Success Stories: A Marathon? Yes! I Did It!
by Jean-Paul Trudeau Gatinea
This following text was written for a writing
course--the topic: describe your greatest accomplishment. I discussed
the course with my wife; she obviously knew my topic would be running
my first marathon. By sharing my story, I hope to motivate someone
to follow "The Yellow Brick Road" and to reach the final
destination "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
When you look at me, you'd see I am no Haile Gebrselassies. At 5'11"
and weighing 175 lbs, I probably had more chicken wings in one night
than he did in his whole life. However, I love running. It has become
part of my life, my motivation and a good stress reliever. The funniest
comment I have received was from my wife. If the Running Room store
was located beside an adult entertainment club, she has no doubt which
location I would end up going to.
In 1981, Canadian Terry Fox inspired many people--including me--
by accomplishing the Marathon of Hope. I started as an occasional
runner, and in 1984, after high school, I joined the Canadian Armed
Forces. I kept an average fitness level while keeping a passion for
good food, but I forgot to look myself at the mirror and did not notice
the Michelin tire forming around my waist.
In 1989, I returned from a four-year service in Germany. I was happy
to finally be home. However, the only comments I received were about
either my weight or my hair loss. Disappointed, I decided to do something.
Since I have never believed in those miracle hair formulas, the only
thing left to do was lose some weight. I started running regularly.
In time, I became thinner and was enjoying myself more and more.
I eventually became hooked and participated in local 5K, 10K and
half-marathon runs. After every half-marathon, I always wondered how
a human being could run twice the distance I had just run. I figured
it must be a case of insanity! I concentrated on my usual distances
while the marathon idea rested in the back of my mind.
After being transferred to Ottawa, a fellow co-worker noticed me
running during the lunch hour. We started talking and during our conIdeal Fitnesstion,
I found out "Fast Eddy" was a long distance triathlete who
wanted to teach his art. I mentioned my idea of running a marathon
to him, and he eagerly volunteered to help me achieve my goal.
In December 1994, Ed presented me a marathon training program and
said "Are you ready to work ?" Oh no, is this work going
to equal torture? I would soon find out as I started to train for
the Ottawa National Capital Marathon held the following June 1995.
Training started slowly and gradually became harder. The minutes
of speed work outs seemed like hours, but having an average of two
of them every week, I had to get used to them. After recuperating
from one, I learned these workouts were very helpful to build endurance
needed for the week-end long runs.
As time went by, I started to impress myself. Most of the training
included things that I had never accomplished before. I enjoyed the
long runs because they were done at a comfortable steady pace and
always finished with a visit to Wendy's. On certain days, I could
have run forever but a man needs his life priorities and burger and
fries are one of mine.
Days before the run, I started to prepare myself mentally - surprisingly
my wife didn't kick me out of the house. I received my final briefing
from Fast Eddy on "Dos and Don'ts on Race Day." After the
briefing, it was more a question of "To Be or not To Be."
On D-Day, I woke up at 0530 hrs to be ready for the 0830 hrs start.
Breakfast menu consisted of toast washed down by a ton of orange juice
and water. I guess that's why, prior to the start, I was continuously
in the rest area line-up. The course consisted of 2 x 21 Km loops.
At the starting line, I made my way to the end of the crowd figuring
I'll let somebody else win today.
The race started, I did my usual cross sign and asked Terry keep
an eye on me. At the 2 Km, every male runner stopped to say good luck
to each other (and to water the only bush tree). Water points were
found every 5 kilometers, to keep the body and morale going. At 10
kilometers, I felt as fresh as I would from a walk in the park. At
the half-way point, there was a lot of cheering and then suddenly,
I was suddenly running alone. I realized most of the runners around
me were doing the half-marathon.
Again the famous "To Be or not Be" came to my head. As
I was reaching the 30 to 35 kilometer points, I became a little nervous.
Did the famous "Wall" really exist or was it just a great
Pink Floyd record album. Later, I learned "Wall" strikes
if you do not eat or drink properly during the activity or if you
are having a bad hair day. (So don't forget your gels or comb.) Other
than my legs each weighing 300 pounds, I cruised through those kilometers
without problems.
At 40 kilometers, while crossing a bridge, I realized that I was
2 kilometers from achieving my goal. I started to have goose bumps
that lasted through the finish line. I ended the race with a final
sprint and in a sign of victory, I raised my fist to sky. My final
time was 3:41. The doubt was finally replaced by happiness.
Over the days following the marathon, even when the stairs were
hard to climb, I was walking on clouds. I collected every news clip
related to the race for my scrapbook. I spoke of my achievement to
anybody who wanted to listen to me, including the telephone pole.
While taking a walk with my wife, she mentioned to me: "Chérie,
you're finally a marathoner". Indeed, I was.
I have continued running and have added 3 more marathons to my list.
My time has improved as I gained experience. However, nothing is going
to replace the magic of my first marathon as I consider it my greatest
accomplishment.
If you desire to run a marathon, Go for it! If a 5`11" 175
pound guy can do it, so can you. The key is training, motivation and
the occasional after run visit to Wendy's. Combine the three and you
got it made.
Special thanks to Lynn Seely for encouraging me to write this story.
© 2001 by Jean-Paul
Trudeau Gatinea, Used with permission
|
