Well for starters it’s a long ways to run!
I’m not really sure I ever thought I would know the answer to that question. Midway through the actual marathon around mile 18 I was debating if I would ever know the answer to that question.
Accomplishing something is almost like an addiction. The last 7 miles of the marathon I’m not going to lie, my legs were non stop spasms, something I’m certain I’ve never felt to that degree before. I almost hate to admit I walked some (my competitive nature in me cringes just typing that)…but it was either pull something or get through this race. I realized given about mile 22….this wasn’t a race….for the first time in my life I accepted that. This was so much more than a race and it wasn’t my mental toughness that got me through this athletic event…it was everything leading up to this point and the reason why I was doing it. After crossing that finish line of the Vancouver Marathon there was obviously relief that I was finished, but there was that satisfaction of accomplishment and a purpose of not just me but my dad, my fellow Team Fox Family, and the people I’ve come to know along the way.
I was thinking ok now I’ve done this…it’s off that list I created some time or another of things to do in life…. Instead though....I had this crazy desire (let’s be honest here…it’s pure craziness)….let’s go through all this again! So….one of my crazier decision in life….Adding another marathon to that list in life and I’m back to NYC (hopefully this time to actually RUN the marathon).
I know I’ve been a little MIA on this blog, and for that I apologize. I’ve got so much to catch everyone up on, and I’ll get to work on that right away…a little bit at a time of course.
Vancouver was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken. It was beyond beautiful and the company was top notch. I am certain I had the best support group specialists there as Susie had knew the course better than most and those bikes were pretty fast (which I really should have borrowed for a little while!) I have to tease, there was a trick to what I thought was the end of the race when Power Bar had a large blow up arch to run through…and the crowds were packed at that point and I was thinking I’M DONE!!!!!!.... (no I wasn’t)….. thankfully Team Fox’s crowd wasn’t too far away from that moment and I heard their cheers to push a little further….that may have been one of the longest straight aways I’ve ran….I never thought I’d get there after thinking I’d surpassed the finish line mentally.
Several of the “elite” athletes dropped out due to (surprisingly) warm weather (For Vancouver), but for me it was perfect….apparently for them it was too hot or not what they were expecting. So I can pretend for a little while I could handle it when they couldn’t. We were lucky for Vancouver weather given the time of year and the warm front…but it made the trip even better!
One thing I wasn’t thinking on which was a little humorous to me was that in Canada (which deep down I knew this, just wasn’t thinking) everything is in kilometers and Celsius. So during the marathon all the KM were marked and it would buy me some time to side track myself with doing the calculations of how many miles that was (later in the race they had it marked in miles as well). When people would talk about the temperatures I would be puzzled till I recalled yet again….it’s Celsius…not Fahrenheit. Susie and Mark even trusted us with their car and at moments I was puzzled at how fast were we actually going!? (Don’t worry Susie…it wasn’t fast!)
So…. Now that the NYC Marathon is creeping up FAST…..I reflect on just how awesome of an experience it was and how 5 years ago I really don’t think I’d be where I was with the acceptance of Parkinson’s Disease and what it’s done to our family. Being bitter isn’t going to make any of it go away, or make it any better….so I will continue to take it in stride, and for now I will focus on that stride getting me to the finish line while making a difference at the same time.
