Marathon Dreamer

Today was to be an epic day because my 17 year old son was to run his first Marathon.  I have been training him over the last several months and we have come very far with his speed and endurance.  Kyle planned to run this race with me today because of his inexperience with running long races and pacing.  The race was a very low key event in Santa Monica along the coast and pier.  As you can see, it was so low key that I actually won the marathon in the female catagory with an unimpressive time of 4:23:06 LOL!!!  Kyle turned on his speed swith the last several miles and came in about 3 minutes before me.

 We drove up to Santa Monica... Kyle, Beth, Tenille (who planned to run the 50k distance), and my son Kyle.  It was a beautiful morning but that sun was going to present some challenges later in the day and I could feel the humidity in the air already!  Kyle, Beth and I set out on our run together and Tenille went in another direction for her 50k distance. The course was a bit confusing and the race director had to go over the course layout several times with all of us because there were 1/2 marathoners, marathoners, and people doing a 50k all on the same day at the same time.  Even though we ran further than we were supposed to the first loop, we were able to make adjustments to the course layout to give us the full marathon distance.  Kyle began to struggle at around mile 14-15. His hip was really starting to hurt.  Running on the cement walkways along the ocean can really take a toll on the joints.  He was struggling to keep the pace.  He was thinking about calling it quits and told me to go ahead.  I hated to leave him but I pushed onward.  I got my second wind and started cruising!  I felt really good and I am sure I was running in the 7's on pace.  

Kyle fell behind and was probably about a mile behind me when he got his second wind and managed to catch up.  By mile 18, Kyle and I were once again running together.  We took our time in the aid stations, sometimes 3 minutes or more.  I wanted to be sure that he was hydrated enough and that he wasn't pushing too hard.  The first full marathon can really be tough on the body and Kyle is only 17... call it a motherly love, although I like to push him, I certainly don't want to hurt him or cause him injury.  It started to get really hot.  I am so glad that Kyle and I both wore hydration waste belts because we needed it!!!

Beth pulled off her best marathon time yet!!!  Tenille decided to complete the marathon distance due to the heat and finished strong as well!!! 

It was my third marathon in 3 months and my 2nd in 3 weeks.  I am glad that I finished, but so incredibly proud of my son!!!  He stuck it out and didn't quit!!! He is turning into such an incredible young man and one that I think many others will look up to!!!  Running this race with him today was very special for me.  Although we didn't talk much the hours that we ran together, we learned a lot about eachother. Great job Kyle!!!

Happy Running!!!