Written by Mariesol Figueroa

I did it ! I really did it !

Well, the truth is: it was hard! I had not run those long distances since my college track days.  A whopping 18 years ago ! 18 years ! What had I gotten myself into? I started training. The first few runs felt like the closest to death that I have ever been. I didn’t have enough air in my lungs, I felt dizzy, I got blisters, my poor legs were sore-down to my toenails. Everything hurt. It was hard.

But I had great people that kept me focused. My boyfriend, James would ask me “So, you running today? You gotta train Mar, it is gonna be hard, you need to be training more.” He has run a marathon so he knows. Some days, his question reminded me to put my gear on and go, and other days I wanted to just say “Leave me alone and stop asking me about this damn race!”  Then Michelle would send a message “How’s the training going?” Gosh, I felt bad. Almost gulity when I had nothing to report. Then I would call Rhadi Ferguson and Monica Barnes when I needed someone else that was training to talk to.

It was hard. It was hard on my body. It was hard to make the time to train. It was hard to eat the proper training diet. I stopped drinking alcohol as the race got closer. It seemed like when I decided to do that, a million invitations for happy hour came and I turned them down. Hard.

But in my mind, even if it was 18 years ago…I am an athlete. I am a runner. I KNOW how to run. I just do.

So race day FINALLY arrives. I wake up at 3:45am to get to Michelle and her training crew. I am excited but still thinking “What have I gotten myself into?”  It was very familiar to getting up during Carnival in Trinidad to go to Jourvet. Jourvet is an early morning parade with music, bands, and a drink truck. But this time around there was no drink trunk!  LOL!  For the ING race there was no soca, and definitely no dancing.

Once we arrived there were 25,000 people. I HAD NO IDEA the crowd would be so HUGE. I really don’t know what I expected. It was all so exciting. Runners eveywhere looking for where to go, stretching and getting ready.

I then try and turn on my GPS watch to help me keep my training pace. It is dead. I am so UPSET. How am I gonna keep pace now! Then I try to cue up my ipod for my music. DEAD. WTF ! Is this some cruel joke. Now I have 13.1 miles to run. No music, No watch. Great! Just friggin great.

We start…I feel good. At mile 2 I remember pulling out my asthma pump. Now I feel even better. We walk up the bridge with the incline and keep going. I took some enegry beans at mile 5. The GU gel and energy beans are the truth. I will never do a long run without it. So, I wanted to finish before 3 hours. Between mile 8-9, I decided to run the rest. Once I got to mile 10, I was feeling myself, I was in a zone and no one was gonna stop me. The last two miles were my hardest. I swear they measured the miles incorrectly. THEY FELT LONG! Like never ending. I stopped looking at the mile marker. It was pissing me off. I just wanted it to be over. WHERE IS THE DAMN FINISH LINE !!?? The last mile had a few turns that I thought were pure evil. I kept thinking…oh the end is around the corner…and nope…I still have more to go.

And then I see it…the finish line is in sight. That was the best feeling of the year! Thank ya Jesus!

So this is what I took from this experience. My life feels full when I challenge myself, when I am learning/or re-learning something, when I am connecting with my friends.

I was happy to realize that the people in my circle are amazingly supportive. We love each other. They inspire me to challenge myself. I needed a goal to get myself back in exercise mode. Now my body wants to move again. It feels good. I feel less stressed.

I am looking for my next half marathon to run and I welcome anyone that wants to run it. It is worth it.