The Vicarious Thrill of Cape Cod Marathon Race Weekend!

As Kara Goucher once said, "When it comes to running, participation and spectating go hand in hand. Watching the world's best compete, fires you up to achieve your own feats of greatness." I may  not have been watching the world's greatest competing at the Cape Cod Half Marathon, but I was tracking Tom and Ruth Anne as they set out on their quest to finish the Half Marathon in 3 hours or less. I chose to stay home with our newly adopted cat MoMo. We didn't feel comfortable leaving him home along after only 3 months of his being in his furever home.

Ruth Anne and Tom texted me photos from bib pick up and their pre-race dinner at The Flying Bridge along with photos from lunch with our beloved cousin Kathy. She has been on her own marathon of healing. She was in a rehab facility for recovery from complications from a heart attack. She worked so hard in PT to make sure she would be out in time to have lunch. I followed Cape Cod Marathon on social media and the excitement was palpable. On Saturday morning I set my alarm along for 6am so I could join Tom and Ruth Anne as they prepared for race day. I had butterflies and #allthefeels of pre-race jitters. We all took time for meditation to 'get in the zone'. I had exchanged messages with the social media coordinator with whom I have been friends through the years. We had lost touch in recent years. It was a joy to reconnect with her. I asked her about the strict 3 hour time limit and she assured me that she would be there past the 3 hour mark calling the runners in. She knew about what Ruth Anne had to overcome with her journey with Functional Neurological Disorder since July. She has had her own health challenges and her compassion and kindness transcended cyberspace.

I got ready for my Saturday morning 5K. I was planning an easy loop around the big Reservoir at Cleveland Circle. As I checked the tracker for Tom and Ruth Anne, I got fired up. There was no way I could do an easy pace while they were out there giving it their all. I am training for the 45th Bill Rodgers Somerville Jingle Bell 5K happening on December 15th. My goal (and remember that for someone who was supposed to be in a wheelchair I run pretty fast) is to do it in under an hour. There are a lot of hills and who knows what the weather will be but I have every confidence I can meet or exceed my goal.  I've already conquered the distance of the 10K again in May and did a 4 miler last month. It's a matter now of working on speed. I've been doing two speed workouts during the week so I do try to keep my pace easy on Saturdays. I was too fired up to not see what this body could do while Tom, Ruth Anne and many of my friends were out on the Cape Cod Half Marathon course.

It was a glorious day here on Saturday. I started out with short sleeves and a pull over but after a mile I was in short sleeves. I had to pause for a water stop and to savor the beauty of nature in all of her glory:

I was disciplined and focused on my miles feeling the connection to those running in Cape Cod. It was windy with white caps on the Reservoir. Ruth Anne sent me a video of a view along the course and it was very windy on the Cape with white caps on Nantucket Bay. I pushed myself and was delighted with negative splits and and a 19:48 pace. My total time was 1:01. I visualized my December race during my run while checking in to see how Tom and Ruth Anne were progressing along the course.

I refueled and debated about whether or not to watch the live feed from the finish line. As the tracker told me they were getting close, something nudged me to go to the YouTube channel. It's always a thrill to hear the race announcer beckon runners to the finish line with great enthusiasm. I could see Ruth Anne and Tom heading toward the finish line when oh no....Tom tripped and fell. Thank goodness I was watching the finish line because I got an alert on my phone from Garmin connect that Tom had an incident followed by a text and an email since I was his emergency contact. With the help of the medical team he got up and crossed the finish line. The only thing that was hurting was his wrist and a bruised ego. Ruth Anne got their medals and they were able to relish their epic Half Marathon with a time of 3:01 which was exactly their goal pace.

We all shared an incredible runners' high together in the evening via Face Time. We shared that feeling of the shift in mind, body and soul that happens after an all out effort, being with our runner family in real life and on line. Tom and Ruth Anne exchanged shout outs with runner friends who passed on the out and back route.

Even Tom's visit to Urgent Care on Sunday that indicated he has a hairline fracture of his wrist could not dampen the joy of what we all accomplished together. It was a thrilling weekend that extended into Sunday. The festivities of Cape Cod Marathon weekend continued with the 5K and full marathon. I tracked friends and a family member running in Chicago. As Bill Rodgers loves to say:

In health and wellness,

Mary

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