COMMUNITY JOURNALISM: Ups and downs of Olympic Marathon Trials

Following the Columbus Marathon on Oct. 16, 2011 - a race I ran with my sister, Ellen Ries - my husband, Andy, challenged me with putting in more miles and really focusing on some key runs in my buildup to the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.

Often times I think he has more confidence in my abilities than I do.

After gasping at his suggestions, I took a deep breath and decided to take him up on his challenge. I figured this was my one shot to really push myself and see what I can get my body to do.

In addition to the extended long runs (training runs up to 24 miles), he also had me pushing the pace during my long runs. In the past I had a few long runs that I focused on running a portion at race pace. I never took the time to count them, but it seemed as if he had me doing a significantly increased number of my long runs with at least a portion (6-15 miles at race pace).

This, on top of running a high number of weekly miles, was truly going to test my fatigued muscles and prepare them for the latter miles in the marathon.

It was a lot of hard work and a lot of painful miles, but I continued to focus on one week at a time throughout the training process. I kept telling myself that I would be a stronger runner and well-prepared for the competition in Houston.

Thankfully for me, I had the luxury of having my own personal cheering section along with me through many of my runs. Andy and the kids would drive from point to point to offer words of encouragement and bottles of Gatorade as I (and often a training partner or two) would work through the miles.

It really was great fun and a big sense of accomplishment when we were done. My favorite part was hearing the kids and seeing their huge smiling faces as they handed off the water bottles. Running my cool down miles with our son, Ryne, was a rush for both he and I.

Ten days before the trials - on Jan. 4 - I was really excited and nervous for the workout I was about to do. I knew it was coming, knew it was a key workout to gauge my fitness level and also knew it was going to be a physical challenge.

During my warm-up, I could feel that my leg wasn't quite “right” and had promised myself that I'd make an appointment with the chiropractor over my noon hour in an attempt to get my back into alignment. But I convinced myself that I just needed to be strong and gut out the workout.

As I cranked up the speed, the belt on my treadmill was slipping as the motor was struggling to maintain the pace I was demanding. During my third and final mile repeat, the belt jerked just as I was planting my right foot. Unfortunately, my muscles were really tense as I was nervous about the way my treadmill was operating. The result was pulling a muscle in my gluteus maximus.

I was in absolute shock when it happened and tried to convince myself that the situation really hadn't happened as my legs were dangling in mid air while my hands were clutching the side rails and I watched the belt fly beneath me.

Over the next few days, I found I could walk, do the elliptical, do virtually anything - but run. As I extended my leg in running form, my muscle was catching and not allowing me to run with any speed.

I remained in a state of denial for days, praying for a miracle. I finally told my parents on Sunday (the injury was on Wednesday). I had been going to PT, icing, stretching, cross training, getting taped, etc. but nothing was helping.

I finally resorted to a cortisone shot three days before the race and was hopeful this would be the miracle I had been hoping and praying for. Unfortunately, it didn't work as I had hoped.

Because I had done all of the training and the flights were purchased, I decided to hope for a miracle and at least try to run the race. I felt like I was in a fog on race morning preparing for something that I wasn't sure was going to happen.

It was so hard not to feel sorry for myself because I had done all the hard work, completed all my training, prepared myself, and race day was here. I had made so many sacrifices.

Andy and the kids had absolutely dedicated themselves to do whatever possible to help give me the opportunity to make this happen. There had been so many 3:30 and 4 a.m. mornings of running alone in the darkness of Mount Vernon and endless hours spent running alone on our treadmill.

Due to the windy weather during the beginning of January, I even ran my last long run (17 miles) on the treadmill. I had prepared myself - mentally and physically - for the demands of this marathon.

Regardless, it came very clear that God had other plans for me on Jan. 14.

As hard as I tried to relax and run, my muscle was pulled and it was not going to happen. Quitting the race was really hard. I had to walk through a mob of people and make my way up to collect my warm-ups.

Obviously it was pretty hard to hide as I was wearing my racing shoes and sporting my race bib that displayed my last name. As I walked, it didn't appear anything was physically wrong with me. I could walk with little to no pain, I just could not run.

It was a long and painful walk.

The worst part was making the walk to Andy and the kids, however. It hurt so bad to see the disappointment on their faces when I confirmed I pulled out of the race. I know they weren't disappointed in me because they knew I tried my hardest and had done everything I could.

However, I know they were still disappointed because we had all sacrificed so much as we all “trained” for the race in our own way.

Some day all of this will make sense to me and I'll understand the reason behind God's plan. For now, I am thankful for the time our family was able to enjoy as we prepared for the race and will always have the memories surrounding the 2012 Olympic Trials. We are all extremely thankful for the unending support and encouragement we have received from friends, family, and our community.

As for future running plans, I haven't committed to anything yet. I'm still working on mending this pulled muscle and my bruised heart.

Before any decisions are made, I'm sure we will need a “team” meeting to see how the rest of the clan feel about the future.

Life is short and we look forward to playing hard.