Breaking the Rock

An interesting day unfolded in Dallas during the 2006 White Rock Marathon.

Let's start with Jaclyn who posted a 2:47:16. This is nowhere near her PR, but she did accomplish two goals today. First, she ran the entire 13.1 miles without walking or stopping. The whole gooey enchilada. She ran through the water stops and took her water and carb boom on the run. Heck, I've never done that before. Good for her. Second, this was Jaclyn's twelfth half of the year and she completes the Love the Half Challenge in the upper echelon as far as races go. You could say I am double-dippin' proud.

And now for something a little sad, but heartwarming. During the later part of the run, when the half marathon met up with the marathon, Jaclyn ran for a mile or so with a gentleman by the name of Tom. Tom was returning to Dallas White Rock for a second year. This year with a purpose. You see, last year, he ran the marathon with his wife and some friends. After they had completed the marathon, they attended the after party. Unfortunately, Tom's wife passed away during the party. Tom came back this year to run for his two sons (aged 2 and 5). He wanted to show them that running a marathon wasn't always a bad thing and could be a good thing. Mission accomplished.

I am not sure about how to report on my race. Outside of stomach problems I was having a good run. In fact, I woud dare say that my stomach problems impacted my run very little according to my pace through the first half. As planned, I ran several of the first miles at around an eleven minute pace. And then settled in at around ten minutes per mile. This put me at 2:13:17 at the halfway point and I was running pretty well. By Mile 14, I caught the 4:30 pace group and was debating on what I should do. Just after Mile 15, that changed. I had two different choices to make. I don't want to go into what the first choice was, so I'll just say I chose option two.

Jason is a first time marathoner and I noticed he was struggling. He was experiencing knee problems and he was doing all he could to keep up with the 4:30 pace group. I knew what I had to do and that was to get Jason from where he was to the finish line. My race was essentially over.

I have coached Houston Fit for nearly four years now. During sanctioned events I have always encouraged runners and have run with various people and groups of people. But not once have I ever put my race aside for another person. Today was my day to give back.

One of the mistakes Jason made was deciding on a finishing time. Worse, he tacked one of those Clif Bar Pace Team tags to the back of his shirt. Folks, unless you are the actual pacer, never do this.

But that aside, Jason's left knee was giving him major problems. My first order of business was to convince him that the most important thing was to finish. No more of this "time" stuff. After I succeeded in doing so, I needed to get him to take a walk break because he was struggling. Each time I noticed he started struggling, I got him to take a walk break. I made sure he felt I was the one doing this and not him. After awhile, he started asking for walk breaks on his own.

Another thing I did was I tried to keep a running conversation going with him so he would focus less on the pain. While they were not fast, the miles did melt away. Jason was doing really well until just after Mile 21 and then I think he hit the proverbial wall. From then on I set small goals such as running to the next mile marker or walking to the next signal. This was somewhat successful, but as we passed Mile 24, each time we ran, Jason wanted to know how far we got. I remained positve, something I had done with Jason from the beginning. Rather than getting him to focus on the minor distance we had covered, I cheered him up with comments such as "You do realize you are going to finish before several relay teams" and "You realize you are passing half marathoners..." This kept Jason's mood upbeat and he was always willing to tackle the next segment.

With the finish line in sight, I let him know that he was officially a "marathon man" and then I did what I had discussed with him a mile back. I told him that as we approached the Finish Line I wanted him to run down the center of the street and I was going to move as far to the right as possible. This was his first marathon; I wanted everyone focused on him.

We met again after we crossed the line, shared a handshake and a hug. He thanked me profusely, but the only thing that mattered to me was the smile on his face.

My finishing time was 4:39:49. Actually one of my better marathons as far as time goes. But one of my best as far as satisfaction.

That's all for for now folks. A day at "the Rock." 

Comments

[Crosstrain]

You are such a softie. Jason owes you 26.2 microbrews, btw. Make sure the Mr and Mrs have one on me for your great runs today.

[justjunebug]

wow.

thats all i have as far as words.

oh and i have tears.

i hope i have an angel on my shoulder come january 14th ... actually i will think of this entry and quietly think that you are pushing me (ever so gently) to the next landmark.

[Tiggs]

Of course Tigger and I already knew this, but JD, you f'ing rule!!!

[Holden]

Way to go coach!

[Carolyn]

You are truly inspirational.

[Jessica, a Houston Runner]

Way to be a good guy...people like you make me look FORWARD to racing even more!

[txrunnergirl]

You totally ROCK! Way to go!

[Vic]

WTG!! That was awesome. As a likely future struggler, THANKS!!!