This is the second time starting this race report. The first time I started I got about half way through and realized all I was doing was whining about how cold I was (it was) and how I had to get up at the butt crack of dawn (I did) and how I didn’t run a great race (I didn’t ). It was depressing and even I didn’t want to read it. So why torture you?
The funny thing is, I actually had a blast in Vegas and am really glad I went. What was magical about the race had nothing to do with me. It was a friend who came with me, he was the reason I was shivering but thrilled by the end of the weekend.
It all started a couple of months ago when my friend Tom posted that he’d completed a 10 mile run on Facebook. I’d been bugging him for several years to start running more regularly. I (like I do with all of you) had been expounding on the fabulousness of destination races, and how he should come and join the fun. With a 10 mile run under his belt I had my in. I immediately jumped at the chance and waved the idea of the Las Vegas ½ Marathon in front of his face. “I’ll help you! You can do it!” I kept telling him. I was jumping up and down excited like a little girl. Then the 2nd best thing happened, Tom said yes. Yes, there’s a 1st best thing…the story gets even better.
Now I knew that based on his current distances a 13.1 mile run (while challenging) would be totally doable. The goals set for his training were to keep up is base conditioning, and get his head ready for the idea of running that far. I set Tom a training schedule, incrementing up a mile or two each week until race day. Of course being a tad competitive, he overshot every one of my training runs and had actually completed the 13.1 distance before race day. My protégée was ready.
We arrived in Vegas the Friday before the race. As a good coach I met my runner at the convention to walk him through the registration process and be there to encourage and answer any of the questions he might have.
We started by discussing his race number. Part of the process of registering for the race is you have to estimate your finish time. The race officials then use that information to determine which starting group you should be in so that they can line us all up by speed – the faster runners getting to be up front. Tom had put down a 3:30:00 finish time which meant he was way at the back of the pack. Knowing that he and I were running at a similar pace on our training runs I started the work to convince him that he’d easily finish under the 2:30:00 time and that we needed to change his start group. He wasn’t so sure. Then the best thing happened….
I’ll never forget it; we were standing in the line. I was yabbering on about his running time with my cheerleader self coming out in spades. Tom turned to me and said “You know… this was a great training experience. I think I’d like to run a marathon.” My heart stopped. Actually I think I threw my arms in the air and cheered with glee. I think I was more excited about the prospect of getting a friend to go for the challenge of running a marathon than I was by running my first. My excitement dampened a little when I realized that he still needed to actually run the race and all sorts of things could change his mind. However I was a woman on a mission, operation Marathon went into overdrive.
On race day Tom and his lovely wife got up with the rest of the group dressed in the multiple layers of clothes we needed to run in the frigid Las Vegas temperatures. We started in a little pack. There were 4 of us, the usual suspects….Fro Fro, Chickey, Jo Jo and now Tom. We all stayed together for probably the first mile and as we do we all spread out to run our own race. I ran with Tom for a little while, but as I mentioned I wasn’t having my best running day so he quickly vanished into the crowd in front of me. While I was cold and miserable watching my pace dwindle from the stellar speeds I’d posted in San Francisco a month earlier, I kept an eagle eye for Tom. I was watching for him but praying that I’d never see him again on the course. I knew that if I didn’t pass him that he’d run the 2:30:00 I’d promised earlier in the weekend. By running a faster pace than he expected, he’d be excited and motivated to continue on this journey.
Tom’s race was stellar. He totally rode the energy wave and excitement of running in a race with 26,000+ other runners. He finished in 2:22:00. I couldn’t have been happier.
Tom keeps telling me that he had a good time in Las Vegas and is signing up again for next year. And I’m pretty sure I can convince him to join me on another ½ marathon race sooner than December 2010. What makes me chuckle is that he’s already starting to worry about the training plan for a full marathon. But I know something he doesn’t. I know he’ll be able to do it, and I’ll be as proud as I can be when he crosses the finish line for that race, wherever it may be. Heck, I’m even tearing up a tiny bit writing this.
So I’m off to put my coaching hat on again and pull out the pom-poms to be his cheerleader again. And by doing this it will motivate me to train harder and meet my goals head on. I always knew deep down that all this running wasn’t just about me. Tom has me even more excited about what I’m doing. Now I may have totally scared him off by writing this slightly crazy post, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
So, how about it folks? Are you up for joining Team Jo Jo? I’m accepting new applications. Oh and a new team name too.
PS. Congratulations to all the friends who joined us out on the arctic Las Vegas ½ Marathon course. Go Papa, Chickey and Fro Fro!
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