Victoria Marathon...CRUSHED

Dateline: Friday, 10/8/10, 6:55am, Victoria Marathon Weekend
Location: Above California

Beverage: Strong Starbucks cuppa joe with ample steamed half 'n' half
Playlist: David Holmes / U2 / Coldplay / Cake

Company: TNT peeps extraordinaire with more to come on the following flight. Family at home waking up to get ready for school. Thinking about them often.

Me: Getting mentally psyched up for my third marathon. First was....my first. A "Get-'er-done" experience. A meeting of the Run Girls. Second marathon was an injury ridden horrendous experience of frustration and elation. Did it, done. Marathon #3 is a "I am physcially healed, body stong, mind prepared and ready to push it -- but maybe not as hard as my body is really capable of running. It's all good. Cause there will be a marathon #4. However, today is about today.

Today: fly, arrive, coffee, marathon expo, high tea at the Empress, marathon expo, dinner, sleep. It's a day without stress. A day of getting ready to get ready.

Tomorrow: strategy session with Wolf-Pac and its honorary members. It's a Running Den of 5 (plus others) who have been training together on long runs for this marathon weekend . Strategizing with charts, graphs, pace charts, an airing of the "what ifs" to prepare for all possible outcomes. Knowledge is power. Only later do you free the mind, so the feet will follow.

Dateline: Monday, 10/11/10 -- Day after the marathon

Beverage: water

Playlist: One Tree Hill, U2...and others

Marathon #3...done. 5:05:21 (PR by 52 minutes)

Marathon Day Re-Cap

The Wolf-Pac starts out scouting the grounds and, by mile 1, converged into full Wolf-Pac-Five formation running together high in spirits, working in rhythm, pumping each other up mentally to boost the physical while sticking to the 8 min run/ 1 min walk.

Interacting with other runners, supporters on the sidelines, and each other. Maintaining a steady solid pace within range of a most amazing time goal for us all. Running by streets with names to inspire, and names reminiscent of friends and memories from childhood far away from Victoria. All of this helping to remove the numbers from the miles.

Coach Tim comes upon us while in positive form, smiles, laughs, encouragement. I hope we gave to him, what he gave to us.

As early-starting friends and teammates approached us, while making their way to the finish line-- we formed a line of high fives, passing each other by with heart-felt "GO TEAMs!". The elites began sprinting by, erupting more cheers from our group.

As the miles pass the words between us become sparse. I wasn't expecting this to happen this early on in the race. By mile 14ish, I sense each of us beginning to retreat into our own heads. I know this course from last year and call out to our Wolf-Pac Den of Five -- "We continue straight for a bit, and make a left. There's a water stop -- then we turn around and make our way back." Okay. Get my water bottle ready, refill, recap, make my u-turn. I know Ilya is right behind/beside me. And yet, upon my return, I see Jen...and Juana slightly further back..... Marc following even further back. My heart sinks, feels broken. We had set ourselves up to run together as a Pac of Five up to mile 20. It isn't happening. As Ilya and I continue, the others fall further behind. I can't look back to see who was behind -- I ask Ilya to take a glance and I see disappointment on his face. I think to myself, "We all agreed - if one stops, if one slows down, the others.....continue. It's race day. It's what you do."

Mile 18. Tough. The chant through my head echoes, "I'm here to run. I'm here to run. I'm here to run." Pace slows...picks back up while maintaining a 8 min run/ 1 min walk with a little bit more walk on occasion. At mile 21ish, we slow dramatically as Ilya and I see a swerving Cortney (Wolf-Pac) -- give her salt -- tell her to take the salt -- force her to gu. Chatting to check her head while checking mine. We tell her when we see the Coach, we'll send him back. Ilya and I reluctantly continue. Running with new mantra, "Gotta get the Coach. Gotta get the Coach. Gotta get the Coach. I'm here to run. I'm here to run." One mile to go and we see the biggest smile on the Team - Jesi. "Please run with us...but don't talk." We tell him about Cortney, and he says he'd find her. We run, we run. Mike Z appears with the code word I gave him...."Marrrrcia." "Please run with us...but don't talk." We run, we run. Take a walk break......we run. 500 meters to go. I see Coach Tim along a turn. I gently lift my index finger to my mouth giving the universal symbol for "quiet please". (Note: At the Victory Party, Tim dramatically re-interprets this moment as, "WOW! Great to see ya Coach,...but, shut the F** up!")

A few moments later I take a 15 sec. walk break and Ilya continues. Why, WHY am I walking?!? I pick it back up....400 meters...Z and Coach leave me as I make my way through the final shoot for finishers only. I hear Ilya's being announced as he finishes ahead of me. Then...the Announcer's words pace me through the final approach which lifts my spirits and my arms to and carry me to the final finish...."Janine Penney....from San Jose....running with Team in Training....has finished her marathon....in 5 hours.....and 5 minutes." I crushed that marathon....we all did.