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Just to begin, I can say that Georgia Marathon = h.h.H.(humid, hot and HILLY!!!). Oh yeah!!! The story goes this way: As a part of my crazy journey of running a marathon each month, I drove to Atlanta Friday March 23rd and stayed in a downtown hotel close to the starting line. In an effort to enjoy the event more and have some quality family time, I spent all day Saturday in the Aquarium, and the Centennial Park. Finally, I reached the Marathon Expo. I noticed a LOT of people there and a long line just to enter. By coincidence, I met a fellow runner and PBP Steve Warren who was happily enjoying the time with some old friends from Atlanta and was ready to run the half marathon. I picked up my bib, and I was surprised to see my "real" name (Aquilino) printed on it. Then I asked myself, "How did they know I was an elite runner? " To my surprise, everybody had their name on the bib. At the expo, I had the opportunity to chat with Dick Beardsley, the Boston marathon winner in ‘81 but famous for losing the ‘82 race against Alberto Salazar for 2 seconds. I went to bed after following the runner’s ritual of attaching the bib number on the shirt, tying the chip to the tennis shoes and charging the Gamin. After putting everything together on a chair, it looked like a mannequin in a store, etc. Next morning the runners got together before sunrise and after some directions, prayer and anthem, we took off at 7:00 A.M. We began the race uphill, so you can imagine what was coming later. We ran fresh for some miles and close to mile 4 there were a guy with a megaphone announcing "Half marathoners take a left"… "Full marathoners keep going uphill"…I remember telling to myself…What the Hell?@#$…but I was still happy keeping my pace, going up and down until I crossed the half in a decent 1:56:03. By mile 16, I was mentally prepared to finish below 4 hours again…but then I saw it: a steep hill about a mile long. I try to run it but my knees began paying the price. I noticed some people around me running strong and others walking. I remembered the words of coach, Becky, stating "don’t injured yourself", so I slowed down my pace as much I can without walking. I kept repeating myself that I needed to train on hills. At mile 21, the 4:00 team pace passed me, I was almost walking the mile 23 when the 4:15 team pace left me behind. However, at mile 25 with my legs and knees in pain, I saw my son David handing me an apple which was the most sweet and delicious fruit I ever ate. This gave me enough to finish strong and happy with an acceptable time of 4:43. At the end, the medical tents were full. I had to ask for help and they put a bag of ice on each of my knees. After 15 minutes of finishing, I almost fainted. The temperatures increased from 57 degrees early in the morning to 87 degrees by noon. I never found the promised PowerAde in the aid stations,-only plain water. Finally, I was just was happy finishing and having the medal. We had a wonderful time in Atlanta! But I really missed not running in the Azalea Run with all the other PBPs and not going to the special track on tap in Vicky’s house. Well, because I didn’t get injured in this one, I have to try the Nashville hills on April 28th. Until then, Keep Running for Your Life. Kily Garcia Some Results
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