Maraton Internacional Tangamanga 2012

WHY?

Most people that don’t run, or only run a few miles a week will always question the marathoner:  why do you run?  Some say it’s boring, some say it’s useless, and yet others will say it’s bad for the body (especially for the knees).  Regardless of what you think, and regardless of what I think, if we ever get on the running topic, I will always try to convince you that you are capable of doing it.

That is how it started.  In December 2011, my cousin, my sisters, and I were chatting away in our vacation spot in Mexico.  Somehow we got on the running topic and I slowly started convincing that it was a plausible goal to achieve.  None of them were runners.  My cousin (age 19) played the occasional soccer game and had played, my oldest sister (age 21) had taken a couple of physical education classes in college which had required her to run up to 3 miles, and my youngest sister (age 16) had absolutely no experience in running.

At first, they were skeptical; thinking that running for 26.2 miles was an impossible task.  I slowly broke down the logistics of running the distance and preparing for it and they started giving in to the idea.  There would be a marathon nearby in June 2012 and we all agreed to run it.  They would start training in early February and 4 and a half months later they would go from non-runners to marathon finishers.  I made up a training plan in which they would start off at 8 miles a week, and peak at 35 miles for a week.  The training plans were devised to help them get their bodies accustomed to the stress of long distance running and finish the event without any major injuries, not to make them Olympic marathoners, so really the goal here was to finish.

The state of S.L.P, the city is located in the mid-left section of the state.

I myself decided to run because I would be acting as coach and in my mind it would be awesome to become an “international marathoner.”  By no means am I fast, certified to coach, or have any medical training, but I do have experience in training for the distance and knew what it took.  They put their trust in me, and we went at it.

THE TRAINING

I was still finishing my last semester of college, my two sisters were at home, and my cousin was in Mexico, so to stay connected, I started a facebook group to exchange information.  I went covered everything from stretching, to hydration, to nutrition.  We would regularly chat to see how training was going and I still remember how hard they  thought it was:  after all, the first miles are always the hardest.

By early May, both my sisters were out of school and traveled to Mexico and continued their training there. The town we stayed at had many trails and that is where the final miles of training took place. It was probably advantageous to them because San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico is located at 6,000 feet above sea level.  The Dallas area is only about 300 feet above sea level, so in a way we had a slight disadvantage.

Lucero, training near Pinos, Zacatecas

Linda, training near Pinos, Zac.

THE RACE

The race would start at 7:00AM and the weather was probably in the low 70s (hot for a marathon).  The running field included about 800 marathoners, 700 half marathoners, and 1200 10K-ers.  We all had the same starting time, so it was quite crowed, especially having all the 10K-ers with us.  After about 6Km, all the 10K-ers left our field and it was just the marathoners and the halves left.  At after 14Km, the half marathoners left and then it was just a few of us left.  I was in front of the average runner, so I ended up running a lonely race, passing only about a person per mile.  It eventually got to a point to where I couldn’t see anyone in front of me.

From left to right:  Linda, Lucero, myself, and "Billy" before the race began.

Temperatures reached the mid 80s, so it became quite warm, but water stations provided us with water every 2Kms, along with some Gatorade here and there.  Traffic control was provided by police officers (they did an amazing job).  For the most part the route was okay and there were little spectators.  The course was flat and entirely on asphalt, aside from short stretches of stone-constructed road, which was hard to run on for fear of twisting an ankle.

My cousin who ended up deciding to run the half marathon finished in exactly 2 hours.  My oldest sister finished in 5:41 and my youngest sister finished in 5:48.  All non-runners had become marathoners, and once a marathoner, always a marathoner.  Perhaps the best words that came out of their mouths were, “when is the next race?”

As for myself, I finished in 3:29, not my best time, but fairly decent for the amount of training I had.

Finishers, showing off our bling-bling.

Finalista (finisher) shirt and finisher's medal.

THE FINISH LINE WAS JUST THE STARTING LINE

“When is the next race?”  I was glad to hear those words, and maybe we will register for a marathon at the end of the year, but if schedule permits, we will be back for the same marathon.

You learn a lot by running this distance.  You learn a lot during the training, but you learn even more during the race.  You learn to fight through pain and exhaustion and learn to persevere through the finish line.  That is why I wanted them to run, that is why I want you to run.  I respect the distance very much, mainly for its power to teach you something about yourself: how much are you willing to commit, to sacrifice, to endure, to persevere, to prove to yourself and others that you can.

I am glad to have been part of the process in the development of my sisters and cousin.  I am also proud of them and glad that they are now part of the marathon finisher’s club.

Meta (Finish)