Part XI: The Achievement

Last week I discussed how important music is to your athletic performance. Whether I am running one mile or twenty-five miles music pushes me forward. I recently competed in my first half marathon in Chicago. It was an event I was dreading for weeks because my training had been off track due to the terribly cold and snowy weather.

I was lucky enough to be in Florida the week before the race. While there, I trained hard because I knew if I wanted to compete strong during the marathon I needed to find and set my pace. The locations I ran at were gorgeous; Amazonian looking rain forests, historic landmarks, and swampland surrounded the paths. It was the perfect place to practice for a race. Especially a race I had minimally trained for during the long winter. When I arrived back to my home later in the week I stayed on track running every other day, building my miles up one-by-one.  

I woke up at four in the morning the day of the race because fellow racers were picking up my dad and me at five A.M. We drove up to Chicago and parked in a parking lot off of State Street. We were then bused to the park where the race was being held. When we first entered the park, we quickly noticed that we were the first participants to arrive and had two and a half hours until the race even began. It was very cold and windy because we were next to Lake Michigan and the sun had not fully emerged yet. The pathways, including the course paths, were still covered in patches of snow and ice from the winter storms that passed through that week.  I knew before that this race was not going to be easy, now I was reassured that I was quite screwed.

Eventually we lined up at the starting line and the race began promptly at 9 A.M. At this point we couldn’t wait to begin and warm up our bodies that had been freezing in the wind the last few hours. The views were beautiful, running along the lakefront, next to Soldier Field, through parks and around lakes. I was thrilled to of not stopped running until the nine-mile mark because nature was calling and there was a water break station. After my fast break I began the last leg of my race.

By mile eleven, I was cold, wet, and sore from the previous eleven miles and ready for this race to be done and over with. If there was any motivation left in me, this was the point I needed it most. I turned on my ‘Pump-up’ song playlist on my iPod and let ‘Chelsea Dagger’ take me away.  The last couple miles were definitely the roughest so thank goodness for the music that motivated me to finish strong.

Once I saw the finish line I knew this was my chance to make up ground and pass up anyone ahead of me. This is when my adrenaline kicked in and I flew past the finish line with a smile on my face and a body that was about to crumble apart. I got my medal, food, and water from the race volunteers and went to my groups meeting place. Once we were all together we congratulated each other and onward we went back to the car. It was the most painful walk I have ever experienced in my life, but well worth it. Once back to the car, we packed up and went to eat. This was a nice, peaceful end to a very successful morning.

All good things must come to an end. Join me next week for my final blog entry. Until then, enjoy your week.