Kelley Mondesire', MSTOM, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.
177 Prince Street Third Floor, NY, NY 10012
917-701-7582
www.kmondesire.com
k@kmondesire.com
177 Prince Street Third Floor, NY, NY 10012
917-701-7582
www.kmondesire.com
k@kmondesire.com
Sunday, August 5th was the second annual NYC Half Marathon. This was the second time I was to run this race. It isn’t a really difficult run: a loop around Central Park, down 7th Ave into Times Square where there’s a right onto 42nd Street, then a straight run west to the Hudson River and then the straightaway down to Battery Park where the 13 mile adventure ends.
The difference this year was that I hadn’t been able to run for months while recuperating from an injury that needed patience and time to heal. The Thursday prior to the event, I hopped onto a treadmill and ran 5 miles while holding onto the arms of the machine so I shouldn’t aggravate my arm, which one of the culprits putting the stops to my winter/spring training. I figured if my knee felt o.k. (the other culprit) after 5 miles, I could run 13 on Sunday.
I arrived at the site on Sunday morning, wondering why I had gotten out of bed at 4:30am to attempt a run I really didn’t think I could complete in my heart-of-hearts. Based on my former race times, I was placed into the 7:37 minute per mile corral and thought….are they nuts? I figured I was going to be plowed down during the first few minutes of the run. Besides, everyone in this particular corral really looked like a runner, which I have never claimed to be. I don’t even like to run - I just participate in the activity to give me the cardio to do the sports I really enjoy….oh boy! I felt like Godzilla sitting next to all these gazelle-like males and females in their team jerseys.
So, as I sat on a bench waiting for the announcement to get ready, I had to think about who I was going to be - if not a runner for the day. I decided, after much preponderance that I was going to be “I’ll Try”. Nothing more, nothing less.
The horn went off and so did we. At mile 3, it was time for the portosan, where I was surprised to see many runners stopping for a short break, already disappointed with their time. I was just happy I could still run. I decided that I could make it around the park (10K) and then see how I felt at that time. There is a shuttle for runners who cannot continue that will take them to the finish. As I ran around the park, I was convinced that one of those seats had my name on it…that was my mantra. But then, I began to think of all the friends and acquaintances who had wished me luck and were sending their thoughts my way at the moment, and I thought…”I can do this, I’ve already done it, so let’s just try”. I had to walk halfway up the big hill on the north end of the park - hills were making my knee hurt, so I gave it a break. When we passed the 10K mark and worked our way out of Central Park, I stopped at the medical tent for a 2 minute ice break and a cold bottle of water. And, I said “I’ll try”. Off we went down 7th Avenue where the crowds just cheered us on by numbers. This was fun because last year it rained and not many spectators showed up for the event. Across 42nd Street, I stopped twice to put the cold bottle over my knee and throw some water over my head. There’s a really big difference in your endurance running long distance if you haven’t run at all for a while! Going down the West Side Highway, I slowed down a bit more and began to walk a bit, run, walk a bit, run. At the 11th mile, I was running next to a young woman by the name of Elizabeth who asked me if I was o.k. I told her I was running out of juice due to my knee and she asked me to encourage her to continue, and run with her so she could stay in the race and finish strong…go figure! We encouraged one another and for the remainder of the race, we held hands as we ran, at a pretty quick speed across the finish line. We had our phot taken together and gave each other a hug. I’ll probably never see Elizabeth again, but if I did, I would thank her for getting me over that finish line.
I feel pretty good today; I’ve been practicing my own medicine on myself.
I finished with the worst time I’ve ever done, but I don’t care. I tried to run 3 miles and I ended up finishing a 13 mile run, when most other people wouldn’t have gotten out of bed for a race they hadn’t trained for. And I tried a little harder because of the friends and acquaintances who telephoned or emailed me to wish me luck and reminded me that it was o.k. if I didn’t do my best time and just finished. I thought of all of them while I was thinking of quitting and every time I had to stop and walk a little. That’s when I said “I can do this, I’ve done this before, so let’s just try”.
I have to say that my arm hasn’t felt this good in months and I’m going to give my weak knee a well-deserved rest today. But tomorrow, I’ll begin training for a few triathlons coming up in the next two months. Hell…if I can run 13 miles, I can run those stupid 6 miles during the triathlons. In any case, I’ll just try….
The difference this year was that I hadn’t been able to run for months while recuperating from an injury that needed patience and time to heal. The Thursday prior to the event, I hopped onto a treadmill and ran 5 miles while holding onto the arms of the machine so I shouldn’t aggravate my arm, which one of the culprits putting the stops to my winter/spring training. I figured if my knee felt o.k. (the other culprit) after 5 miles, I could run 13 on Sunday.
I arrived at the site on Sunday morning, wondering why I had gotten out of bed at 4:30am to attempt a run I really didn’t think I could complete in my heart-of-hearts. Based on my former race times, I was placed into the 7:37 minute per mile corral and thought….are they nuts? I figured I was going to be plowed down during the first few minutes of the run. Besides, everyone in this particular corral really looked like a runner, which I have never claimed to be. I don’t even like to run - I just participate in the activity to give me the cardio to do the sports I really enjoy….oh boy! I felt like Godzilla sitting next to all these gazelle-like males and females in their team jerseys.
So, as I sat on a bench waiting for the announcement to get ready, I had to think about who I was going to be - if not a runner for the day. I decided, after much preponderance that I was going to be “I’ll Try”. Nothing more, nothing less.
The horn went off and so did we. At mile 3, it was time for the portosan, where I was surprised to see many runners stopping for a short break, already disappointed with their time. I was just happy I could still run. I decided that I could make it around the park (10K) and then see how I felt at that time. There is a shuttle for runners who cannot continue that will take them to the finish. As I ran around the park, I was convinced that one of those seats had my name on it…that was my mantra. But then, I began to think of all the friends and acquaintances who had wished me luck and were sending their thoughts my way at the moment, and I thought…”I can do this, I’ve already done it, so let’s just try”. I had to walk halfway up the big hill on the north end of the park - hills were making my knee hurt, so I gave it a break. When we passed the 10K mark and worked our way out of Central Park, I stopped at the medical tent for a 2 minute ice break and a cold bottle of water. And, I said “I’ll try”. Off we went down 7th Avenue where the crowds just cheered us on by numbers. This was fun because last year it rained and not many spectators showed up for the event. Across 42nd Street, I stopped twice to put the cold bottle over my knee and throw some water over my head. There’s a really big difference in your endurance running long distance if you haven’t run at all for a while! Going down the West Side Highway, I slowed down a bit more and began to walk a bit, run, walk a bit, run. At the 11th mile, I was running next to a young woman by the name of Elizabeth who asked me if I was o.k. I told her I was running out of juice due to my knee and she asked me to encourage her to continue, and run with her so she could stay in the race and finish strong…go figure! We encouraged one another and for the remainder of the race, we held hands as we ran, at a pretty quick speed across the finish line. We had our phot taken together and gave each other a hug. I’ll probably never see Elizabeth again, but if I did, I would thank her for getting me over that finish line.
I feel pretty good today; I’ve been practicing my own medicine on myself.
I finished with the worst time I’ve ever done, but I don’t care. I tried to run 3 miles and I ended up finishing a 13 mile run, when most other people wouldn’t have gotten out of bed for a race they hadn’t trained for. And I tried a little harder because of the friends and acquaintances who telephoned or emailed me to wish me luck and reminded me that it was o.k. if I didn’t do my best time and just finished. I thought of all of them while I was thinking of quitting and every time I had to stop and walk a little. That’s when I said “I can do this, I’ve done this before, so let’s just try”.
I have to say that my arm hasn’t felt this good in months and I’m going to give my weak knee a well-deserved rest today. But tomorrow, I’ll begin training for a few triathlons coming up in the next two months. Hell…if I can run 13 miles, I can run those stupid 6 miles during the triathlons. In any case, I’ll just try….
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