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I moved to Austin last Spring after living
abroad for a few years. Reverse culture-shock and depression
made my first few months here miserable ‚ I had hit
the wall. By mid-summer I was starting to feel a little more
settled and finally got up the motivation to start running
again. I had run on and off for a few years (mostly off and
nothing more than a 10K) and had found it to be therapeutic.
Then I saw the Austin Fit ad in the Chronicle: "Run a
marathon, change your life." I wasn't confident that
I could run a marathon but I was sure ready to change my life.
I made a list of reasons why I wanted to train for a marathon:
to beat the blues, improve my health, grow spiritually, learn
to cope, make friends, improve my self-confidence, search
my soul and build character.
Over the last six months Austin Fit has helped to pull me
out of the darkness and into the light. Even before marathon
day, I was satisfied that I had made a lot of progress on
all of my personal goals. I loved the hours of solitude on
the Town Lake trails, being out in nature and watching the
seasons change. I was inspired by the motivational stories
and dedication of the Austin Fit coaches. I was impressed
by the number of people that kept coming back week after week,
even on some of those cold, dark, rainy and dreary Saturday
mornings.
Finally, the big day came. I learned first-hand that running
a marathon is as much mental as it is physical. Although I
had trained for six months, race day was full of surprises,
putting both my mind and body to the test. Around mile 6 my
arches started burning and I knew I was developing blisters
on both feet! I was shocked! I hadn't had blisters since September
when I was breaking in a new pair of shoes! By mile 9 I knew
I had to stop and take care of the blisters because they were
getting bigger by the mile. I plopped down on the curb and
a sweet young volunteer nervously bandaged my feet and sent
me on my way. My friend Katy who had been by my side most
of the training season waited for me to get bandaged. But
by that time, she starting to have problems of her own. By
mile 12 we made the mutual decision to split up because both
of us were facing unanticipated challenges early on and neither
of us wanted to hold the other back.
Miles 13 through 20 were long and lonely. I stopped hearing
the cheers, counting the miles and having fun. I started feeling
nauseous between miles 15 and 18, another challenge I hadn't
been confronted with during training. I stopped to relieve
myself and for a brief moment, I thought that my urine was
blue. I was sure that I was going to die until I realized
that the discoloration was due to the weird lighting in the
porta-poty. I was fine, just a little delirious!
Things got better when I hit the Longhorn Dam and the sun
was no longer such a nuisance. I could hear the cheers again,
enjoy the breeze, birds and view. I thought that I still had
the fabled wall to look forward to, not realizing that I had
already broken through.
At mile 22 I met my final test of strength. Stepping down
on my right foot I felt a warm gush. The next step was a burning
hot tingle of tender raw flesh. The blister that had been
growing and growing had burst. I hobbled for a few minutes
until I reached the Vaseline Nightingale who would nurse me
back to my feet. The volunteer didn't have scissors in her
first aid kit so it took a while to wrestle the old bandages
off. My blister was the size of two quarters. Finally after
she got it lubed and wrapped anew, she couldn't cut through
the gooey brown medical tape that she used to hold the whole
mess together. She ran to her purse and came back with a nail
file, desperately trying to saw through the mesh but to no
avail. An elderly couple approached us and the woman pulled
a mini Swiss army knife out of her purse. Her and her husband
knelt down at my side and made the final cut. It all took
about five minutes but it was time well spent. It turned out
to be a refreshing encounter that put me in a great mood and
positive spirits to finish the race. I felt so peaceful, strong
and determined at that point that I wasn't going to let a
little physical discomfort do more than slow me down a little.
From that point on I was focused and confident. The cheers
that made the biggest difference were the people who said
things like "good pace," or "good form"
or "looking strong" because those words helped me
visualize myself pulling through with grace. My partner and
a good friend met me on their bikes as I passed RunTex and
amazingly they were able to stay with me until the finish
line. When I broke through the imaginary ribbon at the finish
line I raised my arms so vigorously that I pulled a muscle
in back, but I had a big smile on my face.
Thanks Richard, Austin Fit, Katy and all of the red rebels
in the 10:40 group, especially our wonderful coaches Liz and
Mia. Austin Fit really has changed my life! See you on the
trails until next year!
Angie Nichols
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