a mom of three myself, I saw how she multitasked through all the twists and turns leading up to this marathon (and I learned there were so many for this family) She never waivered in her mission to get everyone and everything ready. Her strength is more than admirable. She welcomed me with open arms during a tremendously stressful time for her family. And I am grateful for that. It made me feel part of the team.
On race day I met the rest of the team, what a great bunch of people from all over and all different walks of life and fitness levels. Some were running, some were walk/running, some were walking. My panic started to dissipate. I received tons of texts, messages and well wishes from so many people. It was overwhelming.
The start of the race you could feel the great energy all around you. A real cannon is fired at each start time. Mine was 11:00am.
Once the cannon boomed we rolled out over the Verrazano Bridge. My plan was to run intervals of 3 minutes and walk 1 minute (Galloway method). I had an interval timer attached to my pack to buzz me whenever I needed to switch. I had a ton of nutrition with me in case I took longer than expected (a lesson I learned from all the Spartan races I had done in the past) I bought special Capri pants with seven pockets for this race. And I used every one! I looked like a pack mule with my legs all stuffed! I had chosen to wear a short sleeve shirt but should have worn the long sleeve looking back. I had biofreeze sample packets, Advil, CBD gummies, honey stinger waffles, energy chews, two bottles of very salty electrolyte water for halfway through and the second half, toilet paper, gloves, hat, headphones, phone, sunglasses and a lot of hopes for a successful race. It started well and I did my intervals from mile one to save my legs. All was going really well up until about mile 8 and I was feeling very positive. The neighborhoods in NewYork were amazing. Everyone was lining the streets and cheering us on. Live music was everywhere. It was an amazing experience. Unfortunately I started getting pain in my right knee. Slowly at first so I used my walking time to rub and stretch it out. By mile 10 it was pretty sharp and constant and I could no longer run. But walking was not painful so I was still feeling confident. However that changed between mile 10 and the half. I started to worry some and knew my body would compensate so other parts of my body started feeling it (back, glutes, calves) I took several potty breaks to stretch and put on biofreeze. I took Advil, and kept eating and getting fluids at every station. Right before mile 17....I hit the “wall” started weeping while walking. Sometimes my head was down and perfect strangers came up to me and said you can do this, you can finish, they help out their hands for me to touch as I passed. I then saw Mindy Meletiche, Julie Goodinson, her hubby and Mindys friend Carmen. They were holding signs with my picture and cheering for me. I instantly felt so much better. The next mile I saw Rebecca Heath Fitzgerald and she screamed and hugged me and gave me a snicker bar. I told her what was happening and she said you can finish this. Go do it. I had a new determination and ended up meeting a woman marathoner from London named Stanka Silva. She pretty much saved me. She was also a mom of three and we talked and laughed the rest of the way through. It passed the time and dulled the pain we were both feeling. We held hands at the finish as if we were lifelong friends. After the race, I immediately saw Joseph Andreula and he was such a welcome sight to see. I was so grateful he was still there. He helped me get my bag and meet up with Mindy and called my very worriedfamily to tell them I was ok. Mindy took me to her friends apartment where I almost puked several times 😂. I showered and ate real food and passed out for awhile before she drove me home. I thank God she was there after to help me. It was a bit rough.
So in the end I received an awesome medal that not many will ever receive in their lifetime but more than that I helped local families suffering from a devastating diagnosis and raised awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, I crossed another item off my life bucket list and overcame many obstacles to finish. I would like to especially thank my husband for being so supportive of my crazy adventures, my children who love everything i represent and who represent me with pride and my Mom who always comes through to help me when I need her most. So that’s my marathon story. I hope some of you will consider running for this charity next year. They are looking for participants so message me if you are interested! It was an experience I will never forget.
