Congratulations Linda! Great job and great story. Thanks for sharing. Very touching. Hope your knee heels quickly.
James Lamm On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 12:38 PM, Cavas, Linda <[email protected]> wrote: > A big THANK YOU to everyone who posted about my race yesterday. It was > awesome! Many of you know that my dad was a career Marine, runner, and > cyclist. In 1976 the Marine Corps organized their first marathon and my > dad was one of 1500 runners who showed up for the race. He ran it in 3:38 > before the days of energy gels and water bottles, and I will never forget > running down and crossing the finish line with him that day. I was so > proud of him! He died a few years ago of ALS which he contracted from > vaccinations during the Vietnam War – he certainly lived and died for our > country. So this race is very special and emotional for me.**** > > ** ** > > I went to the doctor last Friday and was diagnosed with a slight knee > sprain in my left knee. Of course the doc recommended that I stay off the > knee and skip the race…and looked at me and knew I wasn’t going to do > that. So I was worried about my knee going into the race, but as I > approached the start yesterday morning all focus just turned to the race > and it was “on”. For 22 miles I was able to block the pain and just run my > pace and I felt good. But starting with mile 22 there are two bridges and > enough grade and hills that just pulled on that knee. The final .2 miles > are straight uphill to the Iwo Jima Memorial. Needless to say the last 5.2 > miles were agony. I dropped from an 8:40 pace to over 9 minutes. Missed > qualifying for the Boston Marathon by 6 minutes (needed 3:45) which I > wasn’t even shooting for in this race. Overall I had a great race and some > amazing memorable moments….as a fierce patriot, the city of Washington DC > is a special place to me. My dad is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, > which is close to the start of the race….and coming over the bridge to the > Lincoln Memorial I found myself reciting lines from the Gettysburg Address > (“Four score and seven years ago… that we here highly resolve that these > dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a > new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for > the people, shall not perish from the earth)….I was pretty surprised that > I remembered that much of it. I guess I was thinking about that because > of the upcoming election and regardless of whether you are Republican or > Democrat, the fact that members of our armed forces dedicate their lives to > protect our country and the rights we have was visible as I ran through the > streets of Washington. Along a quiet stretch beside the Potomac, > volunteers had lined up photos of young Marines who died in Iraq and > Afghanistan -- was tough to stay dry eyed running beside all the faces of > those men and women…and a few more miles later there were more than 25 > volunteers with the T.A.P.S. Program who each stood silently holding huge > American flags that gently brushed against me as I ran underneath them….and > seeing a young Marine keep pace with me while holding a huge black POW flag > for the entire race… ….so many unforgettable moments. I highly recommend > this race for anyone who is considering running a marathon. Thousands of > Marines come out in uniform and stand along the course encouraging > runners. Can’t get that at any other marathon!**** > > ** ** > > Thanks again to Jonathan for giving me such a great deal on his spot in > the race -- good luck with the ACL surgery next month! And thanks again to > all of you who have supported and encouraged me through my training. I now > know that qualifying for Boston is a reality since I came so close > yesterday – even with a sprained knee and dodging huge crowds that at times > slowed my pace. Not sure the knee will be well enough to get me a > qualifying time when I run OBX on 11/11, but I’ll certainly be ready to > give it a shot at the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February!!**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. > To post to this group, send email to > [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en.
