It felt like the universe was telling me no but I wouldn't budge. "I will DO this marathon" were my only thoughts.
After doing Perth marathon last year I swore no more hills, then a dear friend of mine caught me in a moment of weakness and I agreed to run the great ocean road marathon held on May 15th.
Leading up to it became a logistical nightmare. 6 weeks before the marathon I felt what I thought was a stone bruise in my right foot. With most plans for the marathon firmly cemented I kept to my training plan and kept running. The "bruise" got worse and then turned into plantar fasciitis. If have not experienced it before, just imagine getting out of bed and feeling intense pain driving up through your heel, yep not pleasant! Every step hurts until it warms up enough for mobility to feel somewhat ok but then again not really because it constantly throbs. Luckily I work with an amazing group of people who all joined in to help me manage the pain. I went to fluent moves classes to ease the fascia. I had it taped so I could continue running. I had acupuncture, physio, podiatrist and structural integration work. None of it took the pain away entirely but it all helped me to manage and continue training for the 44km hilly/windy marathon.
3 weeks out my initial baby-sitting arrangements fell through. I had to reschedule flights, accommodation, the lot, to make it work.
My flight was Friday 13th....if all THAT was not a sign then what was?! I know....out of nowhere, BAM I get a kidney stone!
At 5pm, 2 days before the marathon I was sitting in a beautiful room with a wood fire in Lorne with my friend who was going to do the race with me. We were supposed to have a quiet night in, boy did I stuff that up! Sipping my glass of Merlot I suddenly felt intense cramping pain in my back. I needed to get up and walk it out. Then 5 minutes later I was wrapped around a toilet bowl throwing up. Maybe it was just food poisoning? I should be right....right? No....by 8pm I was in major pain throwing up again. Fortunately the Lorne hospital was only 3 mins away so my friend took me to the hospital (with a couple of throwing open the door to throw up stops in between).
Pee test showed blood...GREAT...what does that mean? A couple of tablets and then all fixed right?....WRONG!!! The amazing Doctor on duty diagnosed me with kidney stones. Argh....what the hell?! But I drink water only...and maybe a wine or two here and there. Apparently it's hereditary. I needed to be x-rayed to see how big it was and if it needed blasting or not. The problem was this hospital didn't have the equipment to do that so I needed to be transferred to Geelong via ambulance. The next problem being there was only 1 ambulance and it couldn't get me to Geelong until the next morning. Fortunately I had the most amazing nurses and Doctor and they gave me enough fluid and pain killers to help me manage the acute pain.
By 3pm the next day results had shown the 4mm stone had passed and was in my bladder. "Can I still run the marathon tomorrow?" The look I received was a "ha yeah no". But I think they may have dealt with my type before. "You realise you've had a lot of morphine? You have another stone in your kidneys. IF......you have to run it please stay hydrated or you'll be back here in extreme pain." That was my signal to GO FOR IT!
I ran that marathon with the fluids from my drip, 2.5 litres of electrolytes, a couple of sweet potato chips and a little grilled chicken in my belly.
I ran with a water bottle filled it 3 times over the 44km marathon and had 2 cups of water or electrolytes and we actually ran the best marathon ever!
There were rainbows along the way and some amazing scenery. I loved this marathon even more because of the obstacles I overcame to do it.
If anything put me into the right frame of mind it was my RunFaster gear. So unbelievably supportive, comfortable and stylish.
I guess, yes I was a little crazy to do this marathon especially after all I went through, but for me it was a no brainer. I bent over backwards to get to that start line in so many ways. I had to at least start it and see how I go. For every km I did the happier I got and the easier the marathon felt.
Giving up is not an option for me.
I'm not proclaiming to being a super woman. In fact I'm quite the opposite. I'm as "normal" as they get really.. I'm just an everyday working mum of 3 with a few quirks but I am quite goal orientated. When I set a goal I do all I can to achieve it. Some may call that majorly stubborn...either or really! ?
Yolande xx