Ok, I'm finally going to finish up the recap of the marathon. When I last posted, I was describing the last 6 miles. At that point, I started to feel a little naseous and dizzy. I had been drinking tons of gatorade and water and I had eaten 2 salt packets. I guess my body had just reached the point where it went "what the hell are you doing to me?" I wouldn't say I hit the wall because I felt like I could keep going but I definitely wasn't feeling 100 percent. Anyway, I played little games in my mind. There were 2 women who were running together. One of them was obviously having a hard time because her friend was giving her constant pep talk. I thought, "I'll just make sure that I stay close to them." So, whenever they started to get too far away, I'd start jogging a bit to catch up or even pass them. Then, eventually, they would pass me. And then I'd pass them. I kept this up for a while. It was getting hotter and my feet were starting to hurt. Amazingly, my knees didn't hurt at all! I reached mile marker 25 and I decided I could run the last 1.2 miles so I just took off and passed those two women. That really was a long mile to mile 26. The finish line was in this area called the MCRD (I think it stands for Marine Corp Recruit Depot). So, I was running along the outside of it for most of that last mile. So close, but yet so far! I finally reached the entrance and went through a gate. I was looking for the finish line but I still couldn't see it. There were tons of people standing along the route and cheering the runners on. I had my name on my shirt so I got a few "Go Stacy" cheers. Then, all of a sudden I saw this woman I met during a few of my training runs in Santa Cruz. I think I first met her on my 14 mile run. She was really encouraging (she's run over 7 marathons) and I saw her a few more times. So, she had already finished the marathon and was standing there with some friends when I came along. She got so excited she actually ran the rest of the way with me. It was a really cool way to end the race. She even got me to sprint that last .2 miles. It's hard to describe how I felt when I crossed the finish line. I felt really happy, proud, relieved, tired. Mostly I felt gratitude. I'm grateful for all the support I received during the training, the sacrifices that Martin made so I could go for my runs and to my yoga class, that my Mom came all the way out to San Diego. I also appreciate all the donations everyone made to Stephanie's scholarship fund. When Stephanie passed on, I felt an emptiness, like the world had lost one of the good people. Although I still feel her loss, it's nice to be able, in some small way, to support the continuation of her good works. So, thank you again to all the people who have donated. You rock!

Thank you everyone for your notes and well wishes. I'm flying high this week even though I'm hobbling around. The marathon was an incredible experience and I'm so grateful for all your support. I will try to describe it but I'm afraid I won't do it justice.

The race started at 6:30 am so I had set my alarm for 5:00 am to give myself time to get ready. Unfortunately, the hotel we were staying in had a lot of noisy partying going on until the wee hours so I was woken up around 4:00 am by some loud drunk people returning to their rooms. Hopefully they weren't planning on running the marathon in a few hours! Anyway, I was too excited and couldn't get back to sleep so I finally got up around 4:30. I could see out the window of our hotel room that is was very foggy which is great weather for running. I was hoping it would stay that way for a while. The day before it had been foggy in the morning but it burned off pretty early and got hot (about 80 degrees). It was a worrying development since I had not been able to train in that kind of heat.

So, I ate a bagel and some yogurt, got dressed and stretched for a while, then went down the hall to get my brother, Lance. Martin came along as well to get some pictures and video of the start. We stayed at a hotel that was a few blocks from the start and that turned out to be a really good idea (thanks to Martin!). There were huge lines for the Port-O-Potties as everyone was trying to empty themselves at the last minute. We went to drop off our gear bags (they transport it to the finish line where you can pick the bag up after your run) and then lined up in our assigned corrals. I was in corral 21 (there were 22) and Lance was way up in the front. They assign you by when you estimate you'll finish. I had just put the maximum time allowed so I was way towards the back. It seemed like it would be better for my moral if I was passing people instead of having people pass me, and in fact, that did work. I spent most of the marathon passing people and I felt like I was jammin'. It turns out you can walk a marathon in 7 hours so there were a lot of walkers in the back.

There were so many people, especially Team-in-Training folks with their purple shirts. There was so much excitement in the air and of course, this being the Rock-n-Roll marathon, they had music being piped through tons of speakers lined up along the start of the course. They played "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones and the crowd just went wild. The announcer was telling everyone to raise their hands for a picture and that must have looked pretty cool. There were about 20,000 participants there. I felt really good and really ready. I just tried to soak it all up because as someone recently told me, "Enjoy it. You only run your 1st marathon once." It's an amazing event because suddenly, everyone is an equal. Everyone there is in the marathon and about to experience the same 26.2 miles together. It's an incredible feeling.

It took about 10 minutes to cross the actual start line and then I was able to start slowly jogging. I couldn't believe it and I had no pain at all in either leg. I was wearing my newer pair of running shoes so I felt like I was running on air. After a couple of miles, we passed one of the many bands on the course (there were 41 bands in all). The band were wearing their Navy outfits (this is San Diego!) and doing modern music. I stopped to use the bathroom there so I got a chance to listen to them. There were really good. They did a song from the band, the Gorillaz, called Feel Good Inc. I have that album and they did a great job with that song. Then they broke out into a Kelly Clarkson song, "Since You've Been Gone" and the lead singer nailed it (not an easy song to do). I think that band impressed me the most.

My plan for the race was to run the first 8 miles and then kind of do a mental reset at that point. Then I would only have to do another 18 miler which I knew I could do. So, Martin, who was on his bike, met me at mile 8 to replenish my Gatorade and Clif Bar supply. I got to mile 8 pretty fast even though I was trying to keep my pace slow so I wouldn't burn out too early. I think the adrenaline of the day just got the best of me. I usually run about 14 minute miles and I was doing 12 minute miles. I couldn't believe how good I felt. I really did feel like I had just done a warm up and was ready to run 18 miles. It was still overcast so I hadn't even really broke a sweat. I continued on and at this point on the course, we got a highway that they had closed for the race ( or at least one side). The next 2 miles were a steady, slow uphill. I felt pretty ready for that since Santa Cruz is pretty hilly. I made it up the hill no problem. We passed some more bands and cheerleaders. Even the water stops were entertaining. Each water stop had a theme, there was one where everyone was dressed in pajamas, another togas, and my favorite, the cute Marines. The Marines were cool because they were towards the end, and they were really encouraging. I met up again with Martin around mile 17. I was still feeling good up until around mile 20. I got to mile 20 at about 5 hours which was way ahead of where I thought I'd be. I started feeling a bit sick and woozy and I think it was because I wasn't drinking enough. Also, the sun finally came out and it warm up a bit. I decided not to push myself so I started alternating running and walking. It's true what they say. The last 6 miles is 90 percent of the marathon. Even though I knew I only had 6 miles left, it suddenly seemed really far. Since I had slowed down, it seemed like it took forever to reach each mile marker. Plus, you could hear the crowds and the bands at the finish line.

More later . . . .

Stacy Walsh Completes 2006 San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon






Stacy Walsh has helped raise over $1500 for the Stephanie Brown Cadet Memorial Scholarship Award by completing the 2006 San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in record time.

Scotts Valley, CA (PRWEB) May 24, 2006 -- In a thrilling finish, Stacy Walsh, a Marathoner for Scotts Valley, California beat all expectations to finish the 2006 San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in six hours and nineteen minutes. With this time, she beat her husband, Martin’s, previous record of eight hours and three minutes by a considerable margin.

“I’m very proud of Stacy”, said Martin at an impromptu press conference after the run. “Before training for this race, Stacy was not a runner, with a 10K personal best distance. For a first-timer, this was an amazing result, although I don’t think she can refer to herself as a non-runner after this. She has exceeded even her own expectations and has proven to everyone that she is capable of anything and everything she sets her mind to”.

Stacy said that her main motivation and inspiration during the race was her friend, Stephanie Cadet, who tragically died of heart failure last year after an ongoing battle with heart disease. “Steph never gave up on her hopes and dreams, no matter what the circumstance”, said Mrs. Walsh, “she has always inspired me to be more than I think I can be. I know she would be very proud of me today.”

Stacy has been running to help raise funds for the Stephanie Brown Cadet Memorial Foundation. So far she has raise $1500 and hopes to add more to that total even after the race. Those interested in giving a congratulatory donation can do so at the following web address:

http://www.sbcadetfoundation.org/campaigns/seestacyrun/seestacyrun.htm

Stacy has also been keeping all of her supporters up to date via her blog, which can be found here. Notes of congratulations and support are encouraged.

http://seestacyrun.blogspot.com/

About
The Stephanie Brown Cadet Memorial Scholarship Award is the Foundation's inaugural program. In keeping with Stephanie's passion, this scholarship awards students who are exemplary in volunteering their time to their community in service. Scholarship winners are chosen by the SBCadet Foundation Scholarship Committee each year and will receive awards applicable to any university level school of their choosing. At present, scholarship winners are chosen from the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. For complete information on the scholarship award, please see
http://www.sbcadetfoundation.org/programs/programs.htm

It turns out the hotel we are staying in has wireless internet so a quick post before the big day. We got to San Diego yesterday and today my brother, Lance and I headed down to the Marathon Expo at the San Diego convention center. We had to pick up our race numbers and our timing chip. What's a timing chip? It's this little plastic thing you attach to your shoe and it is a way to keep track of your splits (10k, half-marathon, and finish time). The expo was pretty cool. There were tons of people and there was definitely excitement in the air. The expo basically is a lot of booths of running gear and food and other cities advertising their marathons (there is one on Dublin!). There are lots of freebies handed out and I picked up some free Tylenol but that was about it. Actually, I picked up this inflatable airplane from Southwest Airlines for Ronan and he loved it.

So I got back to the hotel this afternoon and have just finished getting all my stuff together for tomorrow. My fuel belt is filled, my timing chip and race number attached. I'm good to go! I'm feeling pretty good, a little anxious but not too bad. I'm ready to just get to the starting line and get on with it. Whatever happens, I'm pleased with what I have accomplished so far and if I happen to have a bad day tomorrow, well then that's what was meant to be. I've done the best I could do as far as my training goes so I have no regrets. I think it will be a lot of fun and it will be interesting to see the whole spectacle of it. Martin will be my support crew during the race. He's got his bike and he's planning on meeting me at various places along the route. I think he's going to get a bigger workout than me! So, if you read this tonight, try to send good thoughts my way tomorrow morning and early afternoon (I estimate I'll finish around 1:30 pm). Thanks for the support and well wishes everyone!

I went to have a massage today and I feel like a new woman! The massage therapist I see does a special kind of massage called trigger-point therapy and she focused in on my problem knee and found some areas that were really tight. I didn't even know there could be muscles in that area (I would describe it as the inside bottom of my knee). When she first massaged the area it hurt REALLY bad but by the end, she had worked out all the kinks and I walked out of her office with no pain in that leg! I'm still not going to run on it until Sunday but I feel much better about my chances now. Alas, my right leg still has a sore tendon but I have run on that sore leg before with no problems so hopefully it will hold out until the end of the marathon. Tomorrow I have to pack everything up for our trip down to San Diego. I'm flying with Ronan and Martin is going to drive down. I'm alternating between being excited and being worried but I'm practicing all my mental relaxation techniques to keep me from getting too freaked out.

I'm trying not to stress out about next Sunday but it's really hard not to. My leg is feeling better but it's really hard to say whether it's going to be ok to run 26 miles. I stopped running last Wednesday and I'm going to the gym and going on the stationary bicycle instead. At least I can try to keep up my cardio training. It just felt like my knee would feel better after I got another injection, then it would hurt all over again after doing a run. So, that's it for me until the big day. So, hopefully in the next week, my leg will heal up enough for me to run.

Today is my son's 2nd birthday and we went to a park that has a mini-train that goes around the park. He loved it (he's obsessed with trains) and got incredibly wired by the whole thing. It was great to see such joy on his face and I try to just concentrate on that. That's what life is about and soon enough this whole marathon thing will be over. I will be relieved when it's done. However, I still have quite a ways to go on the fundraising so if you haven't donated yet, I would really appreciate it if you would go over to http://www.sbcadetfoundation.org and click on runner logo on the right side of the page. I would love to be close or at my goal before the run so don't delay!! Thanks!

The marathon is only 11 days away and I'm starting to feel nervous about it. It's coming up fast and my leg still hurts. I ran 3 miles yesterday and again, it hurt at the start and then the pain subsided a little so I could run on it. I just don't think I could run 26 miles with my leg feeling like that. I'll be seeing Dr. MacFarlane again today so hopefully she'll have some encouraging words (and another injection). I don't know what else to do. I'm icing several times a day, stretching and taking lots of ibuprofen. There is not much more I can do.