A WLS marathoner story retold...
I use to post this on Thanksgiving over the years on this board. I stopped a few years back. Maybe now is a good time for you new people to see where WLS can take you.
I would like to clarify the story below, so there is no misunderstanding. I read this story on OH about a year and a half ago. I decided to save it and repost it. I have never met Lola and would have liked to have received her permission before I posted it. She has restricted access to her OH account, so I couldn't e-mail her and ask her permission to post this. I am not a stalker...Just kept this post because it touched me so. Thought I would share it for Thanksgiving. Brian
Post Date: 5/27/09 12:04 am
Last Edit: 5/27/09 12:26 am
My day started at 4:30 am I was wide awake and ready to go. I have been training for 33 weeks so why would I be nervous right? LOL! I wasn’t really nervous but full of emotions. We left our room at 5:30 am and walked to the elevator. The first elevator opened and it was jammed packed with runners. We decided to wait for another, the next one opened and it was full of runners. This time we squeezed ourselves in and to the lobby we went. There were runners everywhere and we had not even left the lobby of the hotel. We left the hotel and started our walk to the APLA meeting area.
There were people everywhere and it was a bit overwhelming. Once we got to a certain area only runners were allowed in and all these photographers were there stopping us to take our pictures. It was surreal, I felt like a celebrity. At about 6:45 am we made our way to the starting line. There were so many people all lined up waiting for the horn.
Finally, at 7:30ish the horn went off and the fast paced walked began to the starting line. The tears were falling down my face. It took me about 4 minutes to get to the starting line and off I went.
The first five miles I ran for one minute and walked for three. I took it nice and easy and took in the crowd, the cheering and the nice morning breeze. It all felt so unreal, as if I was dreaming. I was reflecting on the past 10 ½ months and how far I have come. I held back the tears a lot and tried to focus on my run.
At mile 5, I picked up my pace. I was doing really well; I was 3 minutes ahead of my pace and switched to a 1:2 pace. I was feeling really good and energized. There was so much to take in, all the people sitting outside their homes cheering us on, the generosity of strangers and all the runners by my side.
I was still feeling really strong and at mile 10 we approached our first and biggest hill. I hate hills and was not looking forward to what was ahead. My watch beeped and I began to run. For the first time I began to question what I was doing and began doubting myself, this hill was kicking my a$$. One of my running mates looked at me and said, “Lena, you can do this! You are amazing keep going.” Little did she know that her words gave me strength and I conquered the hill with ease.
Miles 13 to 18 were relatively smooth; however I was beginning to slow down. We were now five minutes behind pace and the sun was starting to beat down on us. My mom was really beginning to struggle at this point so I slowed down and stayed close to her. I was determined to get both of us to the finish line. I was really excited to get to mile 19 because Kirsten was waiting to join us to help us finish our marathon.
We were greeted at mile 19 with hugs and smiles from Kirsten (who turned out to be our saving grace). She came in with encouragement and distraction. Her words of encouragement carried us when we were struggling. Somehow we managed to get back onto pace and we again were 3 minutes ahead of pace.
Miles 20 to 22 were a bit of a blur. I started to feel light headed and felt like giving up. I was hot, than I was cold. I had the chills one minute and I was sweating the next. Mentally I was drained. The one minute runs were getting longer and longer and the two minute walks were getting shorter and shorter. We took a few extra walk breaks to rest our bodies.
At mile 23, I began to feel better and the finish line was just around the corner. While running, I go somewhere mentally, I couldn’t tell you where my mind goes, but it disconnects from my body and I get a crazy surge of energy.
I don’t remember passing mile 24 and all of a sudden I could see mile 25 in the horizon.
Mile 25 brought on a wave of emotions. I was overcome with happiness, sadness and relief. It was a moment I had dreamed of for over 15 years. My mom grabbed my hand and looked intently into my eyes and said to me, “Lena you go on! You go and under no circunstances do you look back!”
So, off I went! I was in my zone. I got my strength from a strange place. It came from all those in my life that doubted me, that teased me, that called me names or ignored me because I was fat. It came from those that believed in me and encouraged me to go after my dreams. The tears fell down my face for the last mile and .2. LOL! I could see the banner for Mile 26 and I tried to find any ounce of energy in my body. I looked back; I needed to know my mom was still behind me. She was and I could still see her. I powered on.
I passed under the Mile 26 banner. The last .2 was the longest part of the entire race. People were cheering. I was crying and before I knew it I crossed the finish line. 7 hours and 18 minutes after I started the most amazing race of my life. They put the medal around my neck and I headed back to the finish line to see my mom cross the finish line. She finished two minutes after me.
May 25, 2009 is a day that I will never forget. Less than 11 months ago I weighed 330 pounds and I couldn’t walk a mile without feeling completely exhausted. I had made a decision to take control of my life and give up my addiction to food. I made the best choice for myself and for my son and I had gastric bypass surgery. It saved my life! I am so thankful everyday and I never imagined that in 11 months I would say I just completed a MARATHON! It is so unbelievable.
I would like to thank all of you for your support and words of encouragement. It has meant the world to me.
Scott—you are truly amazing. Thank you for your dedication and coaching. I couldn’t have done this without you and your family. You are my inspiration and my mentor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Kirsten—Double squeezes for you! Thank you for all your support, your friendship and for getting us to the finish line. It takes a very special person to take time to meet two runners at mile 19 and finish the race with them. I will forever be grateful to you! Your friendship means a lot to me.
Kevin—The same goes to you!
Janine--- you lady are incredible. Your ongoing support, unconditional love, and selflessness is refreshing and unique. You inspire me and remind me that this tool works. Your belief in me has kept me going over the past 33 weeks. You are truly one of a kind!
Barb--- My special pal. Thank you for your love and support.
Michelle W--- Thanks for believing in me and for cheering me on.
Liz—Thanks for the late night chats on FB and for believing in me.
To all my fellow runners—Keep running.
To everyone else---- Reach for the stars! Challenge yourself in ways that you never imagined. If I can do it you can do it.
Good night OH!
Mahbod Mark Paya, M. D.RNY (07/17/08) Member Since: 04/17/08
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Just wanted to mention the California Board on OH was really tight back then, especially the people in LA. RNY was still pretty new and people were dying to find any information they could about it. When I first had my surgery, we were using dial up internet. The local support group was your lifeline. Things have changed much since those days...But this one story still touches my heart in a special way.
Hi Brian..just wanted to say thanks for posting this. I have been running since about 2 years post op. I have run many races to include 5k's, 10k's, 5 milers and a half marathon. I want to do a full marathon but in all honesty am scared. However, this post gives me hope that I may conquer this fear and run in a full marathon. thanks for the hope!
Yours in WLS Journey,
Bill Mac
Brian: Thank you for that post - lovely story!
Bill: you've been on this board since my first full and, recently, my first ultra.... YOU CAN DO IT!!!! :)
First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.
Feel the fear and do it anyway.... I won't take credit for that quote, but it's normal to be scared. Just gotta decide if scared is good enough a reason not to do. I'm not sure I'll ever not be scared before a major race, but I know that the "gotta prove" outweighs anxiety for me. (and name's Nicole, not Nancy)
First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.
No worries! I did my running club's training program which lasted about 5-6 months and followed the plan RELIGIOUSLY! Lots of others train on their own, often using Hal Higdon or Jeff Galloway's plans....
First ultra: Stone Mill 50 miler 11/15/14 13:44:38, First Full Marathon: Marine Corps 10/27/13 4:57:11, Half Marathon PR 2:04:43 at Shamrock VA Beach Half-Marathon, 12/2/12 First Half-Marathon 2:32:47, 5K PR Run Under the Lights 5K 27:23 on 11/23/13, 10K PR 52:53 Pike's Peek 10K 4/21/13, (1st timed run) Accumen 8K 51:09 10/14/12.
