Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Dam Marathon

I think the title to this post is what T was saying to herself when she was at mile 16 in her recent endeavor. T ran the Teton Dam Marathon this last Saturday and it was an accomplishment to say the least. I asked her if she wanted to report on her experience but she would rather have me write in her behalf. So it is from my perspective that I write about T's marathon.

I dropped T and her friend off at the dam at 5:15 am for the 5:30 start. After the race started, I drove home and watched Sports.center for four hours. Than I drove to the finish line and picked T up. That was my view of the race.
OK, now for T's. She had a few goals before the race started. The first was to finish in under 4 hours and 30 minutes. The second was to not walk the entire 26.3 miles. She was able to accomplish one of the two. At about mile 16 or so T started to feel sick to her stomach. We are still not sure what brought it on but nonetheless it slowed her down a bit. She thought it was the energy goo they were giving out so she stopped eating and drinking anything but water for the rest of the race. I feel that may have added to her problem. After a mile or so she started to feel better and was able to finish the race in 4 hours and 20 minutes. She did have to walk a little when she felt sick but she was able to persevere and still finish in under four-thirty.

After finishing and after she caught her breath she told me that at one point while she was running she saw a cliff out away from the road and tempted to jump off. She said, "I saw the cliff and thought to myself I can jump off that cliff and end this misery now." She also explained to me moments after the race that she was an idiot to have ever wanted to run a marathon.

Now we are a few day since the marathon and T has finally got over an extreme case of leg and body soreness. She has taken her daily workouts lightly (though I wish she would take the whole week off entirely, but it's T I'm talking about). She now feels running another marathon is definitely something to do again in the future but right now she wants to possibly participate in a triathlon.

Since I got to write this post I also want to take a moment to tell T that I am very very impressed and proud of her for her accomplishment. She truly is amazing and inspiring and I hope she knows how much I love her. Shoot, all I did for those four hours is watch Sports.center, not very impressive.

Here are a few pictures for you all to enjoy.

T getting ready for the start

T running the last stretch before the finish line

Finishing her first ever marathon...way to go!


7 comments:

G said...

I am very impressed. Congratulations! The only time I run is when I am being chased.

R said...

Way to go girl! Great job. I know how you felt about that cliff. Been there psychologically. But you busted through the wall and finished under your goal and that's what counts.

Myndi said...

I am also very proud of you!!! Woo-hoo!!! I admire you dedication and your determination.

The Good Life said...

Tasha...you are amazing! I told myself 3 years ago that I was going to run a marathon after reading a book called running with angels. I started training and after 3 months of running, my knees started to hurt just walking up stairs so I stopped. Wimped out is more like it. running a marathon is a HUGE accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself! Plus just think about how healthy your heart must be! WOW

larissa said...

Wow! I'm so proud of my little sister. Way to go! I enjoyed reading your perspective Jordan. :)

Jamie Blake said...

That is way impressive. Under four and a half hours! Congratulations.

M said...

So impressive! I ran 3.5 miles the other day and it sucked. No matter how I try to enjoy it, I just don't. So I have to hand it to you that you finished so well. Congrats!