Runtex 20-miler - my teary race

One of the things I hate the most about myself is that I cry incredibly easy.  And whomever said crying makes you feel better, could not have ever cried, because if they did, they would know that 90% of the time you feel worse (stuffed up with a massive headache).  Its rare that crying for me is a good thing.

If I could ever control my crying I would, but the tears seem to have more power than I do when I'm touched, angry, overwhelmed or watching a sentimental movie.  My friends have enjoyed harassing me for years over my tears. A few months after I moved to Austin, my old roommate Laura called me.  
    "How are you doing Deanna, its been awhile?"  
    "I'm good, getting settled into my new house.  How has your move gone?"  
    "Really well, thanks. I just called because I missed you."  
    "Oh, that is sweet. I missed you to Laura."
    "Yeah, no one is crying when I watch movies anymore, I'm missing all the sentimental parts"
    "Gee thanks Laura!"
And she goes off and giggles.  Its nice to have friends isn't it?  

So I'm not exactly surprised I cried when I crossed the finish line at last Sunday's 20 mile race. It was an emotional finish and I was beyond exhausted. But I was surprised when I turned around and two of my other teammates were crying. 

We had all run 18 miles before and we had gorgeous weather for the this hilly country run, so it didn't seem that it would be such a hard race, but two of our team hit the wall during the course.

• Nada was suffering extreme pain at mile 6.  We couldn't leave her behind even though she told us to go. So we slowed it down until amazingly she came back.
• Angela hit a wall at about 12 miles, she is our fast runner and has been hit with some nerve issues that challenged her hard during this race.  
• Tammy was our pillar for this race, she just hung back and was on cruise control, always cheerful and seemingly relaxed. 
• I expected to hit the wall since I slacked off over the holidays, not running in almost a month. Both my coaches said don't run, or if you do, only run part of it, and run slower than the girls. But as our group continue to knit together on the course, I knew I would not separate from them. To finish without them would made the race incomplete, so I was in no matter what it would mean for me after the race.

When we made the decision to all run across the finish line together, I'm sure others wondered why we cried.  Our tears were dried in a matter of minutes, but realizing this journey was affecting us all similarily made our bond stronger.  In this race, we were four friends who met through running, and now we are a team. 

We have two races left in the Austin Distance Challenge (a series of six races), which will culminate on Feb 15th with the AT&T Marathon.  We've all given up our time goals, and now are just focusing on finishing together and having fun.  And trust me we are slow, 20 miles took us 4 hours and 43 minutes. 

I'm not sure why I ever decided to run another marathon again, but it has become a truly amazing experience.  One I will never forget, even if it makes my tears appear. These are the good tears.

Comments

[Jodi]

I so wanted to have that reaction with my marathon. Instead I just wanted to go home. :( I like that you can't hide how you feel. :)