Saturday, January 16, 2016

Training Partners and Motivation

It's a pretty well known fact that training partners are great to have when running.  They push you physically, mentally and emotionally.  They are so important that there is now an app for them  I can say without hesitation that my running would not be where it is today if it wasn't for running partners to keep me in line and hold me accountable.  One of them stands out above the rest.

My half marathon time in 2011 is actually not my time.  Rather, this time is actually the time of my long time running friend Victor Granger.  I forgot to pickup my packet that year because my grandmother had just past away the week prior and let's just say I wasn't concerned about the race as much as I usually was.  This race was unique to me because it was no longer my goal to run my best race.  My goal was to help Vic run his best race by pacing him as best as I could.

The 2011 Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon was pretty miserable for most.  It was overcast and rainy the whole race with temperatures in the 50's.  Vic and I love these kind of conditions because it keeps us from overheating and really separates the runners who love to run from those who are just doing it to show off to others.  It was also special to me because the weather embodied my emotions from the week prior, dreary, depressed and a slog to get through it.

Around mile six, Vic took off ahead and yelled to me, "I'm really feeling good, let's push this!"
I disapprovingly said, "Let's keep it steady so we don't burn out.  That last thing we want to do is die out at mile 10."  Vic ran a great time, 1:43:26 is a respectable half marathon pace, especially given the elements (let's face it no one likes wet socks).  We were soaked but had the great feeling that we couldn't have done it without each other.  Vic thanked me several times for holding him back at mile six to keep him on pace.

Next year, 2012, Vic was attempting his first marathon at the Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon.  It was a brutal race due to the bright sun and record setting temps in the mid 80's.  This was a great day to run, just not a great day to run a marathon.  This year was very difficult for me to train for the race.  I had a new role at work that required more time, a longer commute and was constantly traveling for personal fun and was in a long distance relationship.  Needless to say, the only motivating factor that kept me from not doing the race was seeing Vic finish it.  I attempted running the race and realized by about mile 7, this race wasn't going to be my best.  By mile 10, I could feel my lack of training.  Vic was leading me and prodding me to come along, which had never really happened before.

This was when I changed my game plan.  Vic needed to do this race by himself, just like I had in 2010.  I dropped at the half marathon marker. The arch of my left foot hurt because I had inadvertently tied my shoe too tight.  This, combined with the fear of long term injury, and lack of training made my decision to drop easy.  I told Vic I'd see him at the finish and that I was dropping. Vic prodded some more but could see I was done.

Dropping from a race is never easy, it hurts.  It hurts your pride, your sense of being and really makes you just feel awful.  With this admitted defeat and a sore foot, I trudged back to the finishing corral so I could have a good spot to watch Vic finish.  I waited there for probably 30-45 minutes, downing a chocolate milk while waiting.  At this point my foot no longer hurt and I felt as if I could have tackled the second half of the marathon.  I was increasing frustrated with myself for dropping and not realizing it was my shoe all along.  I did the only thing, I could do, I started walking and intermittently running the course backwards.

By running the course backwards, I eventually caught sight of Vic around mile 23.  He was struggling with his pace and may have even been walking.  What I told him next was that an ex girlfriend of his, who we caught cheating on him (I should link here her but I won't), was ahead of him.  A tirade of profanity followed and Vic picked up the pace.  I paced him in the rest of the way, with some walking worked in for rest.  Vic finished the race and even killed my marathon time in the process.  It wasn't until after the race I told him that his ex was actually behind him and I never saw her.  Although he never admitted it until later, that was probably the best motivation I could have given him.

Last year, at the 2015 Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon, I was on the back stretch of the race coming down Route 2.  This is a sneaky little part of the race as almost the last 4 miles of it are a slight uphill grind that really wears on runners.  The sun was out and the humidity was up because it had lightly sprinkled off and on earlier.  I had tried a different training method of doing almost entirely CrossFit with just the once a week or so run mixed in.  Although CrossFit, did do a great job for me, I hadn't logged nearly the miles I needed to prepare myself for this race.  I had the Cleveland Skyline in my sights.  My legs were sore, my hips hurt and my paced was now an 8:00 pace when running and a slow 18:00 pace when walking.

At the very juncture in which I needed it, I saw Vic standing on the race course with his running shorts and shoes on.  I don't distinctly remember what Vic said to me, I think it was "Do you mind if I join you for the finish?"  I was exhausted and elated.  I was tired and happy.  Most of all, I was thankful to have a friend and running partner who knew how much it meant to have someone lead me to the finish, all while hearing me bitch about the pain I was in, the course, the weather, the lack of training, all of it.  Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing a bunch of my fellow Birdtown CrossFitters at mile 7 or 8 but nothing beats having that one true friend who is willing to lace up their shoes and carry you home when you need it most.

As I was running earlier this week, I was running down Detroit Road in Cleveland on a 10 mile rehashing the 2011 rain soaked marathon in my head.  The snow and ice mixed with the wind and 16 degree temperatures were making this run a little brutal.  I was sweating just slightly under my layers which I knew would eventually make me colder.  My thighs were sore and I knew this wasn't my best run, if anything it was just a run to get some miles on my legs and really feel the challenge of pushing distance a bit. I was somewhere around mile 4 and I still had 6 to go.  As I passed a great local Irish restaurant called The Harp, I saw some graffiti on a building.  UR WORTH IT


This simple bit of motivational writing lifted my spirits.  It reminded me of Vic meeting me at mile 23 of the 2015 Cleveland Marathon.  It put a smile on my face.  I could see it and I could see the Cleveland skyline in the background.  It had me picking up the pace and grinning.  As I ran by, I gave it pat with my right hand, silently thanking it for the motivation right when I needed it.  

It's the little things like this that I LOVE about running.  It's having a bad day and that one little comment or thing someone does for you that turns the whole thing around.  It's the reason I love spending months training just to get a stupid medal.  It's about others cheering you on, no matter how good or bad you've done because in the end you did your best and left it all out there, for better or worse.  It's knowing that after all the hard work you put in, there's someone there for you.  That's why training partners are so important, they provide you the motivation to do it.

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