Not something I ever would have imagined saying, but here we are!
So here's my experience.
So here's my experience.
It all started with a friend of ours from the MBA. One Monday, Alastair noticed that he looked extra tired. He looked dead during class and he was taking naps during breaks. Alastair asked why he was so tired and he said that he ran a marathon. Now, prior to running a marathon, our friend had never really run before. But he trained enough to finish a marathon. Alastair was intrigued. He thought, "if my friend could run a marathon, I bet I could." Alastair signed up for his first marathon in Geneva, trained for one month, finished the marathon with a good time, and he was hooked. And he is so good at it. I swear, Alastair is a whole other level of awesome; he is always so good at everything he does!
He had a go at a triathlon in the summer (not his best) and then ran a half marathon in Bilbao. Now, this is where I come in. We drove to Bilbao, which was a fun road trip. And when you are in a car for a while, you get to talking. Because our talk was centered around running, I got to thinking. I thought, "I bet I could run a marathon. If I trained and put in the effort, I bet I could do one." So that day, I signed up for the Paris marathon. That gave me 6 months to train. On the way home, I regretted signing up.
I'm not a runner. Never was. I remember as a skinny, scrawny teenager, I struggled running one mile. How was I going to run 26.2 miles?! I knew this wasn't like some test you can cram the night before. I had to dedicate time to run. Not just quick 5ks, but 20+. And not sporadically, I had to have a plan. So I trained. I ran. In the rain, when I didn't feel like it, when I was tired, when I was angry....I ran. I hated it most days but I did it. Even with trips, injuries, and illnesses, I somehow managed to get enough runs in.
And then, I had my first race. I had run plenty of half marathons during training, but there was nothing like running in a race. It was fun. Difficult, but fun. And I ran the fastest I had ever run! I felt so good and so proud. There was nothing like it! Alastair was even so shocked. I remember running to the finish, thinking, "Alastair won't believe this!" Ugh, such a good feeling!
After the half, it was a struggle. It was hard to stay motivated and I was going through some real low points of depression and major headaches. It sucked to go from high to low. I had headaches every day for three weeks and I was just so down. I didn't know what was going on with me. Still don't know. But eventually, I started to feel like myself again. I started running and feeling happy.
Until I checked the calendar. It was around 1 am and I randomly checked my calendar. I wanted to see when my next periods were going to be. I saw that during the marathon, I was going to be on my period. I was so angry! Here's why. I've been working so hard to reach a goal that seemed impossible for me. It was finally attainable. And then some uncontrollable factor was going to ruin my first experience in running a marathon?! I didn't want to deal with cramps and bleeding while trying to run for miles and miles. I was so upset. So, I decided to change my fate. Alastair suggested running the Barcelona marathon, half joking half serious. And so I said, "sign me up."
With a month less of training, I was going to run a marathon. I didn't have too much time to train, I squeezed in one more half and also injured my ankle on my last little run (which was so freaking annoying!). And the few days leading up to it, we had family come into town for it as well. With all the entertaining and the cooking, I didn't have much time to fully soak it all in. Maybe that was a good thing because the night before the race, I was so nervous and anxious.
That morning, I did the whole routine. I got dressed and kissed Emre. While walking out the door, Alastair asked if I was ready and I broke down. I was so nervous and scared and regretted signing up. It felt like riding a roller coaster and you're going up and up and up; there's no turning back. Once we dropped our bags, I hugged Alastair one last time and cried. I was so scared. Thankfully, Ben, Alastair's cousin, was in the same section and he helped ease my anxiety by just chatting. Once we crossed the line, that was it. I knew I was going to finish but I just didn't know how I was going to get there. I did the best I could even though it was the most difficult thing I had ever done. More difficult than pushing a baby out my vagina. I mean, I had an epidural, but still. Couldn't have an epidural for this run. It was a tough course. Not much to see, more hilly than I had anticipated, and it was hot. The farthest I had run prior was 25 km, so everything after 25 km was a whole new territory for me. I did the best I could. Once I hit 27 km, I got a message from Alastair saying that he finished and he encouraged me to keep on going. And that's when I lost it. Actually, that was the second time. The first was around 25 km when an old man cheered me on. He said, "go Laleinia go," and I started crying. It touched my heart, I can picture that moment right now, and it's actually making me tear up just thinking about it. People can be so kind and they don't even know it. Whoever you were, thank you! Back to kilometer 27. I lost it. Once I got the message from Alastair, I cried. It was so tough. Painful. Mentally and physically, I was exhausted. But I kept on going. I cried a lot. I slowed down and continued to run. It was so freaking hard. There was no sprint finish but there was a little voice in my head telling me to keep going. When I heard Alastair cheer me on, I looked at him, waved, and cried and continued to finish my run. I did it. I ran a marathon.
I grabbed my Powerade and water and my new prized possession; my medal.
Now, why did I want to run a marathon? Well, I wanted to do something. I've felt so unmotivated to do something hard. The last time I felt like I was working for something was when I was in college. Your 20's are this time where you're learning, making mistakes, getting hurt, but eventually coming out of it a better person. I wanted to feel that struggle again, I wanted to work toward something that was difficult. I wanted to end my 20's with something so crazy. And I did! I'm glad I decided to run a marathon a month earlier and to run it in the city I love. Barcelona has been this city where I have grown and hurt in so many ways. I have run these streets; every nook and cranny. There's no better city to share this experience with. Barcelona will forever have a place in my heart. Also, the song that sent me on my way at the starting line was Barcelona by Freddie Mercury. It was meant to be.
There you have it, I ran a marathon.
Lain was so excited about this she wrote it twice... round 2:
Lain was so excited about this she wrote it twice... round 2:
Alastair’s new hobby has been running. He’s really good at it and has been running quite a few marathons. When he ran the Bilbao half, I thought to myself, “I bet if I trained enough, I could run a marathon.” So, last October, I signed up for the Paris marathon. I trained for months, got a few injuries, and increased my endurance. I ran all around Barcelona. From the snowy paths in Oslo, to the beachy Tel Aviv, I ran as much as I could! I hit a snag when I realized I would be on my period in Paris. My dreams were crushed. I was crying it out to Alastair, telling him my frustrations, when he suggested that I run the Barcelona marathon. It was less than 10 days away. So that night, I signed up for the Barcelona marathon. Before the marathon, I went on a little run and tweaked my ankle. I thought I was doomed. Thankfully, with rest, my ankle was fit enough to run on the big day. We carb loaded and hydrated, got our kits ready, and set out to run the big marathon!
I was so nervous. It felt like getting on a roller coaster and going up and up and up, waiting to ride down. I was crying, I was so afraid to do it. I said goodbye to Alastair, cause he was more in the front of the group and I was towards the back. It was nice because Alastair’s cousins ran it as well, so I had someone to talk to instead of standing all by myself. Once you saw people moving, that was it. I crossed the start line and the nerves were gone. I had nothing left to do but move my legs until I reached the finish line. The first 25km wasn’t terrible, I was doing fine, but then it started to really suck. There was this part where you ran down a long stretch of road and then you ran down it again. It sucked to see all the other people running down and you still had to do a lot more. And it was hot. And don’t get me started on the people cheering. Every time someone said, “Vamos Laleinia,” I lost it. I was an emotional wreck. It was weird. And then around km 27, my headphones died. I remember, Katy Perry’s Darkhorse and then my headphones died. I was so mad. When I needed it the most, it failed on me. That’s when it got really difficult. I was imagining Alastair riding up with a bike and then getting on it and quitting. The thing that carried me was knowing that Alastair qualified for Boston. He reached his goal, I was so happy for him! I knew I was going to finish, the real question was how well I would finish. I didn’t sprint finish to the end, I had no energy left. Alastair was there to cheer me on at the end; we both cried. I did it. I ran a marathon. We eventually made our way to the beach and laid on the sand for a while. Emre was there with his cousins.
It was honestly the most difficult thing I have ever done. It’s not like cramming for a test, you can’t cram in miles before race day. You have to allow your body the time to adjust. And it’s not like giving birth. You can’t get an epidural for a marathon. You may be numb, but your legs won’t work. Anyway, I did it. That’s all, that’s the story. I lost toe nails for it; took 7 months to grow back, It was painful, felt like someone was constantly trying to pull my toenails off. And now, I’ve signed up for another marathon and hoping for a better time. Frankfurt, here we come!