The Dallas White Rock Marathon is now something to check off my list. I'd always been curious about this race and very glad I participated.
I really didn’t prepare as I had for my first. Well, that isn’t the entire truth. I ran my long runs with my pal, Julia, every Saturday or Sunday morning. We were up early and sacrificed many weekends of sleeping in. My weekday runs happened if there was time and this is where my training lacked. With Matthew hitting his billable hours and my commuting to Austin, the weekly running didn’t happen as it should. However, I knew the expectation of pain and ran enough to finish the race. I was thrilled to do this with my baby sister, Lesley.
Marathon #2. Check.
The morning was chilly. Perfect marathon weather, actually, running in the heat is much worse.
Here we (Laura, Lesley, and Julia) are all cuddled up and eager to start the race!
The song that started the race was I’ve Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. It will forever remind me of December 5th in the Big D.
The first five miles kind of flew by. The race seemed to take a while to thin out from our corral and I was irritated with this truth. But I kept thinking “we are doing this, we are really doing this.” I had anticipated the race for a few months and the actual running to finish the marathon seemed surreal.
The song that started the race was I’ve Got a Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. It will forever remind me of December 5th in the Big D.
The first five miles kind of flew by. The race seemed to take a while to thin out from our corral and I was irritated with this truth. But I kept thinking “we are doing this, we are really doing this.” I had anticipated the race for a few months and the actual running to finish the marathon seemed surreal.
I thought about my girls and Matthew a lot. I should probably note that I made a last minute decision to fly to Dallas solo. Plan A was to tag team as a family to Dallas on Saturday morning and back Sunday night. I kept dreading sitting in a car for five hours after running my tail off. Thus, I pulled the trigger and left the girls for the very first time with their Daddy. It was hard being away from my family, I missed them. But, I needed a weekend of sister and Momma time. However, I will not run a marathon again without my immediate family present, I kept wishing my girls and M were at the finish line.
Back to the race…..
I realized that we split with the half marathoners around mile 8 or 9, which was sooner than I thought we would. We were headed for White Rock Lake. I was really looking forward to this part of it. Little did I know this would be worst part for me! I don’t know if it was the chilly wind, hills, my IPOD malfunction, or the lack of spectators but it was rough.
The half was run fairly well and we finished that in about 1:49. Halfway there.
A memorable part of the race for me was running through the neighborhood and seeing two guys jumping up and down. Lesley said "Laura they are yelling for you!" and I realized it was Bert and Ralph Hargesheimer, Julia's husband and father. How wonderful it was having them as support! Then they were off to find Julia. She was several minutes ahead of us.
At mile 16 my knee began to pull. My entire training had gone relatively smoothly and this was not expected. It became quite painful and there was a lot of stretching and stopping the last 8-10 miles. The area around White Rock Lake was the most difficult for me mentally. My IPOD died, my knee hurt, and I wanted to get back to civilization and cheers! Lel got me through though and seeing my Mom and Andy at mile 16 was a breath of fresh air. There are not words for moments like that. A Godsend.
Here is a video of us seeing them. Keep in mind, I practically ran over my mother! I don’t know if I just couldn’t judge my speed but we laughed about it later. I am such a klutz! Thank goodness for Momma's!
Miles 18-20 I kept wanting off the dang lake. I was ready for civilization. Things started to get better once we were on our way back. Getting to mile 20 was a physical and mental challenge. The wall hit sooner than I would have liked.
Mile 23 I saw a huge sign that said “ I love my marathoner wife” and I had a meltdown. At that point, you are already out of your mind. I mean, sort of. Lesley told me to hold it together. I knew I didn’t have the energy but curses! I wanted Matthew to be there and to have done that sign for me and was so jealous. Lucky girl.
Mile 24-26 were better than miles 18-20. That’s odd but the simple truth. When I knew I had three miles left, which is nothing in the grand scheme, you kind of find an inner strength even if it is by putting one foot in front of the other a second faster!
The last mile is always the best. It’s the last one and you are quite close to your, once unattainable, goal. We finished in almost exactly four hours. Not bad, especially for a first marathon Lesley Berg!
One of the most memorable moments was running next to a guy named Josh. He reminded me of my little brother in a way. It was his first marathon and he was in the wanting to walk phase. His good friend was finishing it with him, coaxing him through each step. Well, that last part, you just don’t want to walk or finish walking. You are so close and it’s hard to realize that when your body is in shock and hating you. But Lel and I kept stopping by him and pushing him to run with us. Then he passed us and went ahead. We didn’t see him again so I know he finished. That makes me happy.
Dallas put on a decent show. I was disappointed with the course and the hills, the water stops, and the White Rock Lake area. But Highland Park was beautiful and the M Streets had very clever spectators. There was lots of fruit, snickers, and Gatorade. I enjoyed the EXPO and the running community in Dallas is excellent. In truth, I had higher expectations for the marathon but it is still a beautiful memory.
Lesley and I ran the entire marathon together. There were definitive moments where we pulled the other through the race. The beginning was hard for me to have a slower pace than what I am used to. By the end of the race I needed all that conserved energy. Also, Lesley’s positive attitude and sweet demeanor was a constant reminder of how I should behave. I was so proud of her. Every time someone would cheer for us she would politely say “thank you” despite the pain. I wanted to scream at the people with annoying bells and whistles. That just makes her better than me. The best part of the day was finishing, hand in hand, and running across the finish line. What a feeling. What a sister!
A highlight of the day was one of my favorite people, Julia Hargesheimer, qualified for Boston! She is one of the quickest people I know and I am hoping to ride her coat tails. It’s definitely been a goal of mine for a long time. Now that Lesley and I have one under our belts that is our next challenge. Julia is going to coach me through! And the only way I will ever go to Boston is on the condition I qualify to run.
Here is a video of us seeing them. Keep in mind, I practically ran over my mother! I don’t know if I just couldn’t judge my speed but we laughed about it later. I am such a klutz! Thank goodness for Momma's!
Miles 18-20 I kept wanting off the dang lake. I was ready for civilization. Things started to get better once we were on our way back. Getting to mile 20 was a physical and mental challenge. The wall hit sooner than I would have liked.
Mile 23 I saw a huge sign that said “ I love my marathoner wife” and I had a meltdown. At that point, you are already out of your mind. I mean, sort of. Lesley told me to hold it together. I knew I didn’t have the energy but curses! I wanted Matthew to be there and to have done that sign for me and was so jealous. Lucky girl.
Mile 24-26 were better than miles 18-20. That’s odd but the simple truth. When I knew I had three miles left, which is nothing in the grand scheme, you kind of find an inner strength even if it is by putting one foot in front of the other a second faster!
The last mile is always the best. It’s the last one and you are quite close to your, once unattainable, goal. We finished in almost exactly four hours. Not bad, especially for a first marathon Lesley Berg!
One of the most memorable moments was running next to a guy named Josh. He reminded me of my little brother in a way. It was his first marathon and he was in the wanting to walk phase. His good friend was finishing it with him, coaxing him through each step. Well, that last part, you just don’t want to walk or finish walking. You are so close and it’s hard to realize that when your body is in shock and hating you. But Lel and I kept stopping by him and pushing him to run with us. Then he passed us and went ahead. We didn’t see him again so I know he finished. That makes me happy.
Dallas put on a decent show. I was disappointed with the course and the hills, the water stops, and the White Rock Lake area. But Highland Park was beautiful and the M Streets had very clever spectators. There was lots of fruit, snickers, and Gatorade. I enjoyed the EXPO and the running community in Dallas is excellent. In truth, I had higher expectations for the marathon but it is still a beautiful memory.
Lesley and I ran the entire marathon together. There were definitive moments where we pulled the other through the race. The beginning was hard for me to have a slower pace than what I am used to. By the end of the race I needed all that conserved energy. Also, Lesley’s positive attitude and sweet demeanor was a constant reminder of how I should behave. I was so proud of her. Every time someone would cheer for us she would politely say “thank you” despite the pain. I wanted to scream at the people with annoying bells and whistles. That just makes her better than me. The best part of the day was finishing, hand in hand, and running across the finish line. What a feeling. What a sister!
A highlight of the day was one of my favorite people, Julia Hargesheimer, qualified for Boston! She is one of the quickest people I know and I am hoping to ride her coat tails. It’s definitely been a goal of mine for a long time. Now that Lesley and I have one under our belts that is our next challenge. Julia is going to coach me through! And the only way I will ever go to Boston is on the condition I qualify to run.
I think I learned, with this marathon, finishing this particular race tests your handling of adversity. It is your mind telling your body “You can’t do this” and your body responding “I hurt. I really hate you for doing this to me. But yea, I can.”
The finish is the best. It’s that euphoric feeling of a goal completed. I am so proud of all of us for attempting to run, sacrificing time, disciplining ourselves, and completing our goal.
I yearn to do more marathons. I don’t know why I love to run, I guess it is something that God simply gave me to love. The days that I don’t exercise, I’m not quite the same me.
To finishing what you start....
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